Have you ever seen both goalkeepers sent off? Milan narrowly won because Pioli denied himself
Olivier Giroud handballs in his own penalty area, but the referee does not give handballs! Is this the fall of the VAR or the distortion of the referee?
In this round of Serie A, Milan narrowly defeated Genoa 1-0 away, and the goalkeepers of both teams were sent off in the final moment, directly creating another classic picture in Serie A history, and Giroud guarded the gate to help Milan hold the victory without risk. In fact, this game is no longer worth delving into tactical issues, but calmly think about it, the last scene of this game is indeed inseparable from Pioli's self-denial.
First half: main attack on the right, co-attack on the left
Visiting Genoa, Pioli finally made another big rotation in view of the difficult and long season ahead. This is also an option to properly retain the energy reserves of core players during the international break.
In this game, Pioli still used the flat midfield 4-3-3 position, in addition to the unchanged Meignan, Tomori, Teo, right-back starting Florenzi, right-back starting Jiaf, the three midfielders from left to right are Reindes, Adley, Moussa, Okaforre and Chukuadze are separated, and Jovic stands in the fulcrum center position. In contrast, Gilardino's Genoa sent a 4-5-1 system in which the defensive position is actually a 5-4-1 formation, which is also the foundation of Gilardino's survival this season, and the effect against strong teams is not bad at all. Is Pioli still helpless against the back five? This is also the biggest test and highlight of this game.
Pioli's parallel three-midfield propulsion is still the same, but there is one thing in particular about this pitch that is that Chukuezze often pulls back behind Moussa, who often even pushes into the box. This transposition is a little deliberate, but the actual presentation is not bad, because Chucuezze's actual position is more like a right midfielder, and Moussa is hard enough, which also ensures the flow of 4-3-3 and 4-4-2, which ensures that Milan has enough midfield strength and also forms the effect of bombing on the right side. This is clearly a change from the lack of stamina in the past few strong conversations, and there is enough vertical depth when defending, especially when defending the opponent's counter-attack, which is evident from the half-time heat map.
In this game, Milan mainly attacked the right wing, and it can be clearly seen from the Milan central axis data released by the midfield that Milan is looking for opportunities through the right side of the main attack, and the left side is also on standby at any time. Although the two full-backs were particularly deep, a combination between Te'o and Florenzi in the box was enough to speak for itself, while Te'o's high free freedom would result in a foul if Te'o lost possession of the ball, or accelerated enough distance but did not get the ball. Teo's yellow card also made Milan fans feel that it was a bit worth the loss.
Adélie is still a surprise, he has won more opportunities this month with his excellent play, and the overall rhythm is hardly a problem under his control.
Looking at the first half alone, although Milan did not pose much of a real threat, the attack was still very three-dimensional, and it can only be said that Genoa controlled the defensive rhythm well in the defensive three zones, and the defensive force investment was also very large. Considering the large area rotation, such a half-time performance is not bad and it is also very valuable.
Second half: Full winger plays
In the second half, Milan made two changes in a row, with two main wingers Leo and Christian Pulisic coming on at the same time, which also proved Milan's desire to reach the top before the international break. But Pioli proved to be in a hurry.
In the first half, Chucuadze basically completed the tactical goal, and the midfielder's choice to change him is indeed a little unclear, it should be the hope of balancing left and right while freeing Reindes, but also hoping to take the lead in the shortest time and continue the advantage of the first half. However, the actual effect was terrible, which made the attack that was originally smooth in the first half very messy in the first 15 minutes of the second half. And in the second half, Adélie's performance was far inferior to the first half, with a significant increase in mistakes, and several forced robberies and forced fouls were given a yellow card.
It wasn't until the 64th minute that Milan completed a threatening header with a counter-attack assisted by Florenzi and Leo. Pioli made bold adjustments again, replacing Ardley with Olivier Giroud for a two-centred striker, and then making counterpoint substitutions with Calabria and Florenzi. After the substitution, Moussa and Reindes were in the center, Moussa directly became a simple defensive back in the No. 6 position, while Reindes played as a central midfielder responsible for controlling the rhythm and ranked No. 8, which is also the most common use of dragging back double midfielders in football today.
This is also Pioli's self-denial of his half-time substitution. Christian Pulisic, who has been in good form this season, was not in good form this game, although he scored in the end. Before the goal, the lack of rapport between Christian Pulisic and Moussa was more evident, and the most effective right-wing attack and mobile formation of the first half completely failed, and Pioli once again ruined his skills in this game. The old problem of rushing to self-denial is still a hindrance to Pioli's emergence as a top manager.
After two substitutions, on the contrary, Genoa is more courageous to attack, although Milan can wait for the opportunity to counterattack, but the players are too far away from each other, and seizing an opportunity is only where to play, more depends on the player's personal ability. In stark contrast, Genoa made a decisive move outside the box, and Genoa had successive chances to constantly threaten the Menion goal.
A game that originally achieved a tactical advantage in the first half was almost turned into a "warm boiled frog" by Pioli himself, and in the last minute Moussa assisted Pulisic's goal in the "American connection", Pulisic stood in the box a little more, and because the dual center attracted enough defense, and Pulisic's flexible turning individual ability was brought into play, which was the result of investing enough offensive forces.
In the final moments, Meignan received a red card for his dangerous move, and Meignan was almost injured. Olivier Giroud was ordered and finally escaped because of the goal frame, Milan was in danger in front of the goal, but Genoa goalkeeper Martinez was sent off with a red card in injury time, which directly made this game a classic game of "living for a long time".
In a few years, people may not care about winning or losing, but the last ten minutes of this game are destined to become a story that is talked about in Serie A history.