How Milan cracked the Blaugrana

The last time AC Milan defeated the Blaugrana, it was in October 2004 courtesy a Shevchenko header. And it’s taken them 8 years to repeat that feat at the same venue. This night would remain in the hearts of every single Milan fan as it was synonymous with courage, determination, unity and sacrifice. After securing just 7 points from their first 8 league games, they’ve taken great strides to defeat the best in the business. Here we look at the how the Italian so-called “underdogs” were able to crack Barcelona’s free flowing football.

Milan defended as a unit

Statistics speak for themselves. Messi was allowed to touch the ball inside the penalty box just once throughout the 90 minutes and Barcelona had just one shot on goal. Milan never let Barcelona play their usual brand of tiki-taka football. Infact, there was hardly a moment where the visitors played like “the best team in the world”. Messi, labelled as the main threat, never looked dangerous. He became more and more anonymous as the game progressed. The midfield comprising of Kevin Prince Boateng, Ambrosini, Muntari and Montolivo closed the gaps in the middle, thereby making it difficult for Xavi and Iniesta to feed the frontmen. They also made crucial interceptions, cutting off Barcelona’s flow. At the same time, they were not afraid to press on the Barcelona players. They applied pressure throughout the game and showed real purpose to win the ball back whenever the Blaugrana started passing it around.

The back four deserve equal credit. They didn’t press forward too much and at the same time didn’t sit too deep. However, a determined performance by the midfield ensured the defence didn’t have much of a threat to deal with. The centre back pairing of Zapata and Mexes had a flexible understanding  and Mexes was even able to press forward at times. Even El Shaarawy gave a helping hand in defence. He provided vital support to Constant whenever Daniel Alves and Messi started passing it around on that right flank. No player was afraid to go for a challenge or stick a leg as they were really hungry to win the ball back.

Milan played with a mentality to win

I just spoke on how well Milan defended. However, did they park the bus? No. Milan were organised but they didn’t just defend. There is a sharp contrast between these two ideologies. Every time Barcelona lost the ball in the midfield, there were always two centre forwards in El Sharaway and Pazzini ready to pounce on the Barcelona defence. Kevin Prince Boateng supported every single attack to his level best and this was perhaps his best game in an AC Milan shirt. Even other players such as Montolivo, Muntari and Abate were highly influential in attack, with Montolivo and Muntari spreading the play and Abate whipping crosses into the box for El Shaarawy and Pazzini.  Only Ambrosini was asked to play a holding role whenever the Rossoneri ventured forward. They wanted to win, as simple as that. Though they knew they had to defend real hard against a high quality Barca side, they still played with two forwards upfront. This move showed intent, intent that winning the game was the only goal for Milan. Every time the rossoneri got the ball  and charged towards Victor Valdes, you could hear the entire stadium erupting and coming to life.

Master Tactician Allegri

From team selection to team tactics, Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri was impeccable. It was highly essential that he fielded the right line up and played the right formation. Both, he did in style. He fielded a mixture of youth and experience so that it would open the door for hitting Barcelona on the counter. He could have gone with Mario Yepes at right back but preferred Abate because of his pace. Similarly, he played the ageing Ambrosini in the midfield against the likes of Xavi and Iniesta. A highly shrewd decision. Though Ambrosini was slow, he was strong and experienced enough to stop Barca. He also trusted Pazzini, a player who doesn’t have much Champions League experience, to lead the attack and he did a decent job with some good hold up play. Bravo Allegri. After being openly criticised by Silvio Berlusconi, the pressure was on him. But he delivered the club’s fans a win with all the calmness in the world.

So it was all pitch perfect for the Rossoneri on this memorable night, defeating one of their main rivals 2-0. However, like Allegri said after the game, the job is only half done. There is still a return leg to be played and Milan will have to definitely increase their concentration levels if they are to withstand a Barcelona backlash. That said, they can take immense pride in what they’ve achieved, especially with such a young and new assembled squad. Well played Milan.