Marco Giampaolo is not concerned by the fact that Milan failed to score for two consecutive games and is pleased with the work his players are doing.
Giampaolo is still without a win in pre-season as after drawing Novara 1-1 and losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich, Milan also lost 1-0 to Benfica last night.
Milan used a rather strong line-up and played some excellent football at times during the game, especially in the first half. They pressed well and attacked in ways that were different from last year and it is clear that there is a new coach in town. In the end, however, the game was decided after Taarabt’s shot took a deflection off Biglia and beat Reina.
“The result doesn’t say anything because it doesn’t show the attitude that the team had,” Giampaolo said in the post-game presser. “For as long as that attitude was on show, I liked what I saw from the team. In terms of how we played, this isn’t a defeat. We played in attack, looking to dominate the play. The guys did very well and went beyond my expectations. This is the first piece, we did a lot of things better compared to the first match, both on and off the ball. We did better and I’m happy, I like how the team is doing the work and the result doesn’t change anything for me.
“The defense? The work must be done, not a little work but a lot. We have to get used to seeing a team that folds back in the defensive phase every time we can’t get the ball back high up the pitch, and not have eleven players below the line of the ball in the middle of the pitch. The attack? We created a lot in attack, I’ve kept track of all the chances created and I’m not worried that we haven’t scored. We’ll look at our mistakes and fix them to get better.
“The experience in the United States? The team has worked very well and I’m happy. They are carrying out a thought and they are doing it with respect to my indications, the next games will help us to improve our conditioning, chemistry and game management. There is work to be done and we need to integrate the recovering players and those on vacation as best we can.
“With respect to my prediction, the team is further ahead than I expected because the players have great quality. The instructions don’t need to be repeated ad infinitum because they understand, take things on and easily apply what I ask.
“The spirit is good, I liked what I saw from Borini, Çalhanoğlu and Biglia and I liked the midfield in general. We made some mistakes but we’ll look and review them.”
Speaking to MilanTV, Giampaolo said: “The result is not a problem, if the team hadn’t tried to interpret a thought then it would have been a problem. For 60 minutes I saw an idea of playing, I liked the team even though I know there is still a lot to work on. The team wasn’t running backwards but forwards. I liked the team, there are things to review but the guys did well.
“Improvements? Some things must be done better, but the idea of play is this. We did better than in the first game against Bayern Munich in both phases. We were more in order, the defensive order is the son of the offensive order. We have taken a step forward.
“The team? I believe that if you enjoy yourself then you can run with more pleasure. If you don’t enjoy yourself then it’s harder. If you win you have fun but now the important thing is to build the conditions for winning. We have to go on like this and continue to work.”
Well, we hope so
I said it before, dont care much about the results as long as we win in serie A. Didnt saw the game, but the important thing is that we have gameplan and as i read in the first game with Bayern and with Benfica, we are getting there. Bennacer still has to come and maybe 1 striker and i think we will look different and start scoring 🙂 Good luck
The guys gave benfica no space to play yest, they totally dominated the game even with benficas 442 formation to match our 4 mdfs , we still outplayed them. Many chances wasted on crossbar and keeper’s brilliance. Every milan fan should be happy cos the best signing this season is Giampaolo.
yeah we played really well, suso looked fairly comfortable as a 10, definitely more creativity overall than with gattuso last year.
I didn’t see the game either but the analysis showed that Milan dominated possession by almost 60 percent. We had 550 passes and 90% pass accuracy which was remarkable. I am one of the most critical Rossoneri here. But I have to say that Milans passing game has drastically improved since Giampaolo took over. The quality and tempo of passes are higher. It gave Milan an Identity. It was the first thing I noticed against Bayern who Milan could have won or at least drawn. These are good signs and results. I don’t think Milan should be thinking about points… Read more »
Thank you! My friend doggie for being positive for once.
Beautiful game it was.. We played purposely.. This is exactly what I am talking about. We attack our opponent from start to finish.. Made important passes.. Giampaolo has done a lot with what I saw today still have more to do though but we are on the step towards the right direction
1. Any milan10sta knows milan play best with 2 st. Anyone who thinks 4-3-3 suits milan is NOT milanista. 2. Any milan10sta, hell any football fan knows that with his skills, suso can and should play as ss or 3/4ista, like del piero, raul, rivaldo, messi etc before him, and therefore he should stay. Swapping him with anyone not named zaniolo or pellegrini would be extremely stupid move. 3. Any milan10sta knows that people who think borivaldo deserves to be milan player, let alone be mezz’ala as if he’s italian seedorf are NOT milanisti. 4. If milan should buy someone… Read more »
Man U really have a lot of hatters here.
