AC Milan hosted Atalanta last Sunday for a game that meant a lot to Atalanta, who won 1-0 and consolidated their third spot in the Serie A table, with now four crucial points separating them from fourth-placed Bologna.
On the other hand, the Rossoneri lost another vital match, continuing their slow decline and extinguishing any hopes of participating in a European tournament next season.
Milan’s season has been catastrophic so far, as they currently sit in 9th place with 51 points, far from securing European qualification.
For Atalanta, things are different, as they are very close to securing UEFA Champions League participation for next season.
They are also putting on some solid performances, despite their elimination from the Champions League by Club Brugge.
In this tactical analysis, we will explore what happened in both halves, analysing Milan and Atalanta’s tactics and focusing on what went wrong for Milan.
The analysis will also shed light on both teams’ attacking performances and look at the plans behind their formation changes.
AC Milan Vs Atalanta 2024/2025 Lineups
Sérgio Conceição started the match in a 3-4-3 formation, which the team has been using since the encounter with Udinese.
The AC Milan lineup was composed of Mike Maignan as the goalkeeper, Matteo Gabbia, Strahinja Pavlović, and Fikayo Tomori as centre-backs, Théo Hernandez, Tijjani Reijnders, Youssouf Fofana, and Álex Jiménez as the midfield four, with Hernandez and Jiménez as the two wing-backs.
Up front, Conceiçãos formation opted for Luka Jović as a striker, Rafael Leão, and Christian Pulisic as wingers.
On the other hand, Gian Piero Gasperini Atalanta started the match using his typical 3-4-3 formation, knowing that Atalanta is more experienced as a team in playing according to this system compared to Milan.
The Atalanta lineup was composed of Marco Carnesecchi as goalkeeper, Raoul Bellanova, Isak Hien, and Berat Djimsiti as centre-backs, Marten de Roon and Éderson as central midfielders, Juan Cuadrado and Davide Zappacosta as wing-backs, Mario Pašalić and Ademola Lookman as wingers, while Mateo Retegui was the team’s striker.
AC Milan Counterattacking Vs Atalanta Possession-Based First-Half
AC Milan began the match with the intention of playing an attacking game.
However, they failed to do so in a remarkable way during the first half, mainly because they didnt have possession and failed to dominate the game or play inside Atalantas half.
At the same time, Milan relied on counter-attacks to create the danger needed even though the counter-attacks lacked the crucial finishing touch.
On the other hand, it was Atalanta who had more possession, attempting to exploit spaces inside Milans final third through recurrent penetrations, especially from the wings by Cuadrado and Lookman.
Both players were crucial in going for duels and cutting inside at times, as well as crossing towards the box at other times, for Retegui and the players coming from the back.
Reteguis movements were also crucial for Atalanta, but the striker was tightly marked throughout the first half.
Pašalić’s role was significant as well, especially in providing passing options for Cuadrado on the right wing and in attracting players to mark him in order to free the space for Cuadrado to advance and cross without being disturbed.
Despite that, Atalanta lacked realism and finishing in the final third, as they failed to create dangerous opportunities or shoot on goal in the first half, despite having an advantageous possession.
Rafael Leão Missed Opportunity
Milan’s initial attempts started with passes in depth towards Leão, like Fofana’s through pass at the 23rd minute that went in Leãos direction.
Still, the latter failed to coordinate his body to make the next move following the control.
This type of pass and movement from Leão towards the centre to replace Jović was a recurring feature in this game, creating the necessary spaces for Milan.
However, the problem was that the team’s attacking players did not effectively exploit these opportunities in this game.
A few minutes later, Leão had a goalscoring chance following a swift counter-attacking action from Milan, which started with Jović.
Reijnders then provided the through pass in space to Leão.
The latter did not exploit this opportunity as needed, as he attempted to lean towards the right to position himself to fix the goalkeeper and prepare for shooting.
However, Leão did not expect Bellanova to be quick enough to catch him and win the duel before he shot.
This represented poor decision-making on the part of Leão.
He could have continued his run
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