Milan 1-1 Juventus: Emanuelson nullifies Pirlo and robs Juve of their spare man too
The starting line-ups, with the key battle highlighted
1st v 2nd in Serie A – Milan remain a point ahead, but Juve have a game in hand.
Max Allegri still has big selection problems – Kevin-Prince Boateng joined the injury list, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic was suspended.
Antonio Conte’s first nine names on the teamsheet were as expected – but Marco Borriello and Fabio Quagliarella upfront was a big surprise.
The game finished level, but Milan were the better side here – Conte made mistakes, and Milan played well. The Juve coach seemed to accept this, saying, “First of all we must praise Milan, as they played for an hour at the highest level and put us under pressure with our own weapons. Where I see that we went wrong, it’s also because they made us go wrong.”
Accordingly, the majority of the report will be looking at how Milan outwitted Juve.
Formation match-up
Juve had the players to use either a three or a four at the back. From kick off, they seemed to line up with a back four, but it quickly became apparent that Conte had decided upon a back three, with wing-backs pushing forward to provide width.
Juve had a couple of promising moments when they moved forward by switching the ball from flank to flank. With the away side playing two upfront, Thiago Silva and Philippe Mexes had no spare man, and therefore the two Milan full-backs had to drop in and provide cover – which they both did well throughout the game.
Emanuelson v Pirlo
But Milan were the better side, and the main reason was the battle between Urby Emanuelson and Andrea Pirlo. Pirlo has been enjoying a superb season for Juve in the deep-lying role, and having released him last summer, no club knows that better than Milan. Therefore, they instructed Emanuelson to pick up Pirlo when Juve had the ball, and he struggled to dictate the play. Usually he plays 81 passes per game with 85.4% completion ratio, here he played 73 with 82% accuracy – not a huge difference, but his influence was less obvious.
But crucially, Emanuelson charged past Pirlo when Milan won the ball, which meant that Juve’s spare man at the back (the reason Conte had chosen a three-man backline) was no longer evident. Milan could get the ball forward quickly, drag the back three across the pitch out of position (particularly with Robinho’s movement into deep and wide positions), and power through the gaps.
The Juve back three were stranded against the movement of the Milan front three, receiving little protection from Pirlo ahead of them, while Stephane Lichsteiner and Marcelo Estigarribia moved forward as Juve’s third and fourth highest players up the pitch in attacking moves, meaning they were in no position to defend quick breaks.
(The midfield duos of Sulley Muntari-Antonio Nocerino and Claudio Marchisio-Arturo Vidal battled in the centre, with the Milan partnership stronger in the tackle – particularly Muntari, who made nine tackles in the game. By losing the battle in this zone, Juve struggled to connect the midfield and the attack.)
So where was Conte’s mistake? The forward duo probably wasn’t right, certainly. But Juve weren’t really getting the ball forward in the first place for that to be an issue. The problem was in a deeper zone, and the interesting thing is that while a back three logically makes sense against a front two, it probably wasn’t right considering the personnel involved here. Milan’s trequartista, whether Boateng or Emanuelson, is tasked with connecting the midfield and the attack with constant running, and therefore Milan effectively play more than a front two – a front 2.5, perhaps.
The line-ups for the start of the second half
The back three could still have made sense had Juve’s holding player been more of a defensive force – Sergio Busquets, for example – but with Pirlo very much a creator and often strolling back, they were exposed in that position, especially on counter-attacks.
Although we’ve seen Juve play a back three with Pirlo ahead against other sides, it hasn’t quite been in this situation. Even against Udinese, who also play an energetic player in the number ten role (Almen Abdu), Juve were 3-5-2 but up against a 3-5-1-1 – so when Abdi moved forward Juve still had a spare man, the value of which shouldn’t be underestimated.
Juve fightback
Conte switched things at half time, moving from the 3-5-2 to a 4-3-3ish shape by bringing Simone Pepe on for Estigarribia, putting him on the right and moving Quagliarella to a leftish forward role. Interestingly, Milan’s front three seemed to widen as a result, with Emanuelson playing slightly to the right, Robinho more to the left, and Stephan El Shaarawy on for Pato to provide more energy upfront. With Juve wider at the back and two full-backs trying to get forward, Milan now had to work harder at the front.
But the main reason Juve got back into the game was Conte changing his strikers. Even here, he did things in an odd manner – Mirko Vucinic replaced Borriello on 54 minutes and went upfront – we had to wait until 70 minutes for Matri on for Quagliarella. Matri went upfront and Vucinic to the left. It seemed more logical to bring on Matri for Borriello, then Vucinic for Quagliarella – Vucinic clearly isn’t a number nine, while Matri’s ten goals make him Juve’s best striking option by a considerable distance.
