AC Milan Vs Fiorentina [2–1] – Serie A 2025/2026: Max Allegri Comeback Masterclass Secures Top Spot – Tactical Analysis

AC Milan made a crucial comeback against Fiorentina at the San Siro in Milan.

They’ve now secured the top spot in the Serie A standings, exploiting the negative results of many of these opponents.

With Napoli, Juventus, and Atalanta all losing in the same fixture and Atalanta drawing against Lazio, I Rossoneri have won more than three points from this match.

The timing of this win allows them to put some distance between themselves and their direct rivals and eventually play the upcoming games with more confidence.

It is worth noting that Massimiliano Allegri’s side did not start their Serie A campaign well.

They lost their first encounter against Cremonese, but soon put together a series of wins, including a single draw against Juventus in Turin.

AC Milan also beat the title holders Napoli at San Siro, making a clear statement of their challenge for the title, knowing that the objective on paper is to secure the fourth spot.

This UEFA Champions League football objective will certainly alleviate the pressure regarding AC Milan’s possible challenge for the title.

It will help considering them as the underdogs as we move forward, with Napoli and Inter Milan being considered as more favourites for this battle.

However, it will not be surprising if AC Milan continue to challenge for the top spot, especially if they sustain this run of form and succeed in coping well with the absences and in-game circumstances.

Allegri and AC Milan needed to win this challenging game despite the absences and the tricky Fiorentina side, which appears to be a normal team to many but can be extremely powerful, especially against the big teams.

Having a head coach like Stefano Pioli, who knows many of the AC Milan players and who has led the team to winning Serie A previously, was also something to take into consideration when preparing the match, as Pioli knows their strengths and weaknesses very well.

For Fiorentina, the situation has been very disappointing so far.

The club’s hopes at the start of the season were to begin the competition with convincing wins and enter the battle for European spots early.

However, Fiorentina failed to do so despite the arrival of a head coach who knows Fiorentina very well, like Pioli.

They won zero games while losing four and drawing on three occasions.

Things are getting even worse with the painful loss against AC Milan, as I Viola have only three points and are ranked 18th in the relegation zone.

The club should find a solution to stop these negative results and start winning points, as Fiorentina’s hopes are not merely battling for relegation but are used to competing for European spots.

This solution might not necessarily be the sacking of Pioli, but the psychological and tactical work with the players to give them a huge boost and help win points to move higher in the standings before it becomes too late.

In this tactical analysis of Milan vs Fiorentina, we will explore AC Milan’s confirmed strengths and what helped them make a comeback late in the match.

AC Milan Vs Fiorentina Formations & Lineups

Following the international break, AC Milan was not so fortunate, as many key players were injured during this period, especially while playing for their respective national teams.

Allegri had to start the match without Ardon Jashari, who had been injured for a while, as well as Christian Pulisic, Adrien Rabiot, Christopher Nkunku, and Pervis Estupiñán.

Despite these key absences, it counts in Allegri’s favor that his team played with the same spirit and did not lose much of their potential and strengths, despite using players of lower quality.

For instance, Allegri had to use Zachary Athekame and Davide Bartesaghi on the flanks to make up for the absence of Estupiñán, while having to move Alexis Saelemaekers forward to play as a second striker alongside Rafael Leão, to replace the injured Nkunku.

Allegri’s choices paid off at the end of the day, and his specific decisions proved to be successful even though the team could have lost their references if Allegri had used a different lineup.

For example, Allegri could have used Strahinja Pavlović as a left wing-back, as he suggested in the press conference, that it would be a suitable solution for Estupiñán’s absence.

However, Allegri realised that it would not be the most suitable choice to make a frenetic perspective, as using. Using a defender like Pavlović on the left flank would make him cause the qualities of the defender within the defensive line and therefore, put the risks to defensive cohesion and overall performance at risk.

Started the match using the 3-5-2 formation: Mike Maignan as a goalkeeper, Pavlović, Matteo Gabbia, and Fikayo Tomori as centre-backs, with Luka Modrić dropping so often to receive the ball within the defensive line as a libero and be responsible for starting the build-up from the back.

This role was also partly executed by Samuele Ricci, as he excels at building up from the back and can play well under pressure, given that this was the first time both Modrić and Ricci started a match together.

The third midfielder was Youssouf Fofana, who was very useful in both defensive and attacking phases, thanks to his movements without the ball, interceptions, and attacking support.

Athekame and Bartesaghi were the team’s wing-backs, while Saelemaekers had to play as a second striker and sometimes leaned backwards to be an advanced playmaker just behind Leão.

Furthermore, Allegri’s in-game changes were highly successful, confirming that the head coach read the game remarkably well.

His substitution of Santiago Giménez for Athekame and his use of the striker alongside Leão helped liberate the Portuguese player even more.

They contributed indirectly to creating the first goal action soon after.

At the same time, he preferred to keep the same lineup until the last few minutes of the game, adapting his changes to those of Pioli.

