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AC Milan made a big statement in the fifth game of the season as they beat the reigning champions Napoli at San Siro.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning that Massimiliano Allegri has taken the Diavolo by the horns and, after five league games, led them to paradise. It is a paradise shared with Napoli and Roma, and a very slim one given that there are still 33 stages to go.
However, it’s been two years (October 7, 2023) since Milan had the feeling o being top, and seeing themselves up there, ahead of everyone, will fill their hearts with enthusiasm and confidence. Also because the defeated opponent is no small feat: Italian champions Napoli, 16 unbeaten.
Allegri’s satisfaction doesn’t come from the numbers alone. The performance matters even more. Milan dominated the first half, and not just on the counter-attack. They deservedly took a 2-0 lead before Estupinan, at the start of the second half, got himself sent off and conceded a penalty.
Here, after showing quality, the Rossoneri showed heart, defending the victory by fighting tooth and nail. Pulisic was the standout performer (goal and assist). Since arriving in Italy, he has scored 46 goals: no one else has matched him.
Modric directed like an artist, with his baton and a late club. Leao is back and will soon be leading the charge. After 217 days (Como, 23-2-25), Napoli taste the bitter pill of defeat. Conte’s controversial exit on the ‘not so important’ transfer window was perhaps an attempt to shake them up, but didn’t work.
The coach also bears his share of blame. Saving Beukema for the Champions League didn’t seem like a good idea. In a defence already battered by the emergency, in a direct clash, every possible certainty was needed. Indeed, debutant Marianucci was decisive, albeit negatively.
Conte didn’t find the moves to intercept Milan’s superiority and, while superior, was slow to change formation for the siege.
Debutants
Without Olivera and Spinazzola, Conte gave Spaniard Gutierrez his debut on the left. Having lost Rrahmani and Buongiorno, the coach avoided risking Beukema and also gave Marianucci his debut, even though he’s not in the Champions League squad.
It only took three minutes to realize that the idea did not work. Pulisic broke away down the left, behind Di Lorenzo, who stayed high. Marianucci, 21 years old and with zero minutes this season, has to step out of his comfort zone.
He loses him, then makes the mistake of not following him and attempting a sliding tackle. The American sprints forward and crosses low. Gutierrez gets too close, and Saelemaekers, behind him, is free to slot the ball in. Let’s call it the debutants’ dance.
Here was the tactical setup Allegri had dreamed of the previous night: a low 5-3-2 with the ever-present Modric ready to launch pinpoint, 40-metre-long balls to the feet of the wingers, and flanking him were the fast-moving midfielders, Fofana and Rabiot, ready to attack centrally.
Napoli reacted instinctively in the 11th minute (Maignan denied Gutierrez and McTominay), but then the Diavolo consolidated and conceded less and less, despite the efforts of De Bruyne, who preferred to start from the left, where McTominay usually sits, to allow the Scotsman to match his physicality with Fofana’s strength in midfield.
In the 27th minute, we saw what Allegri had in mind: Pulisic’s vertical pass found Fofana, who lifted the shot. Two touches and almost a goal: a celebration of simplicity. But reducing Milan to just counter-attacking would be wrong, as the second goal proved.
Turning point
In the 31st minute, Pavlovic went on one of his marauding runs. Fofana laid it off to Pulisic, who scores with a deflection off Juan Jesus. Marianucci was again late to read the danger, and Milan were in command.
Nine minutes into the second half, the game reopened. Maignan worked wonders on McTominay’s close-range header, but on the rebound, Estupinan held Di Lorenzo, denying him what might have been a tap-in. Penalty and a yellow card, which VAR intervened to make a red. De Bruyne made it 2-1.
The Rossoneri were down to ten men. Allegri took Pulisic off for Bartesaghi: they barricade themselves in a 4-4-1 formation. In the 24th minute of the second half, Allegri brought Leao on, hoping he can break the siege and gallop away.
Conte responded by bringing on a more direct option (Lucca), and in came crosses (Neres, Lang), and fresh ideas (Elmas). The Rossoneri’s anti-aircraft defence always thwarted Lucca. The most dangerous was Neres: he hit the post late on, but Milan held on.
The next test at the Allianz Stadium, away to Juventus, will further clarify the ambitions of Allegri’s team.
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