Conclusion
Rarely has Conte got it wrong this season – he did here, as the formation and the identity of the starting forwards were both issues. However, he still emerges with credit – first for having the grace (and intelligence) to say he knew he made errors. Second, more importantly, for turning things around and picking up a point.
Milan were very good for the first hour, with Robinho pulling the strings and Emanuelson driving at the Juve defence – his ability to act as part-midfielder, part-forward caused real problems. Playing a shuttler as a trequartista will win Milan few points for beauty, but it does give opponents an unusual threat they find it difficult to respond to.
Hi there,
Valerón has received his first yellow card in 7 years.
Bye
cool story
Allegri is too conservative, the changes he made is too cautious. Pato is clearly out of his depth this season and should have been sold
I thought the subs made sense. Pato had a horrible first half, contributing next to nothing. He did not even pressure Buffon and other defenders when he was in position to do so. El Shaarway was much more involved in the game, even if it was a subpar performance for him.
And when Ambrosini came on for Emanuelson, Milan was under increasing pressure because the midfielders and forwards began to tire. It made perfect sense to bring some fresh legs and steel in the midfield.
Allegri did not make the first sub because he had no option left in the bench. At that point he had Bonera, Zambrotta, Inzaghi, Yepes and Amelia. With KPB and Ibra unavailable the Milan bench simply has no depth.
Dont forget Flamini, Aquilani, Seerdorf, Lopez, Nesta, Cassano, Merkel, Strasser, Mesbah (fever) and rest of our injuries as well. That been said. Emanuelson still posed a offensive threat that Juve had to deal with and it would make more sense to sub Ambrosini for either Muntari or even Van Bommel.
If it had just been Ibra and Prince we would have had very much depth in this team.
Possibly the first time I read an article here and completely disagree with some main point.
Pirlo was given hours with the ball. Emanuelson often joined the front duo when Milan where chasing the ball and they all pressed very high on the pitch. They had clear instructions to press the 3 CB and it was that pressure to originate the mistake that led to the goal. This also meant a gap between Emmanuelson the other midfielders that Pirlo exploited well. His statistics here cannot be compared to matches were Juventus play small teams and have plenty of the ball. 73 passes with 82% accuracy is a great statistic because his passes were also penetrating and therefore the success rate does not reflect their importance.
The main problem for Juventus midfield was Marchisio, whose form has deepen terribly and was very much absent from this game and the lack of mobility of Borrielo-Quagliarella. With most of his mates having a poor game and failing to provide lines, Pirlo’s game inevitably suffered but that has nothing to do with Milan’s pressure over him (that never existed) or his own faults.
I thought that Milan’s front 3 (including Emanuelson) was more playing off Juve’s back 3 and trying to disrupt their passing lanes. This allowed them to stay on Pirlo, and it’s also how they got their first goal. ‘Pressing’ doesn’t seem to quite capture what they were doing.
Also, there was a clear difference in the pressure on Pirlo before and after Milan moved Emanuelson wide to counter Juve’s shift to a 4-3-3, so I think the point is right that Pirlo couldn’t play much in the first half.
In the second half I definitely agree with you – Pirlo dictated and was allowed to force the issue.
I agree with Francisco on Borrielo-Quagliarella and Marchisio
From what I saw, when Juve won the ball in their own half and tried to have Pirlo play the out ball, Emanuelson will be harassing him. If the ball had not reached Pirlo, he would cover the passing lanes, and sadly, Juve often looked short of idea when Pirlo is not the one starting the move.
However once the ball reached Milan’s half, Pirlo was given time on the ball, at the cost of Milan staying deep and virtually giving no space between their midfield and defense line, which was exploited very well in their previous encounter by Marchisio and Vucinic. In fact the moment Vucinic found a space between the line, Milan almost had to pay with Matri’s disallowed goal.
Borriello and Quagliarella did not manage to strike an understanding with Juve’s wingbacks nor Juve’s midfielders, while Mexes and Silva tracked them down for entire first half (with van Bommel providing cover, since he did not have any direct opponent), which perhaps explains Juve’s terrible showing before half-time.
I also thought Pirlo had plenty of time on the ball. He had more touches to the ball than any other player in the match- in addition to his impressive passing stats. The main problem was the lack of movement from Juve as well as the tempo. Juve were simply too slow in possession, and there’s no getting trough this Milan side once it gets it’s shape in place. The difference in attacking urgency between the two teams was huge.
