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Compactness, attacking patterns and set pieces: What to expect tactically from Conceicao at Milan

It has been a chaotic 48 hours at AC Milan to say the least, and the club will go into 2025 with a new head coach in charge: Sergio Conceicao.

In a whirlwind of events, news leaked before the Roma game that Milan were about to sack Paulo Fonseca and hire Conceicao as their head coach, and many feel the former was dealt with in a less than ideal way.

On 30th December, Conceicao was announced as new head coach of the Rossoneri. Having left Porto at the end of last season, the Portuguese has been out of work since, perhaps a surprise given he won 11 trophies in seven seasons there.

The record for Conceicao at Porto reads as follows: 265 wins, 48 draws, 55 losses, 803 goals for, 317 goals against and 2.29 points per game. Beyond the numbers, how did he achieve them? Our writer Rohit Rajeev takes a look at his tactical approach.

Out of possession

In their title winning season of 2021-22, Porto only conceded 22 goals from 34 league games making them one of the most defensively sold team.

In Conceicao’s inaugural title winning campaign they only conceded 18 goals from which we can ascertain the basic fact: Porto under Conceicao had a watertight defence.

His core strategy was a zonal defence sat in two banks of four with twi strikers up top. Depending on the opponent, Conceicao would change into a 4-3-3. The structure of the press depend upon the ball position.

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When the opposition tries to play out from the back, the near-side Porto player would physically pressure the ball player. Some pressing triggers were used, like against Benfica whenever a back pass was made they would physically press.

Porto maintained a very narrow structure and where they would maintain a maximum space of no more than 25-30 metres vertically and horizontally dictated by the position of the ball.

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But once again his strategies differed on the opponent. Against Benfica – a team that didn’t have the best ball players – Porto used a hybrid marking system choosing to play a man-oriented press higher up the pitch. Once the ball passed the first line of defence would go back into zonal.

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Against teams that play deeper and try to make Porto attack, Conceicao uses a more cautious 3+2 structure to counter-press incase the ball is lost.

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One can see the aggressive nature of the counter-press: as soon as the ball is lost then the three closest players to the opposition player physically press the player.

Pressing traps are employed where players on one side of the pitch is not marked but once the pass is made then the nearside winger (who is positioned in the half space) would attack the the full back receiving the pass.

In possession

Like any team that presses following the ‘Golden 8’ seconds, Porto try to move the ball vertically instantly to either Taremi or Evanilson, waiting to receive or making runs behind the last line of opposition defence. This has been Porto’s golden mantra to catch opposition disorganised.

When playing teams playing deeper, different strategies are employed. A basic shape of 3-2-5 or a 2-3-5 is used by Porto with two centre-backs and one of the double pivot forming a triangle while the full-backs are allowed to push up to aid the attack.

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When playing out from the back, Porto use a 3+2 build up structure with the goalkeeper acting as the third centre-back where the centre-backs split allowing the full-backs pushed up.

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Porto use a series of third-man combinations to play out from the back where the attacking from the 4-2-3-1 would act as a mezzala and receive the ball. Wide triangles and quick one touch passing mechanisms were used to pass out from the back.

Conceicao has not placed any particular emphasis on how to structure themselves but rather gives players the freedom to occupy the positions they want and to create chances. Here we can see how the full-back has pushed up while the winger has dropped down to create a chance.

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One of the main chance creation techniques for Conceicao is crossing. With two physical strikers upfront for Porto in the form of Taremi and Evanilson and good amount of cut-backs and crosses are sent into the box.

Porto also bait the press with Pepe and Marcano, two ball playing centre-backs with good ball control baiting the opposition to press. Once the opposition press then the ball is passed out of the zone quickly to catch the opposition out of their defensive position.

Positional rotations between players also occurs giving rise to quick one-touch football. In this goal we can see how one Porto player has occupied the half spaces and with quick movements allowed Vitinha the space to shoot and score.

Set piece analysis

With set pieces becoming an increasingly important part of the game and an area where coaches look to add value to their teams, below is a look at a defensive corner routine for Porto.

Then we have a throw-in. As we can see from this image, Porto use a man two-man marking system while defending.

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Comparison with Fonseca

What are the differences between Fonseca and Conceicao? Well one can say there is a sea of difference. Fonseca was an idealist, someone who wanted to impose his style of play, playing a very aesthetic style of play with rigid structures and interchanges.

