Hybrid marking and lack of cutting edge: Tactical analysis of AC Milan 0-0 Genoa

AC Milan’s 125th birthday party was ultimately ruined by Genoa, as they came to San Siro and managed to emerge with a 0-0 draw.

Paulo Fonseca decided to make five changes to the starting line-up from the team that beat Red Star, a game that he went on a post-match rant after. The main two names were Alex Jimenez at left-back (with Theo Hernandez benched) and Mattia Liberali as the playmaker.

What he was hoping for was a response but in truth it was a flat evening. Milan were slow and unimaginative for most of the match and after Tammy Abraham came off at half-time, Alvaro Morata wasted both of the big chances created.

Genoa didn’t have a shot on target but that is little comfort for Milan, who remain eight points off the Champions League places and have actually dropped to eighth place in the table after Bologna’s win. Below is a tactical analysis.

Hybrid marking system

Have Milan changed their marking system from zonal to man-marking? This is something that has to be reviewed more over the course of more games to have a greater sample size, but the zonal approach was evident early on.

Fonseca has previously put a lot of emphasis on the marking systems, speaking about how teams in the Champions League tend to play zonal while in Serie A far more sides play man-to-man.

He predicted after the Real Madrid win that his team would struggle more against Cagliari for this reason, and he was right as they conceded three times in that particular game.

Sometimes you can take inspiration from opponents and even the predecessor Stefano Pioli, whose forte was man-marking. The current coach seems to be edging towards a hybrid at the very last.

Set piece approach

Set pieces can add a lot of value to a team at both ends, as Arsenal have shown with their brilliant record from dead-ball situations both this season and the campaign prior.

It is an area we have often looked at in previous tactical analyses but it has been a while since the last goal went in from one, so we have reviewed the strategy below.

pic.twitter.com/CCtU2j3uON

— Rohit Rajeev (follow @keralista) (@keralista_v2) December 17, 2024

Genoa’s counter

Contrary to what the stats suggest, Genoa did not just sit back and look to let Milan play the ball around with ease. Anytime the away side lost the ball in the final third (the Rossoneri’s defensive third), a fierce counter press was deployed.

The idea behind a counter-press, which we can presume was a precise instruction from the new coach Patrick Vieira, is to catch Milan off guard and to win the ball back quickly in a dangerous position.

How does it work? Two Genoa men would press the player on the ball and not allow them the space or time to get comfortable on the ball, which affected Milan’s ability playing out quickly.

Cutting edge

As was highlighted in the five things we learned article but what deserves mentioning again is that Milan did create enough chances to win this game, with an xG of 1.20 not exactly high but enough for a goal.

Tijjani Reijnders was the catalyst for both as he twice slid through balls to Morata inside the box that had the Spaniard in a good position, yet he missed the target going for the top corner in both instances.

You can fling as much mud at the coach as you like, but the highest gross earner on the team who is 32 years of age and has won virtually every trophy imaginable simple has to be burying one if not both opportunities.

We cannot attack the character of Morata and suggest that he doesn’t care about the opportunities missed, but he is the starting striker (when fully fit), relied upon to deliver big moments and get the team out of trouble.

😫 How did neither of these go in?! pic.twitter.com/4HB5DxGfKd

— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) December 16, 2024

Worrying data

Sometimes we do not need to do any explanation of the data provided, and below is one of those cases. The right-back having the most touches in the Genoa box is something that should never happen and implies a lack of penetration.

Another worrying statistic is how Milan won the ball high up the pitch seven times and only two led to shots. Genoa lost the ball 20 times in their danger zones and only four were shots.

It shows how Milan are not moving the ball quickly after winning it back which is allowing the opposition defence to recover their positions and reset their structure.

The old saying ‘possession is useless without progression’ also applies more generally. Too many times Milan were slow and rigid in possession (static, little movement) or imprecise when they tried to speed things up.

A serious discussion is needed and probably has been for some time regarding whether there is a base technical level within the squad to play Fonseca’s intended style of possession-based domination. When asked to combine speed with quality, most of the time this team cannot do it.