GdS: ‘The 3-4-3 works’ – how Milan secured solid but unspectacular win over Venezia | OneFootball

AC Milan got another win and another clean sheet on Sunday against Venezia, and it was further proof that the new system is working well.

This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recalls how Milan returned from Venice with three points, got Santiago Gimenez scoring again, and earned confirmation that the new formation has fixed a few faults. Moreover, the race for the European spots is not yet over.

However, it was not a romantic gondola ride. The 2-0 victory was one that the Rossoneri had to work hard for even though they took the lead after just a few minutes. There was lots of pragmatism, and some help from Youssouf Fofana.

Anonymous Venezia

Venezia show good things in the build-up phase and they often move the ball well vertically, but they have little precision in front of goal and defensively they are found lacking.

One of those cases in which the statistics tell a clear truth: they score 60 percent of their goals from set pieces, the best in Serie A, but in open play goals they are the last. The only real shot on goal is, in fact, a free kick by Nicolussi Caviglia. Just one goal in the last six home games.

If Di Francesco doesn’t light up the attack in this final part of the season, the situation becomes dangerous. The last few rounds had given a bit of hope: draws against Napoli, Lazio and Atalanta. But Milan were more clinical and this defeat hurts.

Image: AC Milan

Pulisic goal

Milan started well, a 3-4-3 that was hard to decipher thanks to Pulisic who escaped any tactical classification and the opponents: he filled the centre as a midfielder, moved into the middle aligning himself with Abraham as a centre-forward, cut inside, took a touch and finished.

It was the other top player of the day, Fofana, who took advantage of a misplaced pass as Venezia tried to play out of the back, receiving the ball and finding the run of the American in behind.

The manifesto of success was in the beautiful dialogue between the two and in Venezia’s imbalances. Luka Jovic got hurt in the warm-up: Abraham opened up more spaces, but he didn’t have the goal-scoring sense of the Serbia.

Yeboah unleashed

It’s not that Milan have found the formula for happiness: the performance seen in Venezia is not enough for the final against Bologna, especially if Leao turns off the light after a couple of runs.

By now Conceiçao’s safety system is this 3-4-3, but more consistency and personality are needed. The slowdown allowed Venezia to reorganise after the start with disconnected departments and a dangerously high defence when Milan were countered on.

Di Francesco compacts his team: on the right Yeboah always ran at his man with speed, scaring Pavlovic. On the other side, Candé and Haps began to understand each other, exposing some of Jimenez’s defensive limitations.

Zerbin, Yeboah and Nicolussi almost scored, Yeboah scored from a Candé-Haps assist: disallowed for an offside on Busio at the start of the action, yet the fact remains that Milan were not protected.

Gimenez is back

Di Francesco tried to redesign Venezia: Gytkjaer as a striker for Fila was the correct late move, then Oristanio in place of Conde transformed the system into a 3-4-2-1 that could have been thought of before.

Milan no longer created danger and so Conceiçao chooses to protect himself with Walker for Jimenez and Loftus-Cheek in place of Leao: formally it was 3-4-3, but the intent to close up shop with five was undeniable.

In the heat of the finale, Venezia pushed high and Reijnders found Gimenez with a ball from 50 metres away, finished with a lob to make it a 2-0 win that in truth the game probably did not reflect.

It was a goal that was useless for the result, but of huge importance if it gives a jolt to the Mexican who has been on a siesta. Italian football is different from Dutch football, but Gimenez is not the ghost of recent times.