M'Baye Niang Impresses for AC Milan in Friendly Win over Bayern Munich

Much of the discussion surrounding Vincenzo Montella’s appointment as AC Milan head coach has been centred on his style of play. With Fiorentina, he implemented beautiful passing football that neutrals admired.

However, the former AS Roma striker showed a different side to his tactical game on Thursday morning as he led his team to a penalty shootout win over Bayern Munich following a 3-3 draw in normal time in the International Champions Cup in Chicago.

This Rossoneri performance was one built on a defence-first approach, and M’Baye Niang was vital to its success.

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The Frenchman opened the scoring on 23 minutes, capitalising on the slow reactions of German centre-back Holger Badstuber to run clean through on goal. The striker then took his time and patiently waited for goalkeeper Sven Ulreich to come out before slotting it beyond his opponent with unerring cool.

Bayern showed glimpses of why they have been Bundesliga champions for three consecutive years, however, coming back from Niang’s strike to go 2-1 up courtesy of two excellent finishes. The first, from Franck Ribery, was a volley that came after some good work down the left flank; the second, an accurate shot from David Alaba, was from well outside the penalty box.

Milan played with far greater control in possession in the second half, albeit they retained their counter-attacking emphasis. Their improved display led to goals, as Andrea Bertolacci fired home an equaliser from close range on 49 minutes before substitute Juraj Kucka put his side ahead with a deflected left-footed strike from range 12 minutes later.

Bayern eventually levelled once again, as Jherson Vergara, who came on at right-back, brought down Juan Bernat inside the box. Ribery stepped up and slotted beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma to make it 3-3, though the German side wouldn’t enjoy such success against the young goalkeeper in the shootout.

After some composed finishes, including a Panenka from Kucka, the 17-year-old guessed correctly when diving to his left to keep out Rafinha’s penalty. This teed up Giacomo Bonaventura to win the match, something he did with aplomb, smashing his shot into the top-left corner.

Overall it was a fine team performance from Milan, although it didn’t necessarily fit with the expectations of what Montella would bring to the team stylistically.

Club legend Franco Baresi discussed this with Milan TV (h/t Football Italia) and said: “His teams always play with the ball, with personality and try to impose their game.

"The Rossoneri must try to assimilate to this idea and find the right position to establish themselves. Montella has to transmit his desire and these intentions.”

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In Milan’s opening friendly of pre-season, a 2-1 win against Bordeaux, elements of this football were evident. Particularly in the method by which the team sought to build play from the back, they resembled Montella’s Fiorentina. But the Bayern clash required a different tactic.

The German champions became masters of the ball during Pep Guardiola’s three years in charge and, even though the Spanish coaching supremo has moved on to take the reins at Manchester City, they remain a technically sublime, creative force.

With Thiago Alcantara and Xabi Alonso sitting in front of defence, and Philipp Lahm, David Alaba and Ribery playing between the lines, Bayern offered plenty of problems for Milan in possession. They controlled the ball for large spells, but Montella had set his team up to deal with this.

After attempting to press high up the pitch in order to distort Bayern’s build-up play early on, the Rossoneri gradually became more reactive as the match went on. Operating in a distinct 4-5-1 formation, the midfield five remained horizontally compact, offering a protective screen in front of the defensive line.

Milan forced their opponents into sequences of relatively harmless sideways passes and blunted their attacking effectiveness. This was shown by the fact that only one of the goals Montella’s side conceded was truly worthy of criticism: the first equaliser from Ribery.

The second strike from Alaba was a long-range effort at a time where there appeared to be no great danger, while the third was a penalty given away by Vergara, who was playing in a position unnatural to him.

Defensively then, Montella couldn’t have asked for much more from his players. But all of that hard work would have proved irrelevant had they not possessed a threat with which to counter-attack. In this sense, Niang was absolutely pivotal to the team performance.

The 21-year-old constantly threatened on the break with his pace and strength, searing past Badstuber for the opening goal and frequently exploiting space in Bayern’s defensive third. He also posed aerial problems, pulling wide to provide an outlet for long diagonals in order to bypass the opposition’s press.

He proved a nuisance for Bertolacci’s goal, with his penalty-area presence ensuring the ball fell kindly for the Italian midfielder to lash home, and he occasionally showed nice touches to link up with his team-mates in transitions to attack.

Niang’s individual showing came at a good time, with speculation linking Carlos Bacca—Milan’s top scorer and principal striker in 2015-16—with a move away from the club.

As well as Premier League clubs such as Arsenal and West Ham United, the Colombian has been linked with La Liga champions Barcelona, according to Mundo Deportivo (h/t Alex Bywater of MailOnline).

Losing Bacca would be a blow to Milan, but against Bayern, Niang demonstrated he possesses the qualities necessary to ease some of the pain. He may lack the finesse and clinical finishing of the South American, but with his athletic and physical prowess, improved hold-up play, close control and movement, he could prove to be a more than able long-term replacement.

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Montella made a point of discussing the player following his appointment and told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia): “I'm curious about Niang because he has great potential, which he still hasn't fully expressed. He's young, but if he wants to become a champion, then the time to prove that is now.”

Those words came on the back of a pre-season stunt in which the promising finisher appeared in a video leaping from a balcony into a swimming pool, per Marca.

It was reckless behaviour and drew criticism from fans, but Niang was quick to clarify just how committed he was to learning from past indiscretions and staying with the club to develop under his new coach, telling La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t FourFourTwo):

"

I have never talked about the transfer market and never thought about leaving. I'm a Milan player, I'm happy here and I will stay at Milan. I want to be an important part of this team.

From the first day I got back, I have been speaking a lot with the coach. Now I know what I have to do if I am to become a champion.

I am determined to listen to the coach. I must be good both on the field and off it. I realised the mistakes I've made and I must not repeat them.

"

As a player, Montella knew how to find the back of the net. In seven of his 13 seasons in Serie A, he reached double figures for goals scored. Essentially, there could be no-one better for a hungry young striker to ply his trade for.

Niang still has a lot to learn under the new boss, but he is beginning to show signs that he can become Milan’s new first choice No. 9.