Big problems down the left flank: Tactical analysis of Fiorentina 2-1 AC Milan | OneFootball

AC Milan’s three-game winning run came screeching to a halt as they were beaten 2-1 by Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in a dramatic encounter that included three goals, three missed penalties and two red cards.

Fiorentina missed the chance to take the lead from the penalty spot when Mike Maignan saved Moise Kean’s spot kick after Theo Hernandez fouled Dodo, but then they did get the opener through the Milan loanee Yacine Adli with a fierce low shot.

The Rossoneri missed two penalties through Theo and Tammy Abraham, with David De Gea saving well despite the fact he should have been facing Christian Pulisic from 12 yards, something which has caused a lot of drama since.

Pulisic’s incredible volley made it 1-1 and it looked like Milan might push on to get all three points. However, Albert Gudmundsson would take advantage of a mistake from Fikayo Tomori inside the final 20 minutes to win all three points for La Viola.

It is a damaging result for Milan before the international break, and to make matters worse Theo – who gave away a penalty and missed one – was sent off at full-time for protesting to the referee. Below is Rohit Rajeev‘s tactical analysis…

Different marking systems

While Milan used a zonal marking system Fiorentina used a man-marking system and that was very evident in the way they played, even using a mid-block.

What Fiorentina tried to do was to clog the centre by overcrowding the middle of the pitch and taking risk of leaving less men at the back.

However, Milan moved the ball too slowly to take advantage of Fiorentina’s shakiness. One example is with how Theo Hernandez lost the ball and Milan had to recycle possession again.

In the situation below the Rossoneri pressed extremely well, recovered the ball but no forward pass was made and Alvaro Morata’s wayward pass ended up behind Emerson Royal, so again the move went backwards. The one time Milan moved the ball quickly, it ended up getting them a penalty.

Milan’s left side issues

One thing that a CBS commentator spoke about during the Parma game is how Rafael Leao never attacks the back post. Dodo is clearly out of position trying to mark Tammy Abraham and there is space for Leao to run into.

However the Portuguese winger stays put and the cross goes to waste, rather than being attacked with his size and speed. On the other hand you had Christian Pulisic attacking the space – not for the first time – and he was rewarded with a goal.

Fiorentina constantly attacked Theo Hernandez the entire game with 2v1’s knowing how weak the left side is, and even the touch map shows that it was indeed a targeted assault.

Moise Kean always played on the shoulder on the last defender, but Milan’s offside trap worked most of the time. However when Tomori made that individual error it worked for Fiorentina and they scored the decisive goal.

Set piece analysis

Milan conceded a goal from a throw-in and that came after a foul throw from Youssouf Fofana further up the field.

Athletic data

What is worrying from a work rate standpoint is that Milan barely covered more than 100km in the game (the usual number is a fair bit higher) while Theo surprisingly didn’t end up in the top five for distance covered or average sprint speed.