The European train has left AC Milan behind as they dropped yet more points in a torrid league season, this time drawing 2-2 with Fiorentina at San Siro.
Milan fell behind yet again under Sergio Conceicao in what was another dreadful start to the game. Fiorentina were firmly in control after a Malick Thiaw own-goal – his third of the season – gifted them the lead before Moise Kean was on hand to hammer in a cross from Dodo.
Tammy Abraham ensured that the deficit was halved going into the break as he fired in a Christian Pulisic assist, and then substitute Luka Jovic levelled in the second half. Both sides had chances to win it, but Mike Maignan and David De Gea made crucial saves.
One point does very little for the sides in ninth and eighth place respectively. Though it was a good advert for Serie A (maybe not for defending), it perhaps also showed why both are unlikely to get a top four spot. Rohit Rajeev has the tactical analysis from the game.
Getting it wrong again
It’s no secret that starting Yunus Musah proved to be another disaster, but why did Sergio Conceicao attempt to do it?
Well, we start from the fact that Fiorentina attempted to block Milan’s passing lines in the centre by over-crowding. Fiorentina’s shape (3-5-2) allowed them to do so.
Whenever Milan were on the ball Milan, Musah would play as a wing-back and this allowed Walker to play as a deeper centre-back who could find players between the lines.
Not only did they block the middle of the field, but Musah playing wide meant there was confusion. Pulisic was left marking nobody, Youssouf Fofana had to cover for Musah whenever he drifted wide and this meant there was literally always a player free in the middle (usually Mandragora).
This was the concept that led to the second goal. Mandragora was virtually unmarked as he was pressed by nobody and was allowed to make a switch. There are mistakes on the defenders side too but it looked like Milan were playing with nine outfield players.
Musah’s selection wasn’t only limited to this tactical misreading. Earlier Fiorentina had forced him into an error: when he was on the ball Fiorentina blocked off his passing options and it forced the American to lose the ball for the first goal.
With Musah playing wide right, Milan’s positional rotations got severely affected. Reijnders would drop into the double pivot to build up play, but Fiorentina had him outnumbered four to one.