It was raining goals for the visitors as it turned out to be one of the most entertaining games in Serie A in recent times.
Sassuolos energetic play proved to be the decisive factor in their victory against the fourth-place home club, which aims for a spot in the Champions League.
The Italian manager Stefano Pioli made a name for himself on the field as a central defender—a position the Italians have always prized as the stopper, or last defender.
Italys history with its defenders is a fascinating and distinctive tale in its own right.
With their recent losing streak continuing, Milan has now lost four of their previous six games and drawn two others.
They drew with Roma and Lecce but lost to Torino in the Coppa Italia and to Inter and Lazio, who took second and third, respectively, in the league.
Although Pioli has earned a lot of respect, he is generally considered to be a nomad at best.
The 54-year-old has been bouncing between Italian clubs, including Lazio, Fiorentina, and Inter Milan, for nearly 20 years but has failed to win a major title with any of them.
As a result of his ineffectiveness in his first season with the Rossoneri, AC Milan ranked sixth in the league table.
However, they came out strong the following year, finishing in second place in the league for the first time since 2012–13.
Sassuolo’s 42-year-old Alessio Dionisi began his managerial career in 2014 after a few disappointing years as a player.
A new head coach position at Serie B club Empoli was announced for him in 2020, following interest in him for some time.
His first season at the helm saw Empoli win Serie B and secure automatic promotion to Serie A.
His strong performance at Empoli led to Serie A club Sassuolo offering him the vacant job of head coach after Roberto De Zerbis transfer.
Dionisi has managed 62 games for Sassuolo and has a dismal 30.65 win %.
In all, he has only pulled off 19 successful wins out of the pot.
But following his takeover, the team’s failure to score goals has lost its significance and is now proving to be a favourable indication.
As a race, the Neroverdi have had a mixed season thus far.
Dionisis squad has seen everything this season, from coming from behind to squandering huge leads.
However, what is more crucial is that, with more data available, patterns of improvement are now much more apparent.
After losing four in a row, Sassuolo played considerably better last weekend, tying 1-1 with Monza, who shocked Juventus by beating them at Allianz Stadium, further damaging the faltering Bianconeris chances of a comeback.
This tactical analysis will show how Sassuolo completely neutralised Milans style of play and controlled the contest.
This analysis would also include the tactics used by both managers.
Lineups
It was a 4-2-3-1 configuration used by both coaches.
For the season as a whole, Pioli has used this formation 74% of the time, making it his favourite.
Between the sticks stood the Romanian Anton Tătărușanu.
To man the middle of the defence, we have Matteo Gabbia on the left and Pierre Kalulu on the right.
Fullback positions were filled by team captain Davide Calabria and French international Theo Hernández.
Charles De Ketelaere played right above the pivots as the offensive midfielder, with Sandro Tonali and Rade Krunić as the double pivot.
Striker Olivier Giroud was positioned in the middle, with wingers Ante Rebi and Alexis Saelemaekers on each side.
Dionisi has shown remarkable versatility in terms of his ability to switch formations on the fly and in preparation for games.
He only utilised this formation 12% of the time this season, but against the champs, it paid off.
Andrea Consigli, 36, was the starter in goal
