Going into the long international break, Milan needed a positive result after going winless in three consecutive games, having lost in midweek to Benfica in the Europa League after away draws at Juventus and Lazio.
And they got just that, dispatching Lecce 3–0 to return to within two points off the Serie A summit five games into the season.
However, it wasn’t just that Milan shipped three past the Salentini and kept a clean sheet; it was the way they approached the game.
Ever since his struggles at Man United, Ruben Amorim has been maligned for sticking with his 3-4-2-1, often even when it wouldn’t work and facing criticism for being too rigid. And while there’s some truth to that, to say that his setup has simply no room for flexibility is an oversimplification bordering on just being plain wrong.
His United teams also changed shaped based on phases of play, with different-profile players in same roles leading to very different outcomes in similar shapes. The issue at United was less about the complete absence of tactical flexibility, and more about the overall competence of his team within the context of the Premier League.
Even so, Amorim’s words after the game, where he admitted that his Milan side would need to show he has learned from his mistakes at Old Trafford and be more adaptive than ever is unequivocally a good sign. Against Lecce, Milan were almost a 4-4-2 in attack, with Pervis Estupiñán tucking into the backline and Samuel Chukwueze staying further forward, with Adrien Rabiot partnering Luka Modrić for manoeuvrability in the middle of the park and Christian Pulisic playing a more attacking role. Mario Gila played as a right-back and made quite a mark, showcasing his valuable versatility as a player.
In his own words, Amorim facilitated a tactical movement that fitted his players more, admitting that this is something he would have to explore more to bring out the best in his players. Ahead of a three-week international break, he could hardly have asked for a better way to put pause on the proceedings, especially after the way things panned out in the three games before Lecce.
Anshuman Joshi | GIFN