Conceicao however is more pragmatic and alert to the game situation, making him more reactive than proactive and probably more respectful to the opposition. Fonseca wanted to kill teams with possession while Conceicao preferred to defend the spaces and kill teams on the counter.

However, Conceicao leads the numbers in terms of attacking output but his style as we saw in the tactical analysis, Porto are reliant on crosses as much as they have crosses into the penalty area.

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Unlike Fonseca’s team, Conceicao likes his players to dribble which means ball carriers like Rafael Leao, Theo Hernandez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be given more freedom.

As we can see some of the numbers of Porto’s style mirror that of Pioli’s Milan which means he has a more similar style to Pioli than Fonseca had.

Tags AC Milan Sergio Conceicao

31 Comments

  1. Conceicao had a watertight defence…

    Ah but he never had Emerson Royal, a man who’s first touch is a pass and his second touch a tackle

    1. He likes progressive fullbacks good with the bal at their feet and aggressive moving up the flank. This has Jimenez hopefully written all over it on the RT.

        1. I still don’t understand the strategy with him – we develop him to be a starter so real can buy him back and sell for x-times the ridiculous 9/12 mil? In that context we almost have to hope for an injury before they steal him back.

    1. Leao is going to struggle with this press. He will end up on the bench. That’s not a bad thing, but we need to start thinking about the future. Sell Leao while he is still worth something and buy Jimenez. Start building Jimenez up.

      1. What a silly, unaware opinion. First of all, buy Jimenez? Where were you when we bought Jimenez? We have already bought him for 5 million Euro; he’s no longer on loan. I do agree that we need to use Jimenez more, and I have no doubt that Conceição will, because Jimenez is fast and is the kind of profile that Conceição loves.

        The problem with Jimenez’s contract is that Real Madrid has a buy-back option but if they decide to exercise it, there is NOTHING we can do as the contract is written in stone. So, there is no “buy Jimenez.” We bought him already. The problem is that we may lose him if Real decide to buy him back, but again, that’s not something that is under our control.

        Sell Leão? Together with Pulisic, he is tied with Puli for the most goal participations, this season (11 for each). still over Reijnders in third place. Not to forget, Rafa had fewer minutes by being benched and getting injured, but is still tied in first place for seasonal goal participations among all Milan players. So you want to sell one of our three best players? Haven’t you noticed how Rafa has improved, lately? Haven’t you noticed that we struggled more to score, once Rafa and Puli got injured? Where were you when Rafa started showing a lot more commitment to helping the team, pressing, and trying to help the defensive phase, while still producing goals and assists? It is ABSURD to think of selling Rafa who can produce bursts of speed in counters, and has consistenly had an average of 28 to 30 goal participations per season the last three seasons, when we just hired a coach who likes players to counter aggressively like that.

        Rafa didn’t seem to like Fonseca. Hopefully Rafa and Conceição will have a better relationship and Rafa will continue to improve. No need to sell him.

        All the people who keep screaming “sell Leão” have absolutely no understanding of real life football and should go back to playing the FIFA videogame.

        Rafa is not Milan’s problem. He is an asset.

        The only players who have been consistently playing well for Milan, are Rafa, Puli, Reijnders, Fofana, and Mike.

        We shouldn’t be selling any of our five best players.

        Instead, we should help Theo recover his form, yes, should play Jimenez more, should get a DM to help Fofana who gets exhausted for playing every game, should continue to groom Camarda to become a striker more prolific than Morata or Abraham, and should fix the RB position which is, together with the absence of a true DM since Kessié left, our weakest spot. Oh, and given how Chuk has been struggling and the RW position is shallow when Puli is injured, maybe we need a new RW too.

        Among these priorities, selling Rafa is definitely not one of them and not a good idea; LW is NOT one of our weak spots.

  3. “Fonseca wanted to kill teams with possession while Conceicao preferred to defend the spaces and kill teams on the counter.”

    This is what we need with the likes of Theo, Leao, Puli and Reijnders. Fast transition and combinations. Hopefully he’s able to implement it asap.

