GdS: ‘Derby of defences’ – three crucial areas Allegri has worked on ahead of Inter clash

Massimiliano Allegri has been getting his troops ready for the derby at Milanello, and he has been working on some specific areas.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report, Allegri finally had all his players back from international duty yesterday. Koni De Winter and Alexis Saelemaekers returned from Belgium, Zachary Athekame from Switzerland, and Davide Bartesaghi from Italy U21 duty.

So, Milan have finally begun preparing for Sunday night’s derby against Inter in full force. The only player missing against the Nerazzurri will be Santiago Gimenez, still struggling with left ankle problems.

Otherwise, everyone is fit and ready to go. What is Max insisting on? First and foremost the defence, given that Inter are the league’s top attack.

Set-pieces

The first issue addressed at Milanello is set-pieces, one of Inter’s strengths, and not just this season. In fact, Allegri has been working on this detail for some time, so much so that the Rossoneri haven’t conceded a single goal from a corner or free-kick this season.

Against the Nerazzurri, however, even more attention to detail will be needed. Inter have two exceptional takers in Calhanoglu and Dimarco, and a fearsome array of aerial threat. Thuram, Bastoni, Lautaro (despite his height), Carlos Augusto and Bisseck are all dangers.

Milan defend against corners and set-pieces with a mixed man-zone approach. What does that mean? Max uses some players to guard certain areas and others to closely monitor the opposition’s most dangerous players.

An example: in the derby, Thuram, Bastoni and Bisseck will most likely have a dedicated marker (Pavlovic, Gabbia, Tomori and Rabiot are the main suspects). Lautaro – who ferociously attacks the near post – is more easily stoppable by putting a couple of men in the zones he likes to do damage.

The flanks

Chivu’s team are first in Serie A for headed goals (5) and not only because they know how to exploit corners and set-pieces. Even in open play, the amount of crosses poured into the box by the Nerazzurri’s 3-5-2 forces their opponents to pay extra attention to aerial balls.

Milan, for their part, are the team that has faced the most crosses into the box. However, not everything has always gone smoothly: see the goals by Baschirotto (Cremonese) and Delprato (Parma) which cost precious points.

Preventing Inter from crossing will be practically impossible, but limiting supplies is a necessity for Allegri. So, the coach is still thinking about a key selection dilemma: is Bartesaghi or Pervis Estupinan better on the left?

The Italian returned yesterday after playing two games with the U21s, while the Ecuadorian remained at Milanello to fully recover from his somewhat lacklustre return before the break against Parma.

Bartesaghi has concentration, height, and good crossing; Estupinan has experience, pace, and dribbling. Against Dumfries, the former would have been the clear favorite, if only because he could handle the physical challenge.

Without the Dutchman, Max might choose the former Brighton man. This could also be a chance to replicate a tactic that worked in another big match, against Napoli.

Spaces

In their initial build-up play, Milan could choose to drop the left-back (Bartesaghi or Estupinan) and the midfielder (Rabiot), in addition to Modric as usual, to entice the Nerazzurri to leave a space open behind them for Leao and Akanji to play one-on-one.

The idea, therefore, is to clear a space and then strike where it opens up. Against Napoli, the move worked wonders when the Rossoneri led 1-0, as Pulisic battled with Marianucci in open play and ultimately won.

In today’s session and tomorrow afternoon’s, after the standard pre-match press conference, Allegri will try out the final adjustments, also clearing up any doubts about the left side. He’ll preach to his team as usual that titles are won by not conceding goals, and derbies too.