When Ruben Amorim said he wanted to see the players at his disposal in action, he was making a very valid point. The Rossoneri coach has a clear, defined and distinctive style of play, based on unmistakable principles that also guide the construction of the squad. The signing of Gonçalo Ramos, who we will see during the second phase of pre-season preparation, namely the one that will take place in Australia and Indonesia, found its confirmation in Francesco Camarda’s brace at Celtic Park, which provided a specific indication of the path Milan want to take.
In Amorim’s vision, Milan will be a team that plays with aggression, with a much higher defensive line and ball recovery phase compared to last season, when the instruction was to sit back around the edge of the box and then try to move up the pitch as quickly as possible, as pointed out via Milan News. In the friendly against Celtic, the counter-pressing phase was visible at times in the first half and with slightly more consistency until the 30-minute mark of the second half.
Comotto sent a clear message that he can and should be counted on, while Samuele Ricci appeared somewhat hesitant when making decisions. The back three experienced significant difficulties when building from the back, to the extent that both of Celtic’s goals came from individual (Pavlovic for the first) and collective mistakes. In attack, the best responses came in the second half, with Chukwueze able to win one-on-one duels and open up the Scottish defence. Camarda benefited from this, especially for his equalising goal to make it 2-2.
With Almstadt and Gardiner watching from the stands, Milan sent clear signals about what this squad needs in order to fully embody Amorim’s football. In defence, one or two fast players are needed who are less instinctive than Tomori and Pavlovic, because if an opponent manages to break through the pressing line, there is a need to sprint back quickly, but with more composure and less aggression.
On the wing-back positions, it is very likely that Chukwueze will specialise in that role because he has space to attack and it is there that he can develop his unpredictability. Finally, in attack, Milan will need to understand who will truly be Gonçalo Ramos’ deputy. With a hungry Camarda and a Kostic who has shown positive signs, perhaps this is the right year to allow them to develop properly, along with Cissé.
