Christian Brocchi’s debut game as coach saw Milan snap a five-game winless run with a victory over Sampdoria at the Luigi Ferraris on Sunday.
It was a much needed win for the Rossoneri as Milan begin the Brocchi era in the perfect fashion. After five games without a win and the continual coaching merry-go-round, Carlos Bacca’s second half goal saw Milan scrape an away win in which they dominated large portions of the game.
Sampdoria’s struggles continue as their push to survive was halted against a Milan side low on confidence. Yet, Vincenzo Montella’s men could not turn this into a victory as the much stronger Milan came away with three points heading into the final five games of the season.
Formation change culminates in victory
The Brocchi era has begun.
Culminating in this was a change of formation which saw Milan come away with three points and changing from a 4-4-2 system. The formation that was previously used by Sinisa Mihajlovic had failed in the past few weeks with Milan’s midfield constantly overrun, lacking the natural wingers to accommodate for this style of play.
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The 4-3-1-2 that Brocchi implemented was the original formation at use by Mihajlovic which also failed. This time around, it looked more natural and the players were used to this style of play, eventually seeing Milan come away with a solid victory away from home.
Bonaventura back in natural role
Giacomo Bonaventura, arguably one of Milan’s best players this season, is back in behind the strikers.
This season thus far, he has been deployed in a wide position on the left-hand side which has still seen him contribute some solid displays. The left still has not seen him play his best football, but against Samp he was back in form.
His assist for Bacca’s goal, constant creativity and solid work-rate cemented his name as one of Milan’s better performers and in turn impressing Antonio Conte ahead the Euros.
Soriano and Bertolacci fail to impress, Euros opportunity opens up
The injury to Claudio Marchisio this past weekend has opened up a spot in the Italian squad for the upcoming Euros.
Two of the candidates, Roberto Soriano and Andrea Bertolacci, both on opposing teams, were given the chance to impress Conte and both have had their recent call-ups. However, the two were outplayed and were ineffective.
Bertolacci was dragged after 53 minutes and Soriano failed to make any sort of impact in behind Fabio Quagliarella. The duo has a chance in the last few games of this season to stake their claim. Although due to the form of Jorginho, Daniele Baselli and Riccardo Saponara, their odds have dimmed severely.
Balotelli on form but does not affect scoresheet
Balotelli has started to lift his game as of late. A real change in attitude from the controversial striker has seen him start to play with a newfound confidence.
With the public admittance by Adriano Galliani that Balotelli’s loan deal may not be made permanent, Balotelli has been forced him to up his overall output, given more responsibility alongside Bacca up front. His hold-up play once again caused headaches for the Sampdoria defence, with his overall game sublime.
The only thing missing for Super Mario was a goal and Brocchi publically praised his performance. A continual run of form for the rest of the season may end up seeing him offered a permanent deal by the Rossoneri.
Much needed Bacca goal
Bacca’s season has been one of inconsistency. A player with high expectations upon signing for Milan has still managed to score 15 goals but struggled to up his output due to poor service from his counterparts.
In a new formation, he took his chance and kept up his impressive scoring rate which has seen his goal-to-shot ratio increase. Sitting a tie second in the Golden Boot behind the unbelievable feats of Gonzalo Higuain has reflected in a magnificent scoring season considering Milan’s lack of midfield quality.
In the final few games, expect Bacca to push towards the 20-goal mark and be a key focal point in Milan’s push for Europa League.
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