In other words, Allegri waited until the last minutes to sub on the additional defender, Koni De Winter, and that’s because that substitution was a reaction to Pioli’s substitution of the dangerous veteran striker, Edin Džeko.

On the other hand, Pioli opted for a 3-5-1-1 formation using David de Gea as a goalkeeper, Marin Pongračić, Pablo Marí, and Luca Ranieri as centre-backs.

The midfield consisted of Hans Nicolussi Caviglia as a defensive midfielder, Nicolò Fagioli and Rolando Mandragora as central midfielders, with Dodô and Robin Gosens as wing-backs.

These two lines of Fiorentina looked balanced enough, and the changes that Pioli made during the second half did not change the shape and balance of the team.

However, the team’s defensive performance was marred by a few errors that cost them a lot, especially after they had taken the advantage.

At the same time, the attacking performance led by Jacopo Fazzini, an advanced playmaker, and Moise Kean, a striker, was not really that dangerous since Fiorentina were only able to shoot five times, with a single shot on target, compared to 14 attempted shots from AC Milan, four of which were on target.

AC Milan Strengths & Possible Improvements

AC Milan’s performance was not stellar but convincing enough.

It not only brought the three points but also guaranteed security at the back despite conceding a goal that could have been avoided and was scored due to confusion inside the box.

The Rossoneri are getting more and more solid and compact at the back with each match they play and that is helping them a lot in terms of confidence and in terms of being able to get back in the game like they did this time, knowing that Milan used to suffer as soon as they concede the first goal and often can’t resist conceding a second goal afterwards.

Being able to address the defensive issues by narrowing the spaces between the three centre-backs, and issuing strict instructions not only to the wing-backs but also to the midfielders and strikers to cover and mark their direct opponents tightly, helped limit the opponents’ threats and improve the team’s defensive performance.

In this game against Fiorentina, we began to see Leão defending with more dynamism and discipline than before, retreating whenever needed to block passes or intercept the ball, which counts for Allegri.

The Use Of Luka Modrić In The Defensive Phase

More importantly, Allegri’s use of Modrić as a defensive midfielder has become one of the most critical aspects that is helping the team win games lately, knowing that Modrić is now responsible not only for the build-up from the back and for assisting in the playmaking process with dangerous vertical passes but also for interceptions and defensive work.

Modrić made seven recoveries, three crucial interceptions, two clearances, two successful sliding tackles, and won six out of seven defensive duels.

With such impeccable defensive numbers, Modrić was pivotal in securing AC Milan’s defence and in limiting Fiorentina’s key passes from reaching Kean, as he was always attentive in this regard.

The following example highlights one of the crucial clearances that Modrić made, and this one in particular was executed at the 93rd minute.

Despite the late timing, Modrić was still impactful and very dynamic without the ball, blocking a dangerous crossing attempt at a crucial time, which further highlights the player’s importance within the team’s defensive organisation.

Rafael Leão Form & Impact

Helping a dangerous player like Leão regain his attacking form and regain his confidence in his abilities to create a threat on opponents is a key achievement that Allegri succeeded in reaching.

A player like Leão can be very valuable in the upcoming games, and losing him due to injury or form is a significant loss for AC Milan.

Leão played this game with unprecedented discipline and dynamism, especially in the defensive phase, and building on this performance will be fundamental for AC Milan to guarantee more balance even when using Leão.

From an attacking perspective, Leão confirmed once again that he is very tough to beat in duels and that he can score goals from anywhere, especially when having the ball on the left side of the pitch.

His goal action highlights not just the sense of responsibility he felt regarding the team’s attacking performance but also the confidence and talent that allowed him to quickly dribble past his marker and aim for a very accurate shot from distance that bounced multiple times before reaching the goal, making it very complicated to save.

Youssouf Fofana Penetrations

Another important aspect of AC Milan’s attacking tactics in this match is Fofana’s recurrent penetrations into the box and his presence usually inside the final third to add numerical superiority on key occasions.

Playing with Modrić and Ricci, both used as defensive midfielders, mainly encourages Fofana and gives him more freedom to advance and play like a mezzala.

This helped AC Milan a lot and allowed them to score additional goals.

However, Fofana needs to work further on his goal-scoring and shooting accuracy, given that his shots were off target on more than one occasion.

He also needs to work further on the shooting accuracy of his weaker foot.

Failing to direct this shot on target, despite having the space needed to do so, makes it urgent for Allegri and Fofana to tackle this issue in training.

This involves making the player face such scenarios recurrently in training and teaching them how to deal with them more accurately.

Conclusion

Overall, AC Milan’s performance was convincing enough from a defensive and an attacking perspective, even though they can be even more decisive in front of goal.

Both Pavlović and Tomori could have scored in this match, in addition to Fofana’s missed shots.

At the same time, reinforcing the defensive performances and limiting the individual errors as much as possible would definitely help the Rossoneri become even tougher to score against in the near future.