GdS: ‘San Siro applauds’ – how Milan overwhelmed Lecce with a more direct approach
By: Oliver Fisher
AC Milan needed a win against Lecce to ease some of the pressure that was building, and the response was a good one.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall this morning that after three goals and three points, Milan climb to 11 points and sit in fifth place, just two spots behind the leading trio of Roma, Inter and Lazio.
Is a resounding victory over a soft Lecce side enough to start talking about the Champions League places, let alone the Scudetto? No, it is better to keep expectations in check as consistency will be required.
However, the 3-0 win sets a lot of things right and calms the atmosphere ahead of the long break. It would have been difficult to spend three weeks carrying the weight of another bad result following the slip-up against Benfica in the Europa League.
The resounding win allows Ruben Amorim to work calmly on his footballing philosophy over the break. Against Lecce, we saw a Milan side focused on being direct and dangerous. It was a case of prioritising results over style, as the team needed tangible outcomes.
There were also signs of a back four, with Mario Gila and Pervis Estupinan playing as full-backs in a sort of 4-4-2 formation. Perhaps Amorim wasn’t lying when he spoke about being ready and willing to adapt.
Pulisic ends his drought
It is no coincidence that Christian Pulisic’s first start of the season coincided with the team’s most convincing performance and biggest winning margin. Pulisic raised the level of play and brought greater composure to the game.
His touch to bring down Strahinja Pavlovic’s long ball over the top – which led to the opening goal – was like Roberto Baggio’s control during that famous goal against Juventus while playing for Brescia, set up by a pass from Andrea Pirlo.
The execution was different (less elegant and relying more on luck since Falcone got a hand to it) but it was a demonstration of his clear technical ability. Pulisic also initiated the move that led to Adrien Rabiot’s goal, making it 2–0.
The American is the best player in the Milan squad, and Gerry Cardinale was right to keep him and deny him a return to the United States with NYCFC linked. Pulisic hadn’t scored since December 28 last year, a drought of 266 days, and when he is firing Milan’s attack looks much brighter.
Verticality
What was striking about Milan is that there was little reliance on wide play or crosses, and zero superfluous intricate passing in the final third. Instead, the Rossoneri focused on moving the ball upfield as quickly as they could.
In the first half, they circulated the ball in their own half, waiting for the moment a large gap would open up between Lecce’s defensive line and goalkeeper Falcone. The 1-0 goal came about this way around the 15-minute mark, courtesy of a laser-like pass from Pavlovic to Pulisic.
The American did brilliantly to bring the ball under control with his right foot and was fortunate enough to beat Falcone with a somewhat scuffed left-footed shot, though his technical execution in controlling the ball was worth the price of admission alone.
Amorim tweaked the build-up play, and the team constructed attacks more rationally, aided by the return of Luka Modrić who had missed the Benfica match. Rabiot was tireless in supporting both phases of play and assisting the 41-year-old Croatian.
Di Francesco opted for a hybrid system meanwhile. There was no trace of a 4-3-3: instead, it was a clear 5-4-1 when defending, as Pierotti dropped deep to keep an eye on Saelemaekers. In attack, it resembled a 4-4-1-1, though Lecce offered nothing going forward.
They were passive for 45 minutes, accepting Milan’s dominance in possession (75.5% to 24.5% at half-time). Milan didn’t dazzle, but they conceded little at the other end and prioritised efficiency.
Finishing the job
The pattern remained the same in the second half. The substitution of Esteban for Stulic made absolutely no difference to Lecce’s attack, which remained toothless.
Milan continued to circulate the ball with an eye on vertical passes, a strategy that paid off with the second goal. Pulisic played a sharp, direct ball to Rabiot, then the Frenchman initiated a one-two with Gonçalo Ramos and finished the return pass from the striker.
However, goals are expected from Ramos, yet the former PSG man – who had clumsily botched an overhead kick earlier in the game – remains stuck on the single goal he scored against Venezia. Yesterday, Ramos didn’t take a single shot, on or off target.
He did enough to earn a passing grade thanks to the assist for Rabiot, but he needs to do more. Diego Moreira, on the other hand, is already up to three goals. After his brace against Lazio, he scored the third goal against Lecce with a solo vertical run that showed great character.
