AC Milan just won their first Scudetto in 12 years as Stefano Pioli built a team with balanced performance and maturity both in and out of possession. They have been the most consistent side throughout the 2021/22 season and despite them being tightly followed by their city rivals Inter, they managed to win their last six games and lift the Serie A trophy.
Expectedly, the club don’t want to make many squad changes and have confirmed that they won’t be selling any of their key players, despite the interest from various clubs. They only want to improve what they have now and as the club legend and current technical director Paolo Maldini said – they need at least a couple of new signings to be able to continue the winning cycle.
There is one player that parts his ways with Milan, though, which might directly impact their performance. The midfielder Franck Kessié, who has been one of the best performers for the Rossoneri over the last few years is set to leave for Barcelona, which leaves a huge gap in the midfield.
In this tactical analysis, we examine the team’s current squad in the form of a scout report and look at where they underperform to find out in which positions they need to recruit.
Squad depth
Goalkeeper
Despite the controversy around Gianluigi Donnarumma’s departure, which was expected to leave Milan in a difficult position, the club made a smart move by signing Mike Maignan from LOSC Lille. The goalkeeper quickly transitioned from Ligue 1 to Serie A football to actually win the Scudetto in his first season and become a crucial part of the team’s success. His performance off the ball was impressive as he kept 11 clean sheets in the league but even more importantly, his actions on the ball had an impact on Milan’s performances in possession and gave them more options in their build-up.
Their second-choice goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusano only played in nine games in all competitions this term. While his performance wasn’t satisfying enough, conceding 12 goals, Milan won’t be looking for a replacement yet and it is more likely that the 36-year-old will end his career at the club. With the third keeper Antonio Mirante being 38 years old, though, Milan need to consider bringing in a fresh face in the near future.
Central defence
Things in central defence looked differently for Milan throughout the season. There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the starting eleven due to several injury blows that caused Pioli some difficulties in picking the right partnership.
Currenty, the manager is secure with Fikayo Tomori, Alessio Romagnoli, Pierre Kalulu, Matteo Gabbia and Simon Kjær available. It looks like he found the best-working partnership in the face of Tomori and Kalulu, who were the regular starters towards the end of the season. The two youngsters displayed impressive maturity to carry out the managers tactics and provided defensive security in the most important moment of the season.
Having Romagnoli and Kjær is also crucial for the team as their experience brings a much-needed balance as well.
Left-back and right-back
Rossoneri’s options on the left and the right-back are more limited, and the players are not completely interchangeable. Theo Hernández is the regular starter on the left and is vital for Pioli’s Milan style of play. The left back’s involvement in the attack is key for the team’s actions in possession as he provides an additional direct threat in front of the opposition’s goal. The second choice Fodé Ballo-Touré is also involved in the attack, but he is committed to creating more crossing attempts and his movement is a lot more limited to the flank.
