Serie A 2020/21: Sassuolo vs Milan – tactical analysis

Serie A action from this weekend threw out an excellent matchup between both Sassuolo, who went into this game with only one loss so far this season in the competition, and Milan, who are currently sitting pretty at the top of the league.

Stefano Pioli’s men have exceeded everyone’s expectations in this campaign and maintained their top spot in the division with a 2-1 away victory at the weekend. The Rossoneri’s fanbase may have started to worry that the wheels have fallen off with their last two results in the league, drawing to Parma and Genoa respectively, however, a vital three points were earned against Sassuolo thanks to goals from Rafael Leao and Alexis Saelemaekers.

Sassuolo dominated the game in terms of chances and possession statistics, but to sound cliched, the only stat that matters is the scoreline. The loss means that the I Neroverdi have dropped to sixth in the table, two points ahead of Atalanta who have a game in hand. Roberto De Zerbi will no doubt be concerned about this result as Sassuolo face Gian Piero Gasperini’s side in two games from now.

This article will be a tactical analysis of Sunday’s game. It will be an in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of both sides in their tactics, throughout the game, as well as taking a look at where each team could have improved in their set-up.

Lineups and formations

De Zerbi made wholesale changes to his starting lineup from the Sassuolo team that drew 1-1 to Fiorentina on Wednesday night. He deployed a 4-1-4-1 instead of their conventional 4-2-3-1 for this bout.

Federico Peluso and Vlad Chiriches were replaced as the centre-back partnership with Marlon and Gian Marco Ferrari, with Jeremy Toljan and Rogerio maintaining their spots as the fullbacks.