Tuttosport: The Bennacer-Kessie wall returns but now there is competition – 4-3-3 possible?

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan look set to be able to count on some solid midfield depth ahead of the start of the 2020-21 season which could cause Stefano Pioli to study various solutions.

As Wednesday’s edition of Tuttosport (via MilanNews) reports, the Rossoneri had a frightening midfield double pivot after the resumption of Serie A thanks to African duo Ismael Bennacer and Franck Kessie.

The Algerian and the Ivorian provided very high quality performances by building a fundamental wall for Stefano Pioli’s 4-2-3-1. If Bennacer represented the brain, Kessie was undoubtedly the physical and muscular component that embraced the defensive and physical tasks of the Rossoneri team.

However, this is an absolutely crucial upcoming season for Milan, one which simply must result in a top four finish, and the arrival of Sandro Tonali means there are no room for slip ups from either.

Bennacer and Kessie will both take to the field against Shamrock Rovers on Thursday evening, all while the management have the ambition to conclude another signing in midfield to complete the department.

In this sense, the competition will increase but the seasonal commitments will guarantee minutes for all the players in the defensive midfield department.

Who knows, it could even induce Pioli to field a three-man midfield with Tonali as the regista and Bennacer and Kessiè mezzali.

Tags AC Milan Franck Kessie Ismaël Bennacer Sandro Tonali

3 Comments

  1. Pioli said in a recent interview that he would keep the formation that brought us fortune post lockdown but didnt close the door on experimentation if needed. In that sense it seems unnecessary to speculate that we would change formation as the coach himself said that it wont happen and frankly it wouldnt be the smartest move to take either when we have lately played better than we have done for many years.

  2. Hi Oliver,

    You may have good intentions, and may not have realized the weight of what you said here “If Bennacer represented the brain, Kessie was undoubtedly the physical and muscular component that embraced the defensive and physical tasks of the Rossoneri team”. That statement is not accurate, at best. Kessie usually plays a bit higher up the field than Bennacer, and scored more goals than him last season. This leads me to believe that you made the statement mostly on the physical appearance of the two players. Please be mindful of this in your writing. Thanks.

    1. Hi Gabriel, thanks for taking the time to comment! I didn’t make this remark, it was simply translated from an article in that particular edition of Tuttosport, which can also be found on the MilanNews website. There was no generalisation on my part I assure you!

Comments are closed

Serie A Standings

Live football scores . Current table, fixtures & results.