Tuttosport: The four key players who facilitated Amorim’s tactical tweak vs. Lecce

In the grand scheme of things Ruben Amorim is still a young head coach, and he continues to learn on the job.

This morning’s edition of Tuttosport (via MilanPress) writes about the adaptation that Amorim made during the win over Lecce. It was not a given that the Portuguese would change his ways, given how he responded to criticism in Manchester.

“No one will ever be able to convince me, not even if the Pope himself asked me. It’s my job, it’s my precise responsibility, it’s my life. I won’t change,” he said in his previous job, when asked about trying something other than the 3-4-2-1 he knows and loves.

Signs of flexibility

However, Amorim’s fixation with this particular formation is not as rigid as some thought it might be, and as he himself had presented it.

Of the 313 games he has managed in his career, only in a couple has he started with a four-man defence. In Milan’s win over Lecce the team started with their usual 3-4-2-1 on paper, but as the game progressed, a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 formation was seen, especially in possession.

The keys to the alteration were Christian Pulisic, Samuel Chukwueze and Alexis Saelemaekers. These are three flexible players that Amorim sees as being very important, because the Rossoneri can shape-shift depending on their movement.

The first major change also concerned Mario Gila’s position, given he essentially acted as a right-back, with Pervis Estupinan the other full-back. Chukwueze and Saelemaekers operated wide but had license to cut inside, covered behind by the two full-backs.

Then, Pulisic was free to roam around Goncalo Ramos and sometimes ended up alongside him in a front two. His run in behind led to the first goal that unlocked the game, perhaps providing proof to Amorim that adaptability is the way to go.