Breaking Down How AC Milan Can Get Cristian Zapata Back to Form

Cristian Zapata received the ball and turned to play it out of defence. Under pressure from Lorenzo Insigne, the lanky Colombian centre-back gifted the ball to Marek Hamsik. From there, Napoli scored the first of what would be four goals as they routed AC Milan in front of their own fans.

Zapata’s misplaced pass was the moment that began an embarrassing demolition, a 4-0 defeat which resulted in intensified scrutiny being placed on Sinisa Mihajlovic as Milanisti searched for explanations regarding his poor start to life as Milan coach.

A simpler manager would have searched for individual errors and found solace in the 29-year-old’s mistake, perhaps using it as an excuse to avoid a discussion of more holistic problems. However, Mihajlovic is not that manager.

A motivator and an aide, the Serb provides high standards for his best performers to aim at, but is also often found comforting those at lower ebbs. Zapata’s form has been poor and his performance against Napoli was his worst this season; if anyone needs additional tutelage, it is him.

And so Mihajlovic must find ways to bring the defender back to his best form, especially when considering the real lack of defensive alternatives he has available to him right now.

A tall, strong and aerially dominant force, the 6'1" Zapata is a useful asset on his day. However, those days have been rare of late and it is on his coach to galvanise him, considering various issues including team selection and tactics.

Consistent Selection

One thing that could boost Zapata’s chances of playing at his best on a more frequent basis would be Mihajlovic finding more consistency in his defensive line.

While he always utilises a back four, the names and faces populating that setup have changed regularly from match to match at the start of this season.

The Colombia international was brought into Mihajlovic’s starting line-up only in wake of Rodrigo Ely’s sending off during Milan’s away defeat to Fiorentina on Serie A’s opening day.

From there, Zapata partnered Alessio Romagnoli at the heart of the back line, at least until the latter’s dismissal in the away defeat to Genoa, which rendered him suspended for the humiliating Napoli clash.

Zapata has made the right-sided centre-back slot his own, though there has been great fluctuation to his right, where Ignazio Abate, Mattia De Sciglio and Davide Calabria have all appeared at various intervals.

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Generally it is accepted that a settled back line is a more stable one, so it’s understandable that Zapata may have had difficulty with the sheer quantity of adaptations forced upon him on a weekly basis so far this season.

In order to coax the best out of Zapata, as well as the rest of his defenders, Mihajlovic must pick his best back four and stick with it as much as he possibly can. 

Tactical Modifications

No other defender in Milan’s ranks plays more long balls per game than Zapata, per WhoScored. However his predilection for launching long balls is somewhat stunted by a lack of possible outlets within Milan's 4-3-1-2 system.

As a centre-back in a back four, he can only realistically aim his aerial balls to the two strikers, both of whom tend to be positioned centrally.

This means that Zapata’s long balls are often vertical, which is not ideal as the receiver then has to control the ball out of the air and hold it up before passing the ball on to a team-mate with a better view; a difficult sequence of tasks to undertake successfully, even for the best technicians.

Essentially, Milan’s lack of width in attacking areas results in their build-up play going through the middle via short passes, something that doesn’t suit the South American’s more functional style. Bringing in more width would give him better options to aim at.

Mihajlovic is unlikely to implement such a sweeping tactical change to improve the form of one player, though another modification he could more realistically bring in to aid Zapata is a deeper, more compact defensive line.

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Milan’s back four was particularly compact and deep in the Derby della Madonnina against Inter as they attempted to congest their rivals’ attacks before they gradually wore out with sloppy passes or interceptions.

Zapata was in his element in that match as there was less distance between him and his team-mates, thus there was less possibility for him to become isolated and drawn out of position. This was one of Milan’s better defensive displays this season and he played a significant part in it. Per WhoScored, he was Milan's best defender on the day.

Zapata is an experienced and capable central defender and Mihajlovic—given his lack of alternatives—would be wise to try and get the best out of him.

A more compact defensive line with greater consistency of player selection within it could allow for Zapata to re-find his finest form.