AC Milan secured a rather remarkable win against Udinese last night, scoring four goals and keeping a clean sheet, in what was nearly a perfect night for the Rossoneri.
As stated in today’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (see photo below), when no one was hoping for it, Milan delivered a responding 4-0 win in Udine. If it hadn’t been for Mike Maignan’s head collision, which at the time seemed very serious, the evening would have been perfect
It took a while for Conceicao, but in April he finally found something that works for Milan, namely the 3-4-3 formation. Who knows, it might be the key for the Rossoneri in the return leg against Inter in the Coppa Italia semi-final. It’s the only big objective left for them this season.
In rows of three
When Silvio Berlusconi was the owner of Milan, there was an absolute ban on a three-man backline. It was always supposed to be a four-man backline with two forwards and a playmaker. Wherever he is, the president may have flinched yesterday, but it worked for the Rossoneri.
Milan, in rows of three – with the exception of the four-man midfield – kept Udinese under pressure for the entire game. Interestingly, despite the formation, the Rossoneri didn’t have super wide positions as Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic tended to drift inside, with Luka Jovic moving away from the No.9 role.
Leao was also the one who opened the scoring, unleashing a magnificent right-footed shot, and once again showed his class. The formation certainly made the most out of Milan’s left-hand side, with the Portuguese winger and Theo Hernandez having a field day for most of the games.
The Rossoneri No.10 has scored all of his seven league goals away from home, so it doesn’t seem like a coincidence anymore. As the newspaper continues, perhaps it’s due to the repeated protests of the Milan ultras, present in massive numbers even in Friuli.
Either way, while the 2024-25 season as a whole will be labelled ugly, dirty and bad, games like yesterday’s remind us that there is a beautiful and overwhelming Milan.
From whistles to applause
The scare for Maignan, helpless on the ground after the accidental collision with Alex Jimenez, at the beginning of the second half, at least resulted in the Udine crowd showing their support for the French goalkeeper (rather than the opposite).
When the player was carried out on the stretcher, the warm and sincere applause erased the memory of the racist boos of a year ago. Not to mention that the Udinese ultras booed and whistled him during yesterday’s game as well, before the collision.
A bitter note to close: as beautiful as the win was, Milan remained and will remain in 9th place in the standings, even at the end of this matchday. Today, Bologna’s fourth place is not far away, six points, but let’s stop here, the Champions League is a monstrously forbidden thought.
