Hybrid press and attacking principles: Tactical analysis of Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 AC Milan | OneFootball

AC Milan fell to their second defeat in two Champions League games on Tuesday night as they were beaten 1-0 by the German champions Bayer Leverkusen in what was a controversy-filled encounter.

Victor Boniface got the only goal six minutes into the second half as he hammered in a rebound after having previously had a goal disallowed for offside, but Milan will feel that theydeserved something from the game after a positive second-half performance.

The Rossoneri also had two shouts for a penalty turned down; the first went Tammy Abraham went over inside the box and the second right at the end when Ruben Loftus-Cheek appeared to be stamped on.

Neither were given and nor were some other fouls in what was an officiating display that frustrated Paulo Fonseca. Nonetheless, the result means that Milan have lost their opening two games in the competition, and below is Rohit Rajeev‘s tactical analysis.

Milan’s defensive set-up

Milan used a mix of zonal and man-marking systems while pressing using the playing area of the pitch to transition to the different styles.

Higher up the pitch Milan used man-marking to try and block the passing lanes for the player on the ball, but if Leverkusen got past the first line of press then the team would sit back into a zonal system.

What Milan did well in the first half was execute the offside trap quite well. Just before Leverkusen’s disallowed goal you can see Theo Hernandez’s head turned towards Frimpong and he would step up to make him offside.

Leverkusen’s attacking principles

To counter Milan’s compact zonal press, Xabi Alonso placed his wing-backs very wide to stretch the Rossoneri. While positional rotations occurred in the middle of the pitch, Frimpong and Grimaldo kept hugging the touchline.

For the goal that Leverkusen scored, Alex Garcia made a third man run which went unmarked partially due to a zonal system used and partially due to individual errors. This will be something Fonseca has to work on.

Leverkusen’s pressing

Leverkusen like Milan used a hybrid pressing scheme where they pressed way more aggressively than Milan did high up the field (as we can see below), but in their own half they would use a zonal system to protect the centre of the pitch.

Milan’s best chance

Milan’s best chance fell to Tijjani Reijnders and it came after a brilliant team move with Emerson Royal making a wide run which pulled Grimaldo with him, then Christian Pulisic invited three players to press him while Reijnders made his third man run to get unmarked in the box.

One way to play through a press is for quick release of the ball. Milan executed that brilliantly which one again was wasted by Reijnders. Leao applied the same principle to release Tammy.

Corner analysis

One problem with the zonal scheme for corners is that it doesn’t account for the movements from the players in the box. Jonathan Tah made a move and got a header without any opposition.

Where Milan need to improve

There are three key areas where Milan need to take a step forward if they are to get positive results from games like this.

➤ Shooting: This doesn’t need too much explanation. Milan, despite the numbers of goals they have scored in the league above all, are still wasteful in front of goal and at this level it will prove costly. Leverkusen also missed chances to be out of sight, it must be said.

➤ Counter-pressing: Leverkusen’s first chance came from a poor counter-press execution which exposed Milan to a counter-attack.

➤ Numbers: You can see below that when Leao is putting the ball into the Leverkusen box there are 5-6 Leverkusen players and only one Milan player, with three seemingly content to stay on the edge of the box. It gives the winger no options and the danger was easily cleared.