No doubt that Borrielo and Quagliarella were poor and were poor choices for the starting line up. But to me, Milan were just unable to maintain the high pressing and just flat on ran out of gas. Both teams had to play 90 minutes, but only one of them did. That’s tactics too.
I know this is a site devoted to tactics and analysis but that was a grave mistake from the ref not awarding the 2nd goal for Milan. I was surprised it wasn’t awarded.
1) On paper, Conte got it right because Milan have little width, and Juve want to control possession, but it lacks practicality. Vidal’s talent is off his high energy, versatility and quickness – he’s a driver. Continues to be under-utilized.
2) You’re giving Emmanuelson way too much credit. He looks out of place as a #10. Milan continue to lack creativity because of such a functional midfield.
3) Pato is terrible. I’ve never seen such a bad performance from any Striker. Inzaghi must have been fuming.
3)Can you explain the logic of Borrielo-Quagliarella ahead? Makes little sense.
Please do PSG-Lyon game!
While watching the game, it got me thinking. What if Kaká was there instead of Emanuelson? He´d seriously have destroyed Juventus if they left him those huge spaces to work on. Or Pastore! Emanuelson picked the wrong option or misplaced his passes again and again… If it´d been someone more skillful and intelligent, Milan would´ve won by a three goals at least, no doubt.
What if juve had players like zidane,platini who could hold the ball well and never give away possession cheaply.Then that chances you mentioned would have never happened in the first place!
As a Milan fan, I think you are putting too much emphasis on a mind gamesy comment by Conte. The first half certainly saw Juve’s gameplan disrupted effectively, but the number of actual good chances created was quite slim (though perhaps if you add the corners together they count as a decent chance). After 60 minutes or so, the ‘disruption’ (as an above commenter noted, calling it pressing isn’t quite accurate tactic simply collapsed for a lack of running. After that part of the gameplan became less effective and the subs came on, Juve were much better, though still vulnerable on the break (unfortunately, with Maxi Lopez and Ibra missing and Pato having being eaten by a giant miasma of suck we didn’t have any true strikers to capitalize on the chances that did come).
A point you make often in regards to EPL games is that many big sides lack someone in midfield who can control the tempo. I thought that was the case for us in the second half and it was quite ironic, given that Juve stole the regista to end all registas from us. Van Bommel has performed that role quite well at times, but he simply wasn’t composed enough on the ball to slow down the game and keep the ball from Juve and the result was that despite the lead Juve continued to go be able to do what they wanted to.
Milan were cleary suffering in the 2nd half since Conte gave Juventus the new shape. But I think we could have still won the game, if only Allegri, bringing in Ambrosini for Emanuelson, would have switched to a 4-4-2. That is something he often does in the last minutes of the game, and he very much did it against Arsenal. Maybe we would have not conceded that goal, which indeed came from the flank.
“Pato having being eaten by a giant miasma of suck”
You’ve put it best of all the people commenting on the Brazilian’s startling play.
Milan – A good performance, but not good enough for the win.
In defense, Silva and Mexes remain a strong partnership that defended against the Juve front two really well. Mexes has done well coming in for Nesta, and is having a good run of form. The fullbacks and the wing backs neutralized each other, which meant little width in the first half for both teams. The milan defense as a whole was rarely tested in the first half.
In midfield, Van Bommel was pressured by Quag when he got time on the ball, which meant he couldn’t help Milan dominate the ball very well. But off the ball he was great with his positioning, making a couple of important interceptions and always looking in the right place at the right time. Muntari battled with Vidal and largely won, winning more balls than his rival and playing simple balls effectively (a very good performance). Nocerino and Marchisio were up against each other, but it wasnt much of battle, with both able to keep possession well and trying to get forward, with neither tracking the other that well. Nocerino was the better attacking force though, timing his runs better and getting himself a goal.
The front three, for me, didnt actually connect very well. They missed Ibra as their focal point and with hi today, they could have won this tie when they were on top. Instead we saw Pato leading the line, who had shocking first half; no shots, no key passes and was the most dispossessed player for Milan. He couldn’t hold up the ball and got into poor scoring positions, his only saving grace being some good off the ball movement to get others into play. Urby and Robinho exploited this good movement well, getting into great positions and always looking a threat. Robinho was the bigger threat on the ball, capable of beating his man and playing a good ball or shot. Urby was actually pretty poor on the ball, but he timed his runs excellently to break into the box and also did a good defensive job on Pirlo in the first half, pressing him when off the ball.
