AC Milan went to the capital to face Lazio on Sunday night with their Scudetto hopes buoyed, but they left with them in ruins.
Inter’s draw against Atalanta at San Siro on Sunday evening meant that Milan could have cut the gap at the top to five points, after it had been as high as 10 before the derby. Yet, the big chance was wasted as they were beaten 1-0 by Maurizio Sarri’s side.
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Gustav Isaksen got the only goal in the match as he took advantage of the space left in behind Pervis Estupinan to race onto a through ball and slot past Mike Maignan. Milan certainly had the better of the second half in terms of pressure, but the home side stood firm defensively.
It will take a miracle now to engineer a comeback, and attention instead must be on locking up a top four spot. Rohit Rajeev has the tactical analysis from a night to forget at the Stadio Olimpico.
Set-ups and shape
Massimiliano Allegri made just one change to the starting line-up from the team that won the derby against Inter, with the suspended Adrian Rabiot replaced by Ardon Jashari on the left side of a midfield three. He chose to keep faith in last weekend’s hero Estupinan too.
Lazio alternated between a 3-5-2 and a 4-4-2 shape out of possession, implementing a clear dual objective.
Firstly, the structure was designed to cut off passing lanes into Modrić, limiting Milan’s ability to progress centrally.
Secondly, it helped restrict Milan’s wide build-up patterns by maintaining compactness across the flanks. This co-ordinated defensive approach proved highly effective in disrupting Milan’s rhythm and forcing them into less optimal areas of progression.
In their attempt to break Lazio’s mid-block, Allegri’s decision to push Milan into a high line proved costly. The defensive co-ordination was lacking: Estupiñán failed to hold the line with the rest of the backline and was instead drawn toward Isaksen’s movement.
This mistimed reaction disrupted the offside trap, effectively playing Isaksen onside and leading directly to the goal.
Familiar failure
Once again, we can observe that while Pulisic and Leão are taking up positions akin to a front two, the spacing between them is excessive.
This lack of proximity disrupts any potential for combination play, limiting quick link-ups, wall passes, or co-ordinated movements that are typically essential in a two-striker dynamic.
Then of course there is the moment that has everyone talking: when Pulisic chose not to play Leao (likely) through on goal, not once but twice. While only the American known what he was thinking, not releasing his strike partner in a dangerous position is baffling.
In some ways Leao’s frustration (but perhaps not his reaction after coming off) is justified, because he can be a difference maker. Allegri must also have been tearing his hair out, because Pulisic dropping deeper as a second striker to potentially set up the No.9 Leao is exactly what he had in mind.
A change in tack
In the second half, Allegri shifted Milan’s focus toward controlling the central areas in order to nullify Lazio’s wide overloads.
By introducing Nkunku and Füllkrug, he transitioned the system from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-1-2, creating a numerical superiority through the middle.
This adjustment forced Lazio to deal with increased central congestion, limiting their ability to dominate the flanks and improving Milan’s capacity to progress through the centre.
The data
Milan dominated possession for large periods of the game, but despite that control, they struggled to translate it into high-quality opportunities. The Rossoneri managed to create only two big chances, both of which ultimately went unconverted.
Milan registered only marginally more touches than Lazio inside the opposition penalty area – roughly double – which, despite territorial control, underlines their lack of clinical edge in the final third and inefficiency in converting presence into clear-cut chances.
Milan pressed Lazio aggressively in search of a breakthrough, particularly because Maurizio Sarri’s side typically operate from a mid-block and look to control space rather than engage high.
However, once Isaksen scored, Lazio adjusted their approach, dropping their defensive line deeper and becoming more compact. From that point on, their priority shifted to absorbing Milan’s pressure and exploiting transition moments on the counter-attack.
As per Lega Serie A data, Milan posed a threat through both structured manoeuvre-based attacks and quick counter-attacking situations, highlighting their ability to create danger in both organised and transitional phases of play.
