Palladino takes advantage of a vacuum: Tactical analysis of AC Milan 2-4 Bologna

AC Milan suffered their first Serie A defeat of the season as Ruben Amorim’s decision to rotate with Saturday’s derby in mind backfired.

Samuel Mbangula became only the second player to score a hat-trick against Milan at San Siro (in the three-points-per-win era), joining the legendary Gabriel Batistuta in the record books. It overshadowed Alphadjo Cisse’s brace, which had put the Rossoneri ahead in the first half.

How did Raffaele Palladino’s Rossoblu manage to score three without response in the second half and win 4-2? Rohit Rajeev has the tactical breakdown.

Set-ups and shape

Milan lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Estupiñán at left-back, Tomori at right-back and Jashari and Musah forming the double pivot.

Regardless of the personnel or positional rotations, the underlying attacking structure remained the same: a 3-2-5 shape, with Milan maintaining five players in the attacking line.

Weakness exploited early

The biggest flaw in Milan’s structure was the lack of central occupation. In their attempt to overload the wider areas and stretch the opposition, they often left the middle of the pitch vacant.

This exposed the central channels, making it easier for the opposition to exploit the spaces between Milan’s midfield and defensive lines.

Bologna’s first goal came from the intense counter-pressing often associated with Palladino’s teams. Milan initially dealt well with a Bologna counter-attack, with Estupiñán finding Musah.

However, Musah failed to escape the subsequent pressure, losing possession under Bologna’s aggressive counter-press. Bologna quickly transitioned forward, releasing Zortea to deliver a cross, while Mbangula was left unmarked between Koni De Winter and Tomori to finish.

Swift response

Milan’s first goal was a direct result of the coordinated pressing between Hutchinson and Cissé. Hutchinson applied physical pressure on Theate, while Cissé blocked his forward passing option.

With Theate’s body orientation restricting his choices, he was forced to attempt a switch of play, which Milan intercepted to capitalise on the turnover.

Hutchinson played a crucial role in Milan’s second goal. By dragging Theate out of position, he created a sizeable space behind the Bologna defender, which De Winter exploited with a long pass into the vacated channel.

Cissé’s movement was equally intelligent. He initially stayed in an offside position, keeping himself out of the defenders’ immediate focus.

However, as Tomori delivered the cross, Cissé timed his movement to get back onside and attack the ball. A striker-like movement that demonstrated excellent positional awareness and timing.

The collapse

Bologna’s second goal came from a wide free-kick situation, with Milan opting to defend using a high defensive line.

Miranda delivered an in-swinging ball towards the six-yard box, where a lack of communication between Bartesaghi and Diawara proved costly. Their misunderstanding allowed Bologna to capitalise and find the equaliser.

The central vacuum in Milan’s structure, mentioned earlier, came back to haunt them for Bologna’s third goal.

Bologna initially progressed through the middle, but Milan managed to deal with the immediate danger. However, when Bologna recycled possession, Cissé failed to track Miranda’s movement, allowing him the time and space to deliver a cross that Mbangula converted.

Bologna’s fourth goal originated from a Milan turnover on the left flank. Diawara initially won possession back, but Camarda was immediately surrounded by four Bologna players.

Unable to escape the pressure, Camarda surrendered possession, allowing Bologna to regain the ball and launch another attack.

With Amorim deploying a high defensive line, winning individual duels in the wide areas becomes crucial. Any failure to do so leaves Milan vulnerable to quick combinations and runs in behind.

Bologna repeatedly exploited this weakness by creating 2v1 situations against De Winter, while Musah was positioned too far away to provide adequate defensive support.

The data

Bologna clearly had the edge in physical intensity, covering 2km more than Milan over the course of the game.

Milan’s players, meanwhile, appeared to be struggling with fatigue, which was reflected in their reduced intensity and ability to sustain defensive pressure.