In the second half, not much changed for Milan, except they enjoyed better possession as Van bommel was left free, while they also left Pirlo free as Urby no longer dropped onto him and stayed higher up the pitch. This pretty much lost any value Urby was bringing to the team, as he wasnt very good in the tighter areas further up the pitch. El Shaarawy also came on for the poor pato, and at least looked better on the ball when he dropped deep. but he isnt the sort of striker to lead the line either and it surely would have been better to bring him on for Urby in a deep position. Pato was poor, but his clever movement could have created space for Shaarawy.
Overall, Milan had a better defense and midfield in the first half, and were able to create chances up front – mainly through Robinho. But they always lacked a focal point in attack and their changes in the second half meant they lost the balance they had in midfield and attack.
Juventus – Looked lost in the first half, but changes saw they get back into the game.
In defense, I don’t think a back three works well with Pirlo as the holding player. It meant they continually just gave the ball to Pirlo to try and get the ball forward, rather than play it out them selves. the key to playing a back three is having a player who can carry the ball out of defense, in Chiellini they have that sort of player. But with Pirlo ahead, he rarely did, which meant they always lacked a player further forward. Chiellini was the best of the three CB’s today, as he constantly dispossessed Pato and helped cover for his team mates. Barzagli didnt look comfortable against Robinho, rarely winning the ball of him, while Bonucci was too easily dragged out of position by Pato and it was his error that lead to the goal.
The wingbacks were quiet, with Lichsteiner the better of the two, but never as effective as he was in the first round of big games Juventus played at the start of the season. The Milan fullbacks played higher up and pushed them back away from goal. This meant Juventus lacked the width they needed from their fullbacks.
In midfield, Pirlo had a mixed game. At the start of the season, like Lichsteiner, he was the key to Juventus winning the big games. But in this game his weaknesses were targeted much better. In the first half, he was pressed on the ball by Urby giving him less time to dominate the game as he usually does, while off the ball he was poor in tracking Urby forward, looking shy in the tackle and rarely tracking back with much effort. In the second half he was given more time and space and really took a grip on the game, helping Juventus get the ball forward much more effectively. And this was the problem in the first half, they just couldnt get the ball forward, as the Pirlo was pressed on the ball, the wingbacks were subdued and the Two CM’s lost their battle against the Milan two. Vidal and Muntari cancelled each other out (with Muntari actually doing a better job) while Marchisio was better on the ball but weaker defensively against Nocerino. This proved vital as he failed to track Nocerino’s run forward for the goal.
The two strikers rarely got any service, but were poor even when they got some. Quag looked dangerous on the ball, finding some good space in deep positions, but rarely got the ball and when he did it was too slow and the milan players had got into position. Borriello was poor leading the line; he didnt win any balls in the air, was poor in build up play (never really connecting with Quag) and rarely saw the ball.
In the second half, Juventus turned the game around with subs and tactic changes. As mentioned, Pirlo got more space and time and was able to get the ball forward more consistently and much faster. They also changed to a back four, which meant could have still been exposed, if Milan hadnt changed around the front three and lost any balance they had in attack. So with less defensive responsibility, the fullbacks got forward, which combined with new wingers on the pitch, meant much better width and penetration from Juventus. Which leads on the next step of the changing the forward players around. At the start of the second half, Pepe came on to add another attacking player and combined with Lichsteiner to overload the Milan LB. Quag moved over to the right, but played more narrow and let Chiellini overlap to create width and space for him.
This was working well for Juventus, but they still had Borriello up front who was no match for the Milan CB’s and meant Juventus still looked blunt in attack. It took them a bit of time (as ZM said the Subs were confusing) but they managed to bring on Vucinic (as Quag was tiring) and more importantly Matri, who lead the line much better and got the all important equalizer.
Overall, Juventus set themselves up all wrong in the first half and could have lost the game. But a better bench than Milan meant they were able to change things around while Milan basically had no options to regain control of the match in the second half. Juventus look like they have better squad than Milan, so they remain my tip for the league. Milan don’t look like they have any cover for Ibra, and without him they lack a focal point in their attack.
