AC Milan suffered their second defeat of the Sergio Conceicao era against Dinamo Zagreb, and it couldn’t have come at a worse moment.
Dinamo went ahead in the first half after a slip from Matteo Gabbia allowed Martin Baturina to seize possession and slot under Mike Maignan, and then Yunus Musah was sent off after two yellow cards to make matters worse.
Christian Pulisic got an equaliser early in the second half with an impressive low shot, yet parity was short lived as Marko Pjaca restored the lead for the home side, one that they would see out in the end.
The result means that Milan dropped from sixth in the table before a ball was kicked to 13th, and now a potentially tricky play-off tie is on the cards in February against Feyenoord. Below is Rohit Rajeev‘s tactical analysis from the game.
Ineffecient press
Milan pressed high and tried to unsettle Zagreb’s attempts to play out from the back in the same way Stefano Pioli had his side playing against mid-table teams.
However, deep in their own half Milan would have a ball-oriented approach where they would restrict the space to play the ball.
Milan’s problems in defensive transition kept continuing in Zagreb just like versus Parma, when the team would press higher up the pitch and there would be a significant gap between the defence and midfield.
The derailing moment
Musah’s red card was what unsettled Milan’s attempt to claw back into the game, but just what was the impact beyond being a man down? The American acted as a safety net whenever Fikayo Tomori would go forward to challenge his marker.
With Musah shown a red the equation changed and it led to the second goal being conceded.
