Supercoppa Italiana 2018/19: Juventus vs AC Milan

In the Supercoppa Italiana final, Juventus won their first trophy of the season with a victory over AC Milan. In a tight match, Juventus beat Milan due to their superior individual quality as well as various tactical nuances.

Why Juve’s victory was a deserved one and how the offside trap played an important role will be outlined in the following tactical analysis. Moreover, the analysis will give an insight into the possession phase of Juventus under Massimiliano Allegri.

Line-ups and formations

Juventus Turin deployed a 4-3-3 system. Allegri had to replace the injured striker Mario Mandžukić in attack. As a consequence, Paulo Dybala took over the position of the central forward. Douglas Costa was lined up next to him as the right winger.

Gennaro Gattuso stuck to the 4-3-3 formation Milan have deployed in recent matches. Striker Patrick Cutrone was put into the starting line-up, but former River Plate player Gonzalo Higuaín was not in the first XI. Right-back Davide Calabria started again and replaced Ignazio Abate.

The fluidity of Juventus

Although nominally a 4-3-3 formation, the spacing of Juventus did not display a 4-3-3. Due to the movements of left winger Christiano Ronaldo, their shape resembled an asymmetrical 4-4-2 at times.

Ronaldo often tucked inside to get closer to Milan’s goal while the left central midfielder Blaise Matuidi attacked on the left side. Matuidi and Ronaldo complemented each other very well. Whereas the French midfielder made use of his distribution and defensive qualities, Ronaldo had enough cover to constantly contribute to the attack high up the pitch.

While left-back Alex Sandro provided full width and was tasked with crossing whenever Ronaldo entered the penalty area, right-back João Cancelo attacked through the half-space. This distribution of roles was a reasonable one as the right side of Juve’s attacking department always had at least one player providing width.

Miralem Pjanić played a pivotal role during the attacking phase of the Serie A record champions. The Bosnian kept his position as a holding midfielder and distributed the ball into deeper areas.