Pressing problems and beating the block: Tactical analysis of AC Milan 2-0 Venezia

AC Milan made it two wins out of two to begin the Serie A season as they beat Venezia 2-0 at home on Friday night.

Just like in the first round of the season it took Milan over 60 minutes to break the deadlock, and just like the first round it was a substitute who provided the spark, with Alexis Saelemaekers threading through Goncalo Ramos for his first goal for the club.

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Ardon Jashari’s shot one-on-one led to an own-goal in the closing stages that sealed the win as the Rossoneri ensured back-to-back victories to begin the Ruben Amorim era. However, Venezia could have had a couple of goals themselves.

Ultimately, Milan created the chances required to break down their opponents and deserve the three points. Rohit Rajeev has provided a tactical breakdown of the first game at San Siro.

Milan’s ball-centred overloads

Milan created ball centred overloads whenever Modrić had possession. They formed a staggered vertical line, with very little distance between each player.

This gave Modrić multiple short passing options and allowed Milan to combine quickly through the centre. The close spacing encouraged quick inter play and positional rotations. A simple but effective way of maximising Modrić’s ability to dictate play.

Venezia’s defensive structure

Venezia defended in a 5-3-2 mid block. Their pressing mechanism focused on shifting horizontally across the pitch.

As soon as Chukwueze received the ball, the near side wingback, centre back, midfielder and forward would all jump out to press.

This created an aggressive 4v1 situation around Chukwueze, aiming to isolate him and force Milan into a turnover. A clear example of Venezia using horizontal pressing to trap Milan in wide areas.

How Milan beat Venezia’s high press

Milan deliberately baited Venezia into a high press. Venezia used a man to man marking scheme, following Milan’s players closely. Musah and Cissé then made counter movements.

Musah moved towards Gila, the ball carrier, while Cissé ran towards goal, dragging his marker with him. This created space between Venezia’s second and third lines, giving Milan an opportunity to progress through the press.

A smart manipulation of man marking through coordinated counter movements.

Milan’s throw-in defending system

Milan used a man to man marking system to defend the throw in. Modrić acted as the extra man, creating an overload around the throw in zone.

Akor Adams stayed in the second layer of targets, providing Venezia with another passing option. The throw was played towards Adams, but Milan anticipated the pass and intercepted it.

Milan immediately turned the interception into a turnover and regained possession. A small tactical detail, but another example of Milan’s organisation and anticipation without the ball.

A mid-block solution

Milan formed diagonal passing lanes to break through Venezia’s mid block. Musah, RLC and Chukwueze formed a perfect Escadinha, creating staggered options for progression.

The positioning gave the ball carrier multiple forward and diagonal passing options, making it difficult for Venezia to maintain their compactness. A beautiful example of positional structure creating progression.

Milan’s pressing issue

Milan had a disorganised press yesterday. The first line and the two lines behind it failed to move in tandem. This created gaps between the lines, allowing Venezia to find space and progress through the press.

The lack of synchronisation made Milan’s pressing structure easier to bypass, a key area that needs improvement.

The first goal

Milan won the second ball, keeping the attack alive. Bella-Kotchap’s failed clearance fell straight to Saelemaekers. Schingtienne then engaged in a 1v1 against Alexis.

Busio tracked back to cover but positioned himself more centrally towards goal, creating a gap between himself and Schingtienne. Ramos stayed level with Bella Kotchap right until Alexis was about to play the ball.

Then, like a proper No.9, Ramos attacked the space behind Schingtienne. Busio was unable to recover and effectively played Ramos in behind. It was a brilliant example of a striker timing his movement rather than making it too early.

The second goal

Milan created a ball side overload while the goal kick was in the air, ensuring they had numbers around the second ball. Pavlovic then wins the aerial duel.

The short distances between Milan’s players allow for quick interplay and combinations. Ramos receives the ball square on, opening up multiple passing lanes and space around him.

Jashari recognises this immediately and makes the run from midfield. Saelemaekers plays the one two, and Jashari is suddenly through on goal. A goal built around overloading the ball side, winning the second ball and exploiting short distances.

The data

Milan’s numbers vs Venezia explained:

➤ 35.38% successful positional attacks. This suggests Milan bypassed Venezia’s defensive structure quite well and were able to fashion chances from open play.

➤ 10.04 PPDA. A clear improvement from the 14 PPDA against Torino, showing Milan applied pressure more effectively.

➤ 45.85% offensive duels won. Milan had a good share of attacking situations where they were able to retain possession despite Venezia trying to dispossess them.

➤ 36.67% aerial duels won. Milan won a meaningful share of the first balls, with Pavlovic’s aerial duel particularly important as it directly contributed to the second goal.