Ineptitude Reigns at AC Milan as Vincenzo Montella's Side Lose to Udinese

AC Milan’s 1-0 defeat to Udinese at the San Siro on Sunday afternoon was a match that left all who witnessed it virtually speechless. Of those home fans who hadn’t already left the stadium, some could muster a jeer as their team exited the pitch. Others could do no more than sit in a state of quiet disbelief.

A small minority of away fans, who had made the long trip east to watch their team, let out a celebratory cheer at the final whistle, having waited with bated breath for the surprise scoreline to be confirmed by referee Gianpaolo Calvarese’s final whistle. Their reaction was, however, drowned out by the disgust of the Milanisti.

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For context, the last time Udinese won this fixture was in May 2007, when they left the San Siro with all three points following a stunning 3-2 victory. Furthermore, the Zebrette have been one of Serie A’s worst teams in each of the last two seasons, finishing 16th and 17th in 2014-5 and 2015-16, respectively.

Quite simply, this sort of result is not good enough from Milan’s perspective. And, unlike other defeats where bad luck or circumstantial factors can play a part, this loss was all down to the performance. Ultimately, the players and the coach must share the blame for what was one of the Rossoneri’s worst league showings in recent memory.

Jose Sosa made his full debut for the club and was heavily involved in the first half. The 31-year-old, playing on the left of a midfield three that also included Riccardo Montolivo and Andrea Poli, played a nice through ball to release left-back Luca Antonelli to cross from a dangerous area. And the Argentinian hit the bar in the 32nd minute with a ferocious right-footed volley.

He showed glimpses of a creative spark that was otherwise lacking, with Giacomo Bonaventura and Suso struggling to find space against a negative Udinese outfit who were focused primarily on defending before counter-attacking through the speed and skill of Rodrigo De Paul, and the strength and hold-up play of Duvan Zapata.

The match became stale with Milan having default possession but showing a general inability to use it, while their visitors focused on keeping things tight and exploiting space when it appeared.

Emil Hallfredsson fired wide for Udinese before substitute Stipe Perica’s shot deflected off Ignazio Abate and drifted agonisingly beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net to give Giuseppe Iachini’s side the lead with two minutes remaining.

Following an injury to Luca Antonelli early in the second half, Milan were granted eight minutes of injury time in which to find an equaliser. However, without a cutting edge against a deep-lying defence, their attacking moves dissipated into thin air as three points were dropped.

The end result was the culmination of a match which, along with poor tactics, showcased some genuinely concerning instances among the players that were suggestive of a poor team mentality.

Montella wants his side to control the ball and use possession to penetrate the opposition. This style of play requires the full involvement and concentration of all players during the building of moves from the first to the final third. There is no explanation, then, for Montolivo and Poli to be congratulating one another through high-fives while their team has the ball, as they did early in the first half.

At a time when they needed to be moving and enabling passing lanes to support the effective progression of Milan’s attack, they were disengaged and unconnected, with seemingly little thought or desire to correct these issues.

Such moments can only be read as the open manifestation of complacency, something that was on show again later in the same half when a simple sideways pass from Poli to Abate—under no pressure near the halfway line—went straight out of play. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a truly motivated side making such a basic error.

A lack of attacking inspiration was also evidenced through Gabriel Paletta’s shooting from long range. The 30-year-old centre-back had a reasonable game, but his technical limitations are clear and his decision to strike from such a distance highlighted the lack of passing options available to him, something that is unforgiveable in a team whose style is built on the quality of their possession.

While the players must be apportioned blame for their indiscretions, Montella must also accept some responsibility for what was a dismal team performance as well as a deeply disappointing result.

The coach’s choice of starting lineup was noteworthy; rather than introduce Keisuke Honda or experiment with a second striker in Gianluca Lapadula, he pushed Bonaventura—who has been influential so far this season from a central-midfield role—to the wing in place of the suspended M’Baye Niang. In turn, the hard-working but ineffective Poli was introduced to the middle trident.

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Furthermore, Montella’s indecision was unfathomable in a game Milan were expected to win. Having been forced into a change on 52 minutes, bringing Mattia De Sciglio on for the injured Antonelli, he refused to change his team’s shape or personnel until the 79th minute, when Honda came on to replace Sosa.

Giving his thoughts after the match, he told Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia):

"

It was a difficult match, we were up against an Udinese side that sat very deep and we struggled to change tempo. We didn’t do enough, but to lose at the end was a real kick in the teeth. We were a little unlucky.

It’s a shame, because when you don’t manage to win, it’s important not to lose. We have to do better. It was a decent start, but we didn’t create many chances. In this type of game, you need that moment of luck, just as Udinese did.

"

Yet referencing luck seems an inopportune choice of words when there was such a clear lack of cohesion, flair and urgency.

These shortages might have been addressed by the addition of another forward to create numerical superiority in the final third, but Lapadula, rather bizarrely, remained on the substitutes' bench until the 86th minute.

The 26-year-old striker was signed in the summer for a fee of £7.65 million, per Transfermarkt.co.uk, and, having scored 30 goals in all competitions for Pescara last term, his being ignored for so long at a time when ingenuity and a clinical touch were needed was yet another strange instance.

Per WhoScored.com, Milan enjoyed 64 per cent of possession against Udinese. However, they had just two shots on target in the entire match. The statistics offer a numerical portrait of an inefficient team without ideas and passion. Perhaps the sole positive was Sosa, whose 7.12 rating reflected a strong individual display in trying circumstances.

The Serie A schedule has been unforgiving for the Rossoneri. Their next six league matches include trips to Sampdoria and Fiorentina and home games against Lazio, Sassuolo and champions Juventus. The defeat to Udinese did nothing to build confidence ahead of a particularly testing run of fixtures.

Montella will have to work quickly to remove an apparent culture of complacency within the team. There can be no more self-congratulations, speculative efforts and wayward passes.

The coach must also show greater urgency to change games through his own tactical decisions. Failure to do so could leave Milan in serious trouble at an early stage in the season.