Serie A Women 2021/22: How the Rossonere gave away two important points against the Azzurre – tactical analysis

Milan Women hosted Napoli Women at the Vismara sporting centre for the 16^th fixture of Serie A Women and the game ended with a 1-1 draw that doesn’t suit either team. In fact, Milan lost two important points in their battle for the UEFA Women’s Champions League spot with Roma, Sassuolo and even Inter who are now four points behind Milan. At the same time, the Rossonere are now just two points away from Sassuolo and five points away from Roma, the holders of the second spot. And let’s not forget that the battle for the title is still open as well since Juventus are at the top of the standings with three points ahead of Roma. Therefore, nothing is decided yet and the battle between the top teams will surely be more intense during the final games of this season.

On the other hand, the Azzurre are actually on the edge of relegation since they have the same number of points as Fiorentina Women. However, Napoli have -9 goal difference while Fiorentina actually have -6. If things stand as they are, these numbers relegate Napoli, Lazio and Verona since the priority in terms of classification is for points then for goal difference, before resorting to exploring the number of goals scored and the head-to-head points.

In this tactical analysis article, we will break down the tactics used by both teams in this match to identify the reasons that led Milan to give away two important points at home, while at the same time exploring how did Napoli get back in the game after they were behind in score for almost the whole 90 minutes. The analysis will therefore include the identification of the tactical mistakes made by both teams.

Line-ups

Maurizio Ganz preferred to start the match with the 3-4-3 formation, relying on Laura Giuliani as a goalkeeper, Guðný Árnadóttir, Laura Agard and Laura Fusetti in defence, Sara Thrige and Linda Tucceri as wing-backs, Greta Adami and Christy Grimshaw as central midfielders with both Valentina Bergamaschi and Lindsey Thomas playing on the wings and forming a front-three in support of Miriam Longo, the team’s striker.

On the other side, Napoli Women used the 3-5-2 formation with Rachele Baldi in goal, Heden Corrado, Lana Golob and Aurelle Awona as centre-backs, Kaja Eržen and Sejde Abrahamsson as wingers with Sofia Colombo, Sara González and Claudia Mauri playing in midfield in support of the two strikers, Romina Pinna and Sole Jaimes.

Milan’s attacking issues

Milan started the match very well since they were able to score the first goal of the match at the second minute following a fatal defensive mistake from the three Napoli defenders. The action started following a throw-in that was played quickly towards Bergamaschi who noticed the possibility of passing the ball to Thomas who can run at the back of defenders. Bergamaschi’s key pass was the catalyser of this goal especially when knowing that she had the idea of the pass before receiving the ball. But then, Thomas deserves all the credit for not giving up despite seeing three defenders ahead of her. She did her best to overcome all of them and get the ball ahead of everyone and shoot towards the net.

What facilitated her mission in this action was the poor follow-up from the defenders. One of the two defenders who were so close to Thomas left her teammate in a one-on-one duel with Thomas instead of continuing the run in order to have a numerical superiority and intervene before letting Thomas get the advantage. If necessary, she could have just put her body in front of the ball to protect it and prevent such action from happening. Yet, the defender was intending to cover for the other side of the pitch in case someone from Milan becomes unmarked in inside the box. However, it would have been more efficient to continue the battle against Thomas and prevent her from touching the ball, because that was possible.

Following the goal, Milan created some chances and were able to reach the penalty box several times, but they lacked accuracy in their final touch. Moreover, some of Milan’s attacking actions showed a lack of organisation and especially a lack of attacking ideas. The same patterns were attempted without really focusing on creating something new to confuse and evade from Napoli’s defence.

This absence of ideas was noticeable during some of Milan’s actions such as during this attack when Tucceri received a pass inside the box but preferred to go for the individual option without thinking too much and without checking if her teammates are better positioned for shooting. This can only mean that the players are not well trained on specific combinations or movements in attack because there was an absence of such things in the final third.