Tactical Review of Milan’s Vital 1-0 Win Over Lazio at the San Siro

AC Milan bagged an incredibly important victory over Lazio to keep them in a UCL spot this week with an ice-cold Kessie penalty. Here’s the game in review:

Cristian Zapata and Mateo Musacchio Impactful

Musacchio received a lot of stick for conceding the penalty against Juvenuts last week but he more than made up for it by winning a critical penalty for Milan to set up for the winning goal. He was influential in keeping the pressure on the Lazio box and his seemingly random runs into the opposition box paid off. He has been a very attack minded CB and earned us a vital penalty. Zapata on the other hand deputised Alessio Romagnoli very well after his injury and proceeded to make a few confident and commanding runs at Lazio, he almost laid off a perfect through ball for Krzysztof Piatek to score. The duo closed out the match brilliantly keeping Ciro Immobile quiet and contributing in the attack.

Reina Bags First Calcio Clean Sheet

Pepe Reina demonstrated his experience against Lazio, he made incredible saves and was reassuring between the sticks. Reina was quick and his reflexes intact as he stopped some dangerous shots. Reina played a big role in Milan’s counter attacks as his quick releases were vital to injecting speed into counter early on. Moreover, he showed his level headedness in the final ten minutes when the pressure was mounting and he was marshalling his defence. He deservedly picked up his first Serie A clean sheet for Milan and his third this season. He may play another couple of games as Gigio Donnarumma recovers thus it is fantastic that he put on a solid display.

Ice Cold Kessie

Despite all the criticism he deservedly received in the aftermath of the Derby, Franck Kessie has exhibited his worth and has shown why Milan cannot perform as well in his absence. The presence he brings to the midfield is haunting for opposition, he constantly hounds opposing midfielders and his intensity is absolutely terrific. Moreover, he offers key support to Davide Calabria and Suso simultaneously shoring up our defence and attack. Most significantly, Kessie scored an ice-cold penalty sending Strakosha the wrong way to give Milan an important lifeline in the race for the Champions League spot. Kessie’s return to the team has seen a stark improvement in performances against Juve and Lazio, hopefully his good form gets us more wins. It’s also good to note that Milan collected 4 out 6 points against Lazio this season and Kessie was directly involved in both goals we scored. Onto the Coppa semifinal!

Bakayoko is Dominant

Tiémoué Bakayoko played an explosive role in the midfield against Lazio, he was fired up from the start and did well to impose himself in the middle of the park. He has begun taking up a larger playmaking role in recent weeks hence is linking up well with Piatek and Hakan Calhanolgu with some key passes and his interceptions a sight of beauty. Bakayoko was instrumental in supporting the entry of Zapata as he pulled back to a deeper CDM role to cover the back three but always drove up the field to support the attack. The Frenchman has found his feet in Italy and is one of the best Milan players week on week, let’s hope for the run of form dragging into the end of the season.

Gattuso Masterclass

Gennaro Gattuso won the battle of wits with Simeone Inzaghi in this fixture. The rhetoric going into the game favoured Rino as Lazio are on a poor run of form as were AC Milan, but Lazio also had not beaten Milan at the San Siro in years. The statements came out in press conferences and Gattuso emerged victorious with great in-game management. The significant moment was Gattuso’s decision to switch to a 3-4-2-1 following Calabria’s injury taking off Romagnoli as well. Diego Laxalt and Zapata injected energy and shook up the game and Lazio lacked a reply leading to the penalty within 10 or so minutes. Gattuso deployed the team well and his choice to play Fabio Borini ahead of Castillejo paid off, well done to him.