UEFA Europa League 2020/21: Lille vs Milan – tactical analysis

Milan travelled to France following their win against Napoli in Serie A for their fourth Europa League matchday against Lille who are actually second in Ligue 1 and the game ended with a 1-1 draw that kept the standings as they were with Lille first and Milan second of group H.

This result was not what both teams wanted but it was also acceptable for both of them since it kept their qualification chances high. And even though the result served Lille more than Milan, the visitors also will most probably have no real big difficulties in qualification since their remaining matches will be against less dangerous teams compared to Lille. But as everyone knows, nothing is guaranteed in advance in football.

In this tactical analysis article, I will break down both teams’ tactics while carrying out an analysis of Milan’s build-up plan and attacking strengths and weaknesses as well as Lille’s attacking performance in this match.

Lineups

Lille started this match with a 4-4-2 formation which included Mike Maignan as a goalkeeper, Jérémy Pied as a right-back, José Fonte and Sven Botman as centre-backs, and Reinildo Mandava as a left-back.

In midfield, Christophe Galtier relied on Xeka and Benjamin André as central midfielders in the absence of the excellent Renato Sanches, Jonathan Bamba on the left-wing and Luiz Araújo as a right-winger and in front of them played Yusuf Yazıcı and Jonathan David.

For Milan, in the absence of the coach Stefano Pioli and his assistant, Daniele Bonera started this game with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Gianluigi Donnarumma played as a goalkeeper, and in front of him, Simon Kjær and Matteo Gabbia formed the defensive line with Diogo Dalot on the right flank and Theo Hernández as a left-back.

The midfield was formed of Ismaël Bennacer and Sandro Tonali and in front of them, Samu Castillejo played on the right-wing, Hakan Çalhanoğlu as an advanced playmaker and Jens Petter Hauge as a left-winger while the team’s striker was Ante Rebić due to the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimović.

Milan’s build-up plan and movements

Milan started this match with a different mentality compared to the first match between the two teams at San Siro. They knew the danger of attacking with many players and leaving space behind against a team that deals perfectly with counter-attacks and has quick and technical players.

And therefore, throughout the match, we often saw Milan either having the possession of the ball and trying to find ways to reach the penalty area or defending against Lille’s attack, but without playing with the high defensive block and more importantly, without including both full-backs in the attacks.