AC Milan head coach Sergio Conceicao declared a desire to try new formations in the games to come, and the use of a three-man defence is expected.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, Silvio Berlusconi had essentially banned playing with three at the back because it was immoral. He believed that only a four-man defence was suitable for Milan, and it helps when Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini are among them.
Stefano Pioli used three centre-backs from the start only in emergency situations and during the Champions League run of 2022-23, Paulo Fonseca never used it and Conceiçao has not either. However, he said something interesting yesterday in his pre-Lazio press conference.
I’ll play a few games in a different way, if I have time. From Tuesday I’ll work on another game system,” The clue is strong: Conceiçao is most likely studying using a three-man defence, but how will the team set up?
The right-sided centre-back will almost certainly be Kyle Walker, who formally plays right-back now. Theo Hernandez and Alex Jimenez could then push up as wing-backs, having more cover in transition, perhaps from Yunus Musah.
However, Milan are not a 3-5-2 team because the strengths of the attack are the wingers, Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic. Much more logical is a 3-4-3 or its narrow variant, the 3-4-2-1, with Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders having similar tasks in a double pivot.
At present Pulisic has to do a lot of work out of possession because Joao Felix, Leao and Santiago Gimenez are not famous for their defensive contribution. In a 3-4-3, however, he would have Jimenez (or Musah) to cover his back.
Milan with Jimenez, Walker (or Tomori), Thiaw (or Gabbia), Pavlovic and Theo would potentially have a five-man line and would be less unbalanced. It is a bit surprising that Fonseca and Conceiçao have never tried, except in some special last-minute situations.
With the weeks off without the Champions League, unfortunately for him, Conceicao will have time to do extensive testing at Milanello.