Which is good. The more they hate me the more they’ll learn. Like i said, i will guide milan, milanisti and les midtables alike, kicking and screaming, and in the end they’ll thank me. To some, 2 st formation, slow hakan as mezz’ala instead of stupid lw as if he’s new ronaldinho, messuso as 3/4ista, borivaldo is milanello’s biggest oxygen thief along with donna big bro, playmaker is a must, u need to pair technical cb like roma/musa with hardass no nonsense defender instead of each other, etc etc might start to sound like good ideas. To me, theyre yesteryears,… Read more »
Couldn’t watch the match, so how was the attitude of Milan? And how performed Suso as a trequaetista? Please answer with fanatism aside
I saw watched the match and suso was the MOTM he played really well hope he keep that momentum
Suso did good the first half and disappeared in the second. Aside from the result, I like the attitude of the team. We played very well specially in the first half
I think milan looks different under Giampaolo. The players press high when the ball is with opponents and play short clever passes when the ball is with the team. Milan created 4 goal chances only in the first half along with dominating Benfica so this is an excellent sign on the new tactics. However as said by our new coach work has to be done more in defense when we fail to quickly recover the ball high in the field. All in all Giampaolo tactics are excellent and this coach will change the mentality of our players and exploit their… Read more »
He was mostly dangerous when he got the ball on the right – like he’s used too
I disagree with that statement because Suso created the best chances playing in the middle behind the strikers. If Castillejo was more clinical and scored those 2 thru ball Suso provided we have been up by 2 goals in the first half. Suso timed his passes well and he was very composed to pick out the right pass to Castellijo on both occasions instead of forcing the ball to Piatek who was closely marked. His lack of fitness got the better of him towards the end of the 1st and in the 2nd half but he also played another brilliant… Read more »
Suso was great
It was a fantastic performance from our boy, created some wonderful chances in the first half. Borini i love is fighting spirit and played some excellent football yesteday…Biglia did is work well and gigi was on point as usual…calhanogul his decision making is still very poor…and Calabria is our right back for dis season…and not Conti…Suso played fine, created some few chances…but still need to work more …Castillejo was getting all the necessary balls, but my guy need to take a chill pill, always running is way into the offside trap and for Piatek, the guy is still struggling and… Read more »
I don’t wanna exaggerate so early in preseason but this was a joy to watch already: – Pressing Benfica on their half – Good ball recovery – Dictating the match/imposing our play – Positioning on interceptions was exeptional – Combining on a small space with short p*sses, they hid the ball from me also on couple of occasions – Calabria was the beast on the flank and he looks really bulked – Suso and Castillejo left Piatek out a bit, they played for themselves on many occasions these two Overall a good match considering this was their 2nd match under… Read more »
suso and gigi we impressive. if nice offer comes in i would be happy to sacrifice Rodriguez now that we have hernandez. Rodriguez is technically gifted but slow. Laxalt is useful player to retain as he can also operate in 3 man midfield. Bennacir will a lot of dimension to our team, i think hakan will also be reborn under giampaolo. With those two + paqueta and suso we will be playing champagne football. Missing link for me is caldara not back until Oct. with Gigi, Calabria/Conte – Caldara – Romangoli Hernandez we will have great backline to keep regular… Read more »
I think our CAM position needs serious reinforcement. Instead of Correa, James Rodriguez from Madrid could be an option. James and Leao signing along with Duarte would be a perfect signing for the team assuming that james fits Giampaolo’s required profile. Good passing, longballs, long shot threat, vision. Lacks pace though. We need to keep silva as a backup. If silva doesn’t workout, we have casti as a second backup.
donna
Cala-Roma-Musa-Theo
bennacer
kessie-paqueta
james
Leao-KP
backup: Suso, calha, bona, biglia, krunic, borini, casti, laxalt, conti, silva, strinic, duarte
Would be a strong team to compete in the league.
It would have been a great game if half of the chances were converted to goal. Castillejo is not a goal scorer
The team has really appreciated no doubt about that.. What scared me most is the signing of Leao and Correa. Giampaolo knows what he want and let not doubt the job of the board they are also been careful too and know what will be best for the team
I think the new signing will come with the permision of Giampaolo, i really dont mind no matter who is coming as long as we reach our goals. Giampaolo seems like an inteligent guy and we already see improvements into our gameplan so whoever comes i am starting to hope for a succesfull season even if the top 3 teams are splashing cash to improve the team. We need patience and to support our team and i think we will grow a lot this season. GL everyone
I am not judging yet but i have my doubts ahead of this season including the 4-3-1-2 formation i know many of you are in love with that tactic because of Milan’s history with it but i think it is a mistake
Before I dislike your comment, may I know why you think the formation is a mistake?
I think it is a mistake to make it the primary formation so quickly Milan doesnt have the right players to play with that system and i dont think Milan should give up formations with wingers yet but i would like to have the 4-3-1-2 formation as a option based on the opposition and squad rotation but Milan need to introduce it slowly and work on with time so they learn the formation in and out drastic Changes like these are not easy and can hurt the teams chances this season for the CL places… Try to be realistic guys
Lol i must say im honoured by all the dislikes gave me a good laugh cheers lads… But we shall see who is right in a couple of months i bet all of you will be in panic mode
Bro,
Are you talking to yourself because nobody here is listing to this crap. Are you a head coach of Milan NO so sit tight and enjoy our beloved Milan. Forza Milan!!