AC Milan suffered their first competitive defeat of the Paulo Fonseca era on Saturday evening as they were beaten 2-1 by Parma.
The home side took the lead within two minutes as Dennis Man was on hand to tap home a teasing cross by Emanuele Valeri, but Milan levelled when Christian Pulisic equalised from close range in the 66th minute, thinking they could go on and win it.
The issue was that they got caught at the other end on the break when Pontus Almqvist squared for Matteo Cancellieri who put the hosts 2-1 up, and that would be enough to earn them the three points.
It means that Milan are stuck on one point after two games and have not made an ideal start to the 2024-25 season. It is, in fact, the worst start since 2011-12 under Max Allegri in terms of points from the first two games.
Our writer Rohit Rajeev has taken a look at the game from a tactical perspective, and sadly a lot of the same issues cropped up again.
Disjointed press
The first goal came as a result of the press not being completed and co-ordinated properly. When a team loses the ball the striker becomes the first defender and it is rarely the last line of four (or three) that should always be blamed. In the instance below we can see how the Milan press is compromised.
The pressing when one loses the ball (counter-pressing) is equally important in Fonseca’s style. Below is a small example of why it let his side down.
The fitness of the players is an issue that needs to be raised, as Parma were always able to make runs ahead of their opponents as seen in this example with defenders not following their markers.
Missed chances, individual errors
Just like in the game against Torino, Milan created plenty of chances resulting in an xG of 2.36, which means that they wasted these opportunities.
Yunus Musah being way out of position created way too much space in the centre and in the right half space. Musah’s entire game can be called into question for his defensive side where he seemed – as he admitted himself – confused as to what he should have done.
You can see in this sequence of play how a big gap has opened up with the American out of position.
Poor decision making was also a factor in the game. Below Tijjani Reijnders was open but instead Rafael Leao chose to dribble his opponent and crossed it straight to the goalkeeper.
Lastly, there are still individual errors embedded in this team, specifically the defence. In the clip below, Davide Calabria somehow turns what should be a clearance or even obtaining possession into a big chance for Parma.
The athletic data clearly shows what has been speculated in the media and by fans: Parma outran Milan. A coach that wants to press their opponents seeing their team outrun by a side that were in Serie B last season brings serious question marks.
