Outworked, outfought and outthought: Tactical analysis of Bournemouth 3-0 AC Milan
AC Milan suffered yet more Europa League misery on Thursday night as they were beaten 3-0 by AFC Bournemouth away from home.
It took just a few minutes for Koni De Winter to block a shot with his hand, prompting a VAR check and a penalty awarded that Justin Kluivert converted. Then, Mike Maignan had a moment of madness as he shoved Tyler Adams in the face from a corner to draw a red card and a second spot kick.
Marcus Tavernier despatched that one to give Milan a mountain to climb, which did not happen before a third goal via a wonderful free-kick from Amine Adli. Below is Rohit Rajeev‘s tactical breakdown from a night to forget in the rain on the south coast.
Set-ups and early intent
Ruben Amorim made six changes to the starting line-up from the team that beat Atalanta at the weekend. Fikayo Tomori, Pervis Estupinan, Ardon Jashari, Omari Hutchinson, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Alphadjo Cisse coming into the side.
Bournemouth made their intentions clear from the opening minutes, opting for an aggressive high press against Milan.
Evanilson led the press by closing down Maignan, while the other three attackers used cover shadows to block passing lanes and cut off Milan’s build-up options.
Milan also attempted to press Bournemouth, but with considerably less intensity. They preferred to maintain a mid-block, prioritising the coverage of passing lanes while one player, usually Cissé, stepped out to press the ball carrier.
Counter-pressing and stifled threat
However, what truly changed the game was Bournemouth’s counter-pressing rather than their initial press.
Immediately after Truffert lost possession, he recovered quickly to block the passing lane from De Winter to Moreira, while Evanilson closed down De Winter. Under pressure, De Winter surrendered possession, leading to a corner and eventually the penalty.
Even after taking the lead, Bournemouth showed no intention of easing off, continuing to apply an aggressive, physical press.
Operating in a 4-4-2, they narrowed their shape to create central overloads in midfield. As seen here, Loftus-Cheek was surrounded by four Bournemouth players, leaving him with very little room to turn or progress the ball.
.Another use was in field tilt by Bournemouth. They would create an overload on a particulat side of the field and attract Milan players toward the ball and this would create a field tilt which Bournemouth would try to play out of it.
Bournemouth clearly identified Moreira as Milan’s primary creative outlet and made sure to neutralise his influence.
They frequently used a 3v1 numerical advantage against him, leaving Moreira with little room to operate. He was often forced to surrender possession or recycle the ball backwards rather than progress play.
Bad to worse
Milan went back to a 5-3-1 formation after the goal 2-0. Bournemouth also exploited Milan’s defensive organisation during the free kick. Their players positioned themselves in the gap between the two lines of Milan’s wall, obstructing Torriani’s line of sight and affecting his positioning.
As Pavlovic jumped slightly to his right, he created a gap between himself and Koni De Winter. That small opening proved crucial, allowing the ball to find its way into the net.
Milan also played into Bournemouth’s hands with their possession approach. They attempted to build slowly from the back, forming passing triangles to progress through the thirds.
However, Bournemouth’s aggressive pressing punished the slow circulation, allowing them to close down passing options, disrupt Milan’s rhythm and force turnovers.
The data
The biggest difference between the two sides was their physical output. Bournemouth covered 110km compared to Milan’s 101km, highlighting the gap in intensity and work rate.
Amorim needs to improve the squad’s physical conditioning if Milan are to execute his pressing game effectively. Bournemouth’s PPDA of 6.82 meant they allowed Milan fewer than seven passes per defensive action on average, underlining the intensity of their pressing.
