AC Milan has been one of the most consistent Serie A teams in the 2021/22 season, thanks to solid defensive performances and efficiency in possession.
Despite dealing with a few injuries throughout the season, manager Stefano Pioli still formed the perfect partnership in I Rossoneri’s back four.
After trying different pairs in central defence, he gave the 21-year-old Pierre Kalulu a chance and employed him next to Milan’s other young defensive hope, Fikayo Tomori.
The two of them showed great maturity despite their young age and stepped up in one of the team’s most essential seasons recently.
The youngsters became crucial for Pioli’s side, allowing them to remain in the title battle.
This allowed them to stick to their strategy and be as effective in defence as they were in attack.
Kalulu has contributed well in all competitions and shows excellent potential to be one of Milan’s next stars despite lacking experience yet.
Coming from Olympique Lyon’s academy, he developed great foundations by playing as a right-back, now making him a successful ball-playing central defender.
In this scout report, we explain his strengths and use tactical analysis to examine how he contributes to Milan’s tactics.
Finding the working solution
All of Pioli’s available centre-backs struggled with injuries throughout the season, except for Kalulu.
The coach switched between Simon Kjær and Alessio Romagnoli. Tomori had secured his starting spot, although he was constantly moved from LCB to RCB.
When it became clear that the most experienced player, Simon Kjær, would be sidelined for a large portion of the season due to a cruciate ligament rupture, the manager had the difficult task of finding the best defence solution and a partnership that could keep up their solid performance.
He started experimenting and gave Pierre Kalulu and Matteo Gabbia a chance, testing out different variations and trying to answer the question of who the players best complement each other’s movement.
In March, he paired Tomori and Kalulu, and after a couple of solid displays, it seemed as though the manager had found the perfect match.
Tomori is a player who supports the build-up-play and helps the team retain possession in the early stages of their attacks, relying on lateral passing but also trying to progress the ball.
His role requires him to be more involved defensively, as he is more likely to stay behind the central area.
However, Kalulu, due to his natural right-back position, has the freedom to move into more advanced positions.
The 21-year-old shares many defensive similarities with his teammate, forming a solid partnership, but their actions in possession offer Milan some dimension.
Due to his experience as a right-back, Kalulu is more likely to join his teammates in the opposition half.
He can hold on to the ball, which allows his teammates to transition quickly and overload the advanced areas.
Both players’ defensive awareness allows them to drop back promptly, which provides security while their teammates press high and aim to win the ball back as quickly as possible.
That doesn’t mean that they are not involved in ball recovery.
The youngsters are quite successful in their direct challenges.
However, there is a slight drawback: They both can’t provide aerial stability, which is a vulnerability for the team regarding the centre-back pair.
I Rossoneri are a team that relies on their ball recovery efforts out of possession.
They most frequently stick to pressing high and trying to keep the opposition as far away from the goal as possible.
With their press, they aim to win back possession and often use that to initiate counter-attacks (3.24 per 90).
Pierre Kalulu defensive impact
Kalulu shows impressive defensive maturity despite his young age.
Despite his position in defence, he is a well-rounded player who has developed his technique, tactical understanding and spatial awareness.
That’s why he is so successful in his defensive interactions.
He can anticipate the opposing players’ movement and judge a situation correctly, deciding whether to dive into direct challenges or just apply pressure to keep the opposition away from the goal.
While his defending style is rather aggressive, and he likes to step up in direct duels, his well-measured actions and flair allow him to interact with the opposing players and the ball clearly and avoid fouling, especially in dangerous areas.
Kalulu and Tomori are among the Serie A centre-backs with the fewest fouls per 90 (0.56 and 0.6, respectively).
That makes them both extremely reliable, especially when it comes to defending in their defensive third.
He averages 9.02 defensive duels per 90 with a 73.3% success rate, which is higher than most of the players in his position in the league.
However, what sets him apart is that many of his successful efforts are done in the opposition half, which helps the team to block opposition attacks early on.
He has contributed to Milan being the most successful team in Serie A in terms of winning defensive duels.
Kalulu’s awareness and anticipation skills also result in him intercepting the ball 5.08 times on average per game, which affects Milan’s possession rate and time on the ball.
He is actively involved in pressing the opposition and recovering the ball.
With his 10.15 average recoveries per game, he allows Milan to counterattack and increases their efficiency in front of the goal.
His impact is even more significant by his ability to recover the ball and directly attack it, making forward runs himself and getting involved in the attacking actions.
His ability to hold onto the ball allows him to win back possession and quickly get the ball out of the danger zones.
That’s why Milan often avoids conceding shots and is in the top three in Serie A regarding the fewest shots against per 90 minutes.
One reason he is successful in his ball recovery efforts is his positional awareness.
He marks his targets tightly and can quickly react and recover possession, demonstrating his defensive intelligence.
Does Pierre Kalulu contribute in possession?
Starting as a right-back at Lyon, he was initially used in the same position at Milan.
That developed his offensive awareness a lot as he became used to moving into advanced positions, and he has the technical abilities to progress the ball successfully.
While now, as a centre-back, he is more focused on his defensive responsibilities, he still has the freedom to contribute to the actions in possession and support the build-up-play.
He and Tomori tend to deliver the ball to the final third, giving their more advanced teammates more time and freedom to occupy the opposition half.
With 90.3% passing accuracy, he can release pressure by often distributing the ball both laterally and forward, bypassing the opposition’s press and retaining possession.
With his movement on and off the ball, he gives the team passing options, and his constant movement out to the wide areas provides width, which allows the right-sided full-back more freedom to move forward.
His movement to the wide areas also allows him to average 1.21 crosses per 90, which gives the team even more options in attack.
Pioli has found a good balance in central defence, and Kalulu fits his tactics perfectly. He offers enough stability at the back but also provides some more options in possession.
Conclusion
Pierre Kalulu showed great potential as a central defender and proved that he might become a crucial part of the ambitious Milan team.
Showing defensive discipline and awareness while having offensive flair also brings balance between the lines and benefits I Rossoneri, who has developed a recognizable playing style under Pioli.
He became a crucial part of the title-winning season and helped the team in grabbing the trophy out of the city rivals Inter MIlan‘s hands.