    2. This isnt really true though, Porto last season had 63% possession which was by far the highest in the league, he only sits back against top tier teams so in league play it will be a lot of possession still

  5. This all sounds nice, but he still wants a counter press that will not work unless Leao and Theo buy in and work. Conceicao needs to do better off the the field with the malcontents than Fonseca did. If not, he will meet the same fate.

    1. There comes a point when Theo and Leao have to answer for their own lazy asses. If most of the new coaches have problems with their work rate, then it’s not on the coaches.

  6. How does one plan for defensive stability with Emerson Royal in the starting XI?

    The Thiaw/Gabbia pairing is good, but Theo on the left is often caught upfield and Emerson is a defensive donkey!

  7. Very interesting piece of reading, thanks sempremilan. But I hope our new coach is pragmatic and will know to utilize the strengths of his current squad. And most importantly, restore the team atmosphere that was present throughout most of Pioli’s tenure.

  8. Now imagine Conceicao immediately reinstates Tomori into the lineup.
    Then I’ll have to really question if Fonseca really knew ball, or if he was pairing Thiaw-Gabbia because it was the most “Stable” pairing.

    2. Based on your comment we don’t need to question that you don’t know ball at all.
      Not playing Tomori was the best decision Fonseca made. Tomori was trash. Thiaw and Gabbia pairing has solidified Milan CB position and defense improved significantly.

  9. I’m flabbergasted we got him. It’s been a whirlwind. I feel bad for Fonseca, but some things didn’t work out. He is a genuinely good guy, but we needed someone higher level. Conceicao is young, but yet has so much experience coaching. 7 consistent years at Porto is no accident.

  10. Go full attack mode , 442 ,leao-morata strikers, pulisic LM, chukwu RM , rejnders-fofana CMs , theo LB,jimenez RB ,

    We would for sure score 3 goals per game,but we would probably concede 4 per game ,but who cares

  11. If it’s 442 with high intensity and physicality then maybe…

    Maignan
    Jimenez Gabbia Thiaw Theo
    Musah Fofana Reijnders Puli
    Morata Leao

    Dunno about that left side, it would be quite exposed with Theo, Reijnders and Puli while the right side is more intense and compact. Maybe switching Puli to RW and Musah to LW…

    Let’s see what Mister will cook with this bunch🤞

  12. My biggest hope is that Conceição will tell the owner, “Mr. Cardinale, you wanted me, you got me; thank you; I accepted the job but please allow me tell you something: I believe in defensive solidity. Now please with all due respect, direct your underlings to use the January transfer window to get me a RB better than Emerson Royal and Davide Calabria, and get me a true DM so that Fofana can rest and doesn’t need to overextend himself compensating for the midfield’s defensive fragility; if you want us to qualify for the next UCL, we can’t be conceding as many goals as we’ve conceded in the first half of the season.”

  13. it’s better to try to sell Emerson in January before everyone has realized how bad he is, if there are such people at all, but considering that our management brought him in just a few months ago, I hope that there are more incompetent people like them out there that we can gift him at least for free before it’s too late

  14. Anyway, difference aside…

    I wish you my fellow milanistas and your loved ones all the best in coming year.

    Live long and prosper🖖

  15. Great breakdown, cheers. Looking at his most recent performance in the champions league (2023-2024), some things stick out:

    – 2nd most distance covered. Granted, he didn’t control possession as much, but still, I expect him to want the team to be aggressive and WORK.

    – Compact 4-1-4-1 out of possession.

    – Zero goals allowed from corners.

    I also liked his no-nonsense press conference. Made me chuckle when he talked about how simple football is, possession, tiki-taka, etc. We shall see. Happy new year! Buon anno!

  16. He can line up how he want he just needs to fix the way we deffend. I’m tired of conseeding goals everytime our opponent attack and we need 15 chances to score a goal.

  17. I hope for serious transformation. Aside Taremi, most of the other players at Porto could dribble, and give good passes easily. Most of our players are struggling to do that: Leao, Chukwueze, Theo, Loftus-Cheek. A lot of the times we get to the opponent’s box, we don’t make the right passes to get goals. Another area is our set piece. Since Pulisic’s injury, nothing has been forthcoming from there. Our central back pairing has seen defensive improvements, but, Emerson and Theo are gifts to our opponents, when they attack us fast. Won’t be surprised if both of them are thrown to the bench.

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