6 days ago
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AC Milan’s narrow win against Pisa didn’t just come about thanks to the brilliance of Luka Modric, but also some tactical changes from Allegri.
As highlighted in today’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (see featured image), a one-two started and finished by Modric, with the help of Samuele Ricci, saved Milan from dropping points yet again. Instead, they moved within five points of Inter, who are up against Juventus tonight.
The unbeaten streak was thus extended, now at 23 consecutive league games without defeat after the failure in the opening round. Those who never lose are inevitably candidates for the Scudetto, and there’s no hiding it any longer.
That said, it could have been a much easier evening at Arena Garibaldi for Allegri and his men. The proof lies in the formation change that he made towards the end, which definitely allowed Milan to take centre stage.
Pure Allegrismo
In the first half, as the pink newspaper continues, Milan were unwatchable for most of the time due to a very slow build-up. Pisa’s cautious, hunched-back attitude certainly had an impact too. For half an hour, nothing happened, zero excitement and plenty of yawning.
After that, however, the game came to life. Pisa created a good chance that forced Mike Maignan to a very good save, and while replays showed it was offside, it acted as a wake-up call for Milan. Suddenly, their passing became quicker and more effective.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was the one who broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, after a great cross by Zachary Athekame from the right. Playing well or poorly makes no difference; scoring is the only thing that matters, the maximum with the minimum. All things we’ve seen and heard before.
Crucial tactical changes, and back again…
At the start of the second half, the referee disallowed a lovely Adrien Rabiot strike for a handball on Niclas Füllkrug. The bad luck continued for the German with a missed penalty, hitting the outside of the post, and sparking a Pisa comeback.
Indeed, the home side regained courage and colour, equalising shortly after: the ball fell kindly to Felipe Loyola who calmly beat Maignan. As a result, Allegri dismantled and rebuilt Milan with the additions of Samuele Ricci, Rafael Leao, and Christian Pulisic, switching to a winning 4-3-3.
With Pulisic, Füllkrug, and Leao as the attacking trio, and Tomori and Bartesaghi as full-backs in a back four, Milan became more dominant than ever before. They stopped playing horizontally, instead combining width and depth.
It was eight wonderful minutes, among the best of the Rossoneri’s season. Modric engineered a splendid one-two with Ricci, finding the back of the net with a toe-poke in front of goal. Once back in the lead, Allegri reinstated the 3-5-2 in its ‘hard’ version, i.e. the 5-4-1 of resistance.
Füllkrug came off in the 90th minute, replaced by Koni De Winter, a substitution which clearly proved the fear that Pisa, bottom of the table, could draw 2-2 like in the first leg. Rabiot was sent off and that made the ending a little more dramatic, but the defenders stood tall.
Why Milan are continuing to struggle against teams like Pisa remains a key question, but Allegri, as long as he wins, is always right.
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