The San Siro hosted a dramatic affair between two Serie A giants AC Milan and Juventus on the 7th of July. This tactical analysis will break down the game that ended 4-2 to Milan.
Milan, led by Stefano Pioli, looked to create goalscoring opportunities down the flanks and hit Juventus on the counterattacks with some of their faster forwards. These tactics have not been steadfast under Pioli, who has been looking to play possession football where possible, but against tougher opposition, it is not uncommon for AC Milan to exonerate a possession focus. This game plan also worked against Lazio in their last match, beating the top two teams in Serie A on the trot, to make for a stunning rise up the table for the Rossoneri.
Juventus, managed by Maurizio Sarri, have looked mightily impressive since the return of Serie A football, producing competent and cohesive performances to back up their victories. Under the former Chelsea coach across the season, Juventus have been decidedly less dominant than previous years with Massimiliano Allegri at the helm, but they have shown improvements in recent weeks. This analysis will take a deeper dive into this game, and how Milan managed to undo much of Juventus’ recent work.
Lineups
Milan lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation which looked to play a relatively deep line, steal the ball from the opposition regularly in their half, and then run at the Juventus defence. Pioli’s side was fronted by Zlatan Ibrahimović and supplemented by Ante Rebić as a second striker, which has been a blossoming partnership as the season has continued. The wingers at the start of the match were Lucas Paquetá on the left, and Alexis Saelemaekers on the right, both tasked with helping progress the ball into the final third.
Regarding the midfield, Pioli went with Franck Kessié and Ismaël Bennacer as the central midfield pivot, both fully capable of putting in a good amount of defensive work, required by the tactics in place within this game. The back four consisted of (left to right) Theo Hernández, Alessio Romagnoli, Simon Kjær, and Andrea Conti, opting to bench much-maligned Davide Calabria. Gianluigi Donnarumma kept his place as the goalkeeper.
Juventus set out in a 4-4-2 formation by Sarri which looked to utilise the strengths of Juan Cuadrado to begin the majority of their attacks. The front two consisted of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín, with Paulo Dybala missing out because of a suspension.
The wide midfielders in this game were Adrien Rabiot and Federico Bernardeschi, with Rabiot featuring in a position unfamiliar to his typical role. The two central midfielders were Barcelona-bound Miralem Pjanić and Rodrigo Bentancur, two players capable of dictating the tempo of the match with their passing. The back four consisted of (left to right) Danilo, Leonardo Bonucci, Daniele Rugani, and Juan Cuadrado, with Matthijs de Ligt missing out due to a suspension as well. Wojciech Szczęsny retained his place as the first-choice goalkeeper.
