Serie A 2019/20: Roma vs Milan – Tactical Analysis

Both sides came into this game amid their own issues and concerns. Roma, despite enjoying a relatively steady start, were dealing with an inconvenient injury crisis. Milan, on the other hand, were still stuck in their very own whirlwind with new manager Stefano Pioli already facing immense pressure from the fans, despite only being in charge for a single game before this one.

Before the game, Roma were on a three-match unbeaten run after suffering only a solitary loss to Atalanta in Serie A so far. In stark contrast, Milan were proving to be a team much easier to beat after losing four of their opening eight games. This form had already resulted in Marco Giampaolo losing his job at the San Siro prior to Piolis arrival in early October. In desperate need of some momentum and positive results, Milan once again faltered to another loss against a strung-together Roma side.

This tactical analysis will detail how this Roma side doomed Milan to another defeat in this seasons Serie A. Our analysis will evaluate and illustrate the tactics on display in this game and provide a precise summary of how this game played out.

Lineups

Amidst all the injuries to defensive midfielders like Lorenzo Pellegrini, Amadou Diawara, and Bryan Cristante, the usual centre-back Gianluca Mancini was given the nod to hold down the position going into this match. Alongside this, Fonseca made four other changes to the starting XI that laboured to a 0-0 away at Sampdoria. Edin Džeko reclaimed his spot up-front from Nikola Kalinić, and there were also starts for the likes of Javier Pastore, Federico Fazio and Diego Perotti. These changes also meant a change in formation, as Roma lined up in a 4-3-3 shape.

Looking at Milans team, its easy to see why some of the fans are already so displeased with Pioli. Last seasons sensational striker, Krzysztof Piątek, was again amongst the subs bench along with summer signing, Ante Rebić. After stumbling to a 2-2 draw away at Lecce last week, Piolo stuck to the exact same lineup he did in that game, with his team matching Romas 4-3-3 formation.

Milans inefficient pressing 

Piolis side demonstrated a rather token effort when it came to pressing the opposition. Despite pressing from the front with their three-pronged attack, Milan were unable to prevent Roma from escaping under the pressure.

Roma utilised Mancini to drop in between Fazio and Smalling in order to help the centre-backs deal with Milans pressing. This added an extra body to the unit of Pau Lopez, Fazio and Smalling in order to create the overload necessary for playing around Milans initial line of pressure.