Milan doesn’t stop until it’s over. This was also seen in the Supercoppa against Juve and Inter, Como in the league, and yesterday, yet another unbelievable comeback against Parma: from 1-2 to 3-2 in stoppage time, Reijnders in the 92nd minute and Chukwueze in the 95th, when a knockout seemed inevitable. Juve and fifth place are now in their sights, though Bologna stands in the way, as pointed out by La Gazzetta dello Sport in this morning's print edition.
Questions remain....
Three points, but also several questions in a week where the Champions League position will be decided in Zagreb, leading to the third derby of the season. Inter has lost two, but they’re now back in great form.
Youssouf Fofana will be unavailable due to suspension, which is a blow for a midfield desperately needing his physicality: Ismael Bennacer plays a different role. Conceição finds reassurance in Reijnders, someone who never disappoints even on less exciting days, recovers the dominant Strahinja Pavlovic from his debut, but sees Theo inevitably fade and struggles to get consistency from Rafael Leao. These aren’t the only issues on Milan’s agenda: their on-field approach leaves them exposed to counterattacks, Morata is struggling terribly to find the target, and Allegri used to praise him as a second striker, explaining the insistence on Gimenez. As if that weren’t enough, there was the Conceição-Calabria dispute, the coach and the captain, during the celebration after the 90th minute. Unacceptable, whatever the reasons. If Milan had lost, would it have come to blows?
Fabio Pecchia’s Plan against Milan
Sergio “Rimontão” nearly fell into Parma's coach Fabio Pecchia’s ambush. If we talk about play and especially mentality in management, Parma was better up until the 80th minute. There’s courage and a fair dose of visionary tactics in the 4-2-4 they presented: Dennis Man wasn’t a central attacking midfielder linking the midfield but stayed in line with Djurić, forcing Conceição to drop Fofana between the center-backs. Even under pressure, Parma splits the sections of the field, remaining 36 meters long and compact: the Hernani-Sohm midfield acts as a barrier, and the plan involves launching balls for Mihaila and Cancellieri, who cut inside from the flanks to create danger. This script shouldn’t be surprising: Parma is second in the standings for vertical attacks and shots from counters. Curiously, Milan is in first place but prefers possession (60%) and attacking, exposing themselves on both cheeks.
Twice Behind
Parma took the lead twice. In the first half, Cancellieri’s counterattack, aided by Theo’s slip, hurt Maignan. But (the "harakiri" is from the Suzuki goalkeeper, who skids in a turn, inexplicably pushing Pavlovic in the area): penalty, and Pulisic makes it 1-1. In the second half, Parma went ahead again with Delprato’s counterattack for the 2-1 after ten minutes.
Milan boss Conceicao and his response
You can say what you will about Conceição, his Porto wasn’t an example of beautiful football, but he has sprinter-like reaction times on the bench. He reshaped Milan. At the 45th minute, off went Theo and Leao without regret: Bartesaghi took the flank, Bennacer the midfield, and Musah shifted to the wing. After the second goal, Chukwueze and Abraham came on to form a trident with Pulisic.
Still a 4-3-3 but more aggressive. Parma lost momentum and certainly wasn’t helped by its substitutions: Haj, Hainaut, and Lovik provided less coverage, and Camara and Almqvist formed a lightweight attacking pair. The 4-2-4 became a 4-4-2 that came close to 3-1 but ultimately lost structure, courage, and marking in the final moments: at the 92nd minute, Reijnders was left free to slip in from a free kick, and at the 95th minute, Chukwueze beat Suzuki on the goal line.
Conclusions
Parma is increasingly in the danger zone, but they hadn’t scored from open play since December 15. Milan must reflect. To illustrate how rare the 3-2 is: it’s the first time in Serie A history that Milan has won by coming back from two goals after the 90th minute. The moral is that comebacks are thrilling, but wouldn’t it be better to prevent them?
Source: Gazzetta dello Sport
