AC Milan, the Italian Serie A defending champion and considered a strong opponent of Napoli this season, is rapidly falling this year.
Inter Milan, who played the 21st round of Serie A 2022-2023 at San Siro in Milan, Italy on the 6th (Korean time) won 1-0 against rival Milan.
Inter secured second place with 43 points. On the other hand, Milan missed the opportunity to outperform Inter if they had won, and were pushed back to sixth place. It was in place at 38 points.
▲ After the World Cup, Milan’s disastrous downfall
Milan’s fall in the second half, which began after the ‘2022 Qatar World Cup’, is disastrous. The only win was a 2-1 victory over lower-ranked Salernitana in the first game of the second half. After that, it crashed with 2 draws and 5 losses, including cup competitions. In particular, the last 4 consecutive losses are fatal. The Supercoppa Italiana, which was eliminated from the Coppa Italia and was able to win the trophy in a single game, suffered a 0-3 rout against Inter. After the Supercopa, they suffered three consecutive defeats in Serie A. He could not handle the difficult schedule leading to Lazio, Sassuolo and Inter.
Milan, once the biggest threat to Napoli, fell to sixth place. They recorded 38 points from 11 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses, and the gap with Napoli was 18 points. It’s not too late yet. The difference between 2nd and 6th place is only 5 points. In particular, since 4th place Lazio, 5th place Atalanta, and 6th place Milan all have the same points, if they wake up now, they can secure 4th place and defend their right to participate in the European Football Federation Champions League (UCL) next season.
▲ Key player injury, tactical change failed
The biggest problem is injuries. In particular, they are not able to cope with the gap of goalkeeper Mike Menang at all. Menann, who contributed greatly to Milan’s victory last season and was named the best goalkeeper in Serie A, has only made seven appearances this season. The candidate, Cyprian Terushanu, has a remarkable skill gap. Milan tried to acquire a new goalkeeper in the winter, but it didn’t go as planned.
In addition, key defenders Fikayo Tomori and Alessandro Florenci, and key midfielder Ismail Benasser have also left.
When facing rivals Inter in a serious slump, coach Stefano Pioli tried a deadly drug. It was a 3-5-2 formation, and it was the use of taking out Rafael Leang. It was an unconventional set-up for coach Pioli, who played almost every game in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The three-back came out for the second time this season, and the last three-back was used to appoint a large number of second-class players against the weak Cremonese in November, when the game schedule was tough. The result at that time was 0-0. This was the first time that a three-back had a strategic purpose. 안전놀이터
With the idea of holding out for the first half with Leang, the leading star, on the bench, he started a three-back game, but this strategy almost succeeded. This is because, despite giving up the initiative unilaterally, few effective shots were given in the open play situation. However, in the 34th minute of the first half, in a corner kick situation, Lautaro Martinez allowed the opening goal, and Pioli’s idea was ruined.
Until the 10th minute of the second half, three replacement cards were used, including the introduction of Leang, and returned to the original lineup of 4-2-3-1. Milan, who had no shots before, showed an equal appearance with 4 shots to 4 shots after making a large change, but could not make an equalizer. It was understandable why the odds were thrown, but the result was a failure.
In the absence of Benacer, I had to endure an abnormal arrangement as I formed a midfield with three people. Along with Sandro Tonali and Rade Krunic, he tried to change the position of original winger Junior Messias, but the result was close to failure.