In the latest wave of three consecutive 1-0 games, the Rossoneri have led Inter by six points with one more match. It is worth mentioning that this is also the first time since the 1967-68 season that AC Milan has scored 15 consecutive Serie A away goals.
In that season 54 years ago, the championship belonged to AC Milan, and I don't know if this time I can replicate the magic.
01. Full-backs organize attacks inwards: a feature of AC Milan
a. Full-backs retract inward: multiple people in the middle run without the ball
AC Milan's front line is actually not sharp enough, and the team now has 16 players who have scored after the first 30 games in Serie A, but the most they have scored is only 8 goals.
As far as offense is concerned, the Rossoneri rely more on team movement to create opportunities. The full-backs close in midfield and are also a very common tactical highlight of the season.
This time, when Special Olympics routinely received the ball in the ribs to launch an attack, AC Milan was originally 6 people concentrated in the center circle to the front of the box.
Then Leo and Messias suddenly took off and cut across the air, taking each other's attention away, while Díaz also moved forward, taking the defender in front of Casey away.
At the moment of Theo's split, Cagliari's defensive attention had come to his right, and when Casey received the ball on the left side of the Cagliari defense, most of the opponent's defenders were in a state of back to him, or half sideways.
Although Casey's shot was far away, he had a process of full adjustment, and it was a pity that the ball finally hit the goalpost and popped up, but the quality of such a good shot was not accidental.
Special Olympics isn't just a left-back: he's the starting point of attack
Special Olympics' biggest feature in the game is that he is not just a left-back. In this game, he actually gave his teammates five key passes to bring shooting opportunities, 9 1-on-1 wins on foot and 7 wins, as well as 3 steals, 1 interception and 2 clearances.
Cagliari's 532 drop defense position is relatively thin in the midfield. Teo turned quickly and took off after the close, posing a great offensive threat.
It is clear from the GIF that after the Start of Theo this time, the opposing defender defended Giroud in front of the front, and as a result, Leo was missed. Unfortunately, this wonderful pass of Theo, Leo's shooting quality can not be flattered.
02. Long-range shooting is also tactical: Pioli does a good job
a. Focus on scheduling the center of gravity of the opponent's defense: create better shooting opportunities
Statistically, AC Milan has nearly 60% of the possession, produced 21 shots on goal, 8 more than the opponent, and the number of shots is 5-1.
One of the characteristics of AC Milan's offensive end is that the full-back plays the role of half a midfield after the inside out. Especially when the winger pulls open the flank, the full-backs connect to the inside line, so that the frequency of lateral transmission is fast and stable.
This time Messias held the ball near the end to attract two defenders, and then when Calabria and Benasser moved sideways in succession, Cagliari's entire defensive center of gravity was on the ribs on the left side.
We may not be able to say that Theo has a great opportunity to take the ball in this position, but the moment he gets the ball, the center of gravity of Cagliari's defence cannot be turned. So Special Olympics can adjust and take another step on the ball, and finally hit a burst with full force.
It is true that long-range shots are not as easy to score as single knives, but they can always be fully adjusted and burst shots, and the threat posed by professional players is still very large, especially if there are many long-range shooting masters in AC Milan.
b. Continuous hitting the wall in the middle: the goal will come naturally
Milan's only goal of the match came from two full-backs within receiving a midfield position to launch an attack.
This is a distinctive feature of Pioli's side, and Theo and Calabria do have some of the midfield qualities.
After picking up the ball in the middle of Díaz, AC Milan's entire formation moved sideways to the right, driving the Cagliari defence into motion.
A key point was that when Díaz stopped with the ball, AC Milan in the penalty area always maintained two contact points to hit the wall. Successive passes from Messias and Giroud were given to Bennacell on the front of the penalty area.
It is worth mentioning that at that time, Special Olympics formed a horn match against Giroud with Benacell, and AC Milan had many options for direct shots in front of the penalty area.
So it seems that AC Milan scored a world wave long-range shot in the whole game, but Pioli's tactical design is throughout the field.
03. The lack of stable scoring points is a pain for Milan: Pioli tried his best
Now AC Milan, you could say the team scored more points, because there were 16 people who scored in Serie A. But the team also lacked a steady scoring point, with Olivier Giroud, Ibrahimovic and Leo all scoring the most goals.
Ben Nasser's performance in this game was very good, and the data on both sides of the attack and defense was brilliant. His world wave long-range shot allowed the team to win the game.
Veteran Giroud, although he has scored many goals that have brought key points to the team, he has also missed at least two chances to score in this game. Especially this time, facing most of the empty goal, the shot was so deflected that it was a bit speechless.
When Pioli, who has always wanted to strengthen his attack, was almost hit by a cross from his opponent in the last minute, it was not known what kind of mood he was in. Former Inter veteran Keita's header was blocked by the crossbar, allowing AC Milan to escape.
AC Milan have won 11, drawn 3 and lost 1 of their 15 Serie A games this season, scoring nine more points than Inter. The away dragon is the reason why the Rossoneri occupy the top of the Serie A table, which has something to do with the radical style and oppressive style of play of manager Pioli.
If you feel that in a game, the whole team does not have a particularly outstanding player, but can still win, perhaps you really can't attribute the victory to metaphysics, but should thank the team manager.
Conclusion:
Because Inter's recent poor form will also allow AC Milan to further consolidate their lead in the table. However, napoli behind him only has a 3-point gap, and there is no room for any relaxation.
Eleven years after the team's last Serie A victory, can Pioli really bring the red and black men to life? When the season came to this point, they still really had a chance to fight for it.