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ZM I’m sure I’m not the first but I have to ask: will you do the OL-PSG game? you won’t get bored watching it it was great and interesting tactically too with ancelotti’s choices and changes really interesting, i’d love to see your point of view on that game
I agree that Conte completely got the first half wrong. Milan played 4-3-1-2, formation vulnerable in wide positions because it lack wingers. Yet Juve (clearly under Conte`s instructions) attacked mainly through the middle in the first half, and failed miserably. Lichtsteiner didn`t push up as much as he use to this season (I guess because Conte instructed him to for whatever reason). Instead in that rare occasions Juve attacked out wide, the ball went left to Estigaribia, who didn`t know what to do with it. In relation to this, Conte failed to expose Milan`s weakest link – Antonini who played left back. I noticed that Emanuelson used to drop to the left when Milan was defending, and the ball was in Lichtsteiners possesion in the first half, as Alegri naturally supposed that Juve would concentrate attacks through here. But that didn`t happen way up until the second half. Conte should have started with 4-3-3 from the beginning and overload Milan`s left flank with Lichtsteiner and maybe Giacherinni (who is better in offensive play than Pepe) overlapping. In the second half Conte seemed to corrected this with the introduction of Pepe on the right, who eventually provided an assist for Matri`s goal.
I don’t think Conte instructed the squad to play mainly through the middle or Lichtsteiner to not push too much. I think he had the ball quite frequently in the Milan half. It’s just that he isn’t the player who can beat his man 1 on 1, and in yesterday’s 3-5-2 he had no support from the strikers or Vidal. Therefore he just passes the ball back to Pirlo and is overall completely ineffective, as is the limited Estigarribia. But in the 4-3-3 Lichtsteiner can link up with the winger and becomes such a strong attacking threat. And while Pepe is not an outstanding player, he links up quite well with Lichtsteiner and he had many solid performances this season.
Juve indeed was horrible for a large part of the game. I think there are various explanations for this:
Marchisio and Vidal are in bad form lately (or probably they just overperformed in the first half of the season and are not as good as Juve fans hoped they are).
While Boriello just seems to be totally useless, Quagliarella is too selfish and not creative enough to be a second striker.
Bonucci has improved during the season but from time to time still has a total blunder and therefore remains a liability.
But the worst thing were the ineffective wingbacks:
To me it seems that Estigarribia just hasn’t enough talent to start in a side that wants to contend for the Scudetto. He barely ever beats his man and his decision-making is just terrible. You could see that in his “best” scene, when he had a shot that forced a save by Abbiati: this was a very low percentage-shot, i think even a good shooter scores only 5-10% of those. But what made it so terrible is that next to him was a free man (Marchisio i think) and two other Juve players were coming from behind, so it was basically a 6 to 4 situation (Boriello and Quagliarella were already in front of the goal) which is a huge scoring opportunity, and yet he tries the low%-shot…just awful!
Lichtsteiner on the other hand was very impressive as a full back in the 4-3-3, but much less as a wing back in the 3-5-2. In the 4-3-3 he has much more space because the opponents full back is often occupied with Juve’s right winger (Pepe) and Lichtsteiner often used this space for good runs or clever passing with Pepe in 2 on 1 situations. In the 3-5-2 there is no one who drags away the opponent’s full back from him and he’s almost always 1on1 which is just not where he suceeds…
I really don’t know why Conte insists on the 3-5-2, there seem to be so many downsides: Juve doesn’t have good wingbacks, one of the best players plays out of position (Lichtsteiner) and is wasted, and Bonucci has tot start.
The 4-3-3 with the following formation seems to be so much better:
Lichtsteiner-Barzagli-Ciellini-De Ceglie (who improved a lot recently)
Vidal-Pirlo-Marchisio
Pepe/Elia (Conte should give him another chance)-Matri-Vucinic/Giaccherini
I think this squad can easily win the Scudetto, mainly because of the strong defense+Buffon+Pirlo.
The key to me was Milan’s center 3 mid’s completely dominated the center of the pitch, taking Marchisio entirely out of the match. This is what broke the link between Pirlo and the forwards. Juve managed to gain control of the second half only when Van Bommel and Co. tired, this is when Marchisio began to assert himself and maintain order in Juve’s midfield.
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The “second goal” which Buffon palmed away, might come to be a title decider. As a neutral I’d hate it if Milan lose their title because of this, because Milan would surely win this match had it become 2-0 at that point. Juve were already overwhelmed at first 45 minutes.
But Conte saw his misjudgement and rectified it brilliantly at HT. Balotelli was effected by the occasion and was never effective.
It was a classic Italian derby with very hard midfield battles.
To see a Milan midfield consisting of These four is really depressing for me.
The former purview of Seedorf, Pirlo, Kaka, Rui Costa, and even Gattuso. Now it’s Nocerino, Muntari, and the anti-christ (Van Bommel) with a left back playing trequartista. argh.
Can we please hjave the famous Milan Lab work its magic so that the team can starts as a 4213 with:
Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Emanuelson;
Ambrosini, Aquilani;
Seedorf;
Pato, Ibra, Robinho
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