MN: ‘Trying something different’ – the defensive changes Fonseca is making for Milan | OneFootball

It is no secret that Paulo Fonseca has wanted to change several things about AC Milan since his arrival, and the defensive changes are being seen with the Rossoneri’s style shifting in recent weeks.

When Fonseca arrived in the summer, he stated that he wanted to see a ‘dominant’ Milan. It is fair to say that has rarely been seen in the first few months of his tenure, but this is changing after some monumental results, topped by the win against Inter.

Drops are always expected with change, of course, not to the level that the Diavolo have experienced at times, but it is a work in progress, which the Portuguese head coach is very aware of.

Ahead of the Rossoneri’s clash against Leverkusen, Fonseca spoke about the style of defence he wants to see, alluding to the fact that he had multiple different set-ups for the structure. Because of this, Milan News looked into the changes, and they identified some different things.

Starting with games where Milan may not be able to be as dominant, the report suggests that Fonseca asks his team to be deeper and more compact, making central areas more difficult to penetrate – which we saw against Inter.

Fonseca asks his team to concede space in ‘less dangerous’ areas, to allow the defence to have better coverage of significant areas, rather than employing a man-to-man press, for example. Of course, danger can still come from these areas, but it is believed that Milan will eventually be better as a result of the new shape.