GdS: Solidity and systems – how Allegri is already leaving his mark on Milan

While preseason is far from the trials and tribulations of competitive football, there are nonetheless some signs from AC Milan’s first few games.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) reports this morning, the premise is that wins in preseason must be met by curbed enthusiasm, especially if the level of the opponents is lower. However, it’s also true that these test matches also provide more indications than mere training sessions.

Solid defence

The paper tries to outline the positives of the trip to the Far East. In the three friendlies against Arsenal, Liverpool, and Perth, Massimiliano Allegri’s influence has already been evident wherever possible.

The defensive resilience is particularly striking. Since the match against Arsenal, when the defensive pressure was perhaps even a little too much, the Rossoneri have shown themselves to be more solid and compact than in recent memory.

And it’s not so much a question of conceding chances or not, since with their physical condition still in its infancy, that can always happen in the summer, but more than anything the movement of the department and the team in general, which seems to make sense and hasn’t been seen for a while.

It remains to be seen whether the Rossoneri will be able to maintain this discipline when the tempo picks up.

Systematic approach

Another important indication came from the formations used. When it came to playing against teams more accustomed to controlling the game – like the two English clubs – Allegri relied on a 3-5-2 that doubled as a 5-4-1, one of the reasons that brought solidity at the back.

Against Perth, however, the 4-3-3 was chosen, which everyone expects to be the main solution. The match was different from the others, with the Diavolo called upon to dominate the game, with less chance exploit the spaces on the counter-attack. The nine goals show they did just that.

It will be interesting to see if this approach can be repeated, with the appropriate proportions, in other circumstances during the season, differentiating between matches to be interpreted defensively and others that are more proactive.