GdS: Why Thiaw has lost his spot at Milan and the two paths for his future | OneFootball

There are a number of players that the change in formation has benefited at AC Milan, but Malick Thiaw is not one of them.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, Milan have not conceded two goals in the same game for one month. From April 5 to May 5, the only time that Mike Maignan has had to pick the ball out of his net was when Ederson scored for Atalanta.

The three-man defence appears to be working, something that was almost banned during Silvio Berlusconi’s time (though Alberto Zaccheroni used it with success) but surprisingly back in fashion on the evening in Udine under Sergio Conceiçao.

Milan have been playing with 3-4-3 for four games and it has brought the desired results. The team may take risks, but they don’t concede goals. More importantly: it seems to have a solidity not seen in the many tragic evenings of the season.

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The Thiaw paradox

However, Conceiçao has curiously excluded Malick Thiaw from the rotations, who has been a starter for a long time this season. Curiously, he was often a starter when there were only two centre-backs, but is not being deployed now there are three.

Thiaw, in particular, did well with Matteo Gabbia: numbers in hand, they were clearly the best pairing. So why is Thiaw out? Because with the three-man defence, tasks and characteristics change.

Conceiçao has chosen to have two quick and aggressive outside centre-backs in Fikayo Tomori and Strahinja Pavlovic. The latter in particular plays much better as a centre-left – a role he occupies with Serbia – than in a four-man defence.

At that point, Gabbia and Thiaw are competing for a starting spot in the middle, a position that requires reading of the game, distribution, and command of the penalty area both aerially and through ground duels.

Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images

What the future holds

Gabbia got a chance and, as almost always, he was reliable. The place is his and Thiaw will have to choose in the summer: stay to fight and win it back, or respond to the calls of a Premier League or Bundesliga team, two leagues that have historically been attentive to him.

Conceicao will not make major changes from here until the Coppa Italia final, that much is certain. The three-man rearguard will be tested again on Monday in Genoa and will line up at the Olimpico on May 14, to the delight of Alex Jimenez and especially Theo Hernandez.

And so, also pay attention to the reasoning in perspective 2025-26. If the coach is a Maurizio Sarri-style fundamentalist, goodbye to the three-man defence. If instead a coach more open to variations arrives – or stays – Milan could also start again from that successful experiment in Udine.