How a near-perfect hour was almost thrown away: Tactical analysis of AC Milan 3-2 Atalanta
AC Milan made hard work of things on Sunday night at San Siro, but they managed to hang on to beat Atalanta 3-2.
Milan had got themselves into a very commanding position in the game through goals from Goncalo Ramos, Adrien Rabiot and Mario Gila, so much so that the question was more about the margin of victory rather than the result.
However, the Rossoneri rarely make things easy and this was to prove to be one of those rollercoaster rides, as Gianluca Gaetano and Nikola Krstovic scored to make it a one-goal game after 81 minutes.
Ruben Amorim’s side hung on, in part thanks to a huge late save from Mike Maignan. They climbed into the top four in the table too after other results. How did Amorim get the better of Maurizio Sarri (for most of the game)? Rohit Rajeev has the tactical breakdown.
Atalanta’s defensive structure
Ruben Amorim chose to make seven changes from the team that cruised past RB Salzburg in midweek. Mario Gila, Samuel Chukwueze, Yunus Musah, Luka Modric, Diego Moreira, Christian Pulisic and Goncalo Ramos all came back into the side.
Atalanta operated in a mid-block, using zonal pressing to control Milan’s build-up. This allowed Pavlović and De Winter to remain as the centre-back pairing, while Gila and Moreira pushed higher.
The entire block shifted laterally depending on which flank Milan attempted to build through, maintaining compactness and adjusting their pressing positions.
Milan’s solutions against the press
Milan looked to manipulate the zonal block by having Pulisic drop deeper to receive passes from Pavlović or the midfielders, Modrić and Musah.
Ramos also played an important role. When Atalanta blocked the direct passing lane into Pulisic with two players, Pavlović found Ramos, who acted as a relay option to redirect possession towards Pulisic and bypass the first line of pressure.
Milan also repeatedly targeted Atalanta’s left flank, looking to isolate Chukwueze against Bernasconi. In one sequence, Chukwueze almost put Rabiot through on goal, but the latter scuffed his shot.
Atalanta’s direct approach
Atalanta recognised that going toe-to-toe with Milan in possession would be difficult. Instead, they adopted a deeper defensive approach and a more direct style of play.
Krstović acted as their primary reference point, with long balls played towards him. De Ketelaere positioned himself close to the striker to capitalise on his knockdowns and contest second balls.
The build-up to Milan’s penalty
Ramos made a run beyond Atalanta’s last defensive line, stretching the defence and creating space between the second and final lines.
Musah recognised the opportunity and drove into this vacant space with the ball, breaking through Atalanta’s man-oriented marking structure. His subsequent shot struck Obric’s hand, resulting in a penalty.
Milan’s counter-pressing and defensive shape
Rather than relying solely on their organised press, Milan were particularly aggressive in counter-pressing.
Whenever possession was lost, four Milan players would immediately converge on the Atalanta player in possession, looking to surround him and win the ball back.
Out of possession, Milan adopted a 4-3-2-1 structure, with three midfielders providing central protection and two players positioned behind the striker.
It was also encouraging to see Milan consistently form their own passing triangles to play through Atalanta’s pressing traps, creating alternative passing angles and support options to escape pressure.
Beating the press
One particularly encouraging aspect was Milan’s ability to form their own passing triangles to play through Atalanta’s pressing structure.
Atalanta looked to use triangular pressing combinations to trap the player in possession, but Milan were able to create alternative passing angles and support options to escape the pressure.
It is a positive sign of the players’ growing understanding of positional play and their ability to find solutions under pressure.
The build-up to Milan’s second goal
An Atalanta player found himself in a 2v1 situation and attempted to press Modrić. The Croatian calmly evaded the pressure and found Moreira.
As Moreira looked for options, Pulisic made a run in behind the Atalanta defence. His movement dragged the defensive line deeper and opened a passing lane into Rabiot.
Moreira spotted the opportunity and played the pass, allowing Rabiot to calmly slot home. A brilliant example of how off-the-ball movement can create space for a decisive pass.
First set-piece goal under Amorim
Atalanta defended the corner using zonal marking. Modrić delivered an inswinging corner, with Rabiot, Pavlović and De Winter acting as blockers to prevent the Atalanta defenders from moving out of their designated positions. Pulisic also occupied the goalkeeper to restrict his movement.
The delivery was aimed towards Gila at the back post. With Atalanta focused on defending zones rather than tracking individual runners, Gila was left unmarked and able to attack the ball with an uncontested header.
It was a well-executed set-piece routine that exploited the limitations of Atalanta’s zonal marking.
How Atalanta found a way back
Zalewski came on for Rowe and immediately started causing problems for Milan down the flank. For Atalanta’s first goal, De Ketelaere moved towards Zalewski, dragging De Winter out of his defensive position.
This created a significant gap in Milan’s defensive structure, which Gaetano exploited with a well-timed run. Musah failed to track Gaetano adequately, allowing him to attack the opening.
Recognising Hutchinson’s lack of defensive work rate and his struggles, Sarri shifted De Ketelaere to the left wing to create an overload on that flank and put further pressure on Milan’s defensive structure.
Further attacking adjustment
Recognising Hutchinson’s lack of defensive work rate and his struggles to deal with Atalanta’s pressure, Sarri made another tactical adjustment. He shifted De Ketelaere to the left wing, looking to create an overload on that flank and put further pressure on Milan’s defensive structure.
This gave Atalanta an additional attacking presence in the wide areas and made it more difficult for Milan to maintain their defensive organisation.
Atalanta constructed a passing sequence down their right flank, targeting Milan’s left side. As the move developed, Bellanova made a run in behind Estupiñán. However, the Milan full-back was too focused on the ball and failed to scan Bellanova’s movement behind him.
Bellanova exploited that lapse in awareness, using his exceptional pace to get beyond Jashari and deliver the cross. With a recorded top speed of 35.8 km/h, he had the acceleration to create separation and turn the situation into a dangerous attacking opportunity.
Final thoughts
Milan demonstrated several encouraging signs in their build-up, press manipulation, counter-pressing and set-piece organisation. Their ability to create passing triangles and find solutions against Atalanta’s zonal structure was particularly positive.
However, the final stages exposed defensive vulnerabilities, especially in tracking runners, maintaining positional discipline and defending wide areas.
There is plenty to take positively from the performance, but the final 15 minutes also showed where Milan still need to improve.
