A change in pressing and well-worked goals: Tactical analysis of Venezia 0-2 AC Milan | OneFootball

It was far from a vintage performance from AC Milan against Venezia, but they got the job done and continued some positive trends too.

The first goal took less than five minutes to come as Christian Pulisic provided a composed finish after a feed from Youssouf Fofana put him through in behind, with the American netting his 10th league goal of the season.

In the final few seconds, Santiago Gimenez ended his drought with a lovely lob over the goalkeeper from Tijjani Reijnders’ assist, making sure of the points down by the lagoon. Milan kept a third clean sheet in four games, showing that the switch to a three-man defence has boosted solidity.

When all is said and done Milan remain on course to finish ninth, but the important thing is building form and confidence in view of next month’s Coppa Italia final. Below is Rohit Rajeev‘s tactical analysis from the game.

Pressing approach

Once thing that was noticeable during the midweek derby win over Inter was how deep Milan played, to remain solid and to try restrict the chance creation from their city rivals.

However, on Sunday they pressed Venezia higher up the pitch. This is perhaps understandable given the expectation to be more dominant against a side who are inside the relegation zone.

Milan used a man-oriented pressing, reminiscent of the Stefano Pioli days where each player had to mark a player or cut off passing options.

The Rossoneri’s first goal came from a pressing move executed perfectly and aided by the fact that the home team coughed up the ball where they did.

Venezia were 1-0 down and they needed to hunt for goals. This prompted their head coach – Eusebio Di Francesco – to push his players up for a high pressing sequence.

Venezia tried to reduce the size of the playing area by pressing towards the ball side. They also tried to outnumber Milan in the build-up phase.

Right side looking dangerous

Once again Milan’s right side came to the fore as a combination of passes helped the Diavolo to play out of Venezia’s press.

A lot of teams would sit off while a goal up against a side that struggles to score, especially late in the season with not as much left in the tank. However, in the second half Milan kept up the pressure, pressing Venezia higher up the field once again.

When Kyle Walker came on at right-back, Pulisic shifted to the left wing. He would drop in to create some combination plays which Walker ended up wasting.

Gimenez’s is a product of hard work, clever movements and a good finish from the striker. Of course the pass from Reijnders is a gem, but the determination and perseverance of the former Feyenoord fan was rewarded, after a disappointing performance to that point.