· 2 min readIn this Salzburg vs Milan match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
Milan came into the second matchday of the Europa League under pressure to bounce back. The home defeat against Benfica wasn’t exactly embarrassing, but having won just one of their last five games, Ruben Amorim’s side needed to respond. The ideas are there, but consistency, the ability to create danger and, at times, individual quality are still missing. Away in Austria against a young Salzburg side, they had a good opportunity to change the mood.
Milan started finding space early on. In the eighth minute, Bartesaghi delivered an excellent cross from the left and Rabiot found himself unmarked in the box, but couldn’t hit the target.
The opening goal came in the 15th minute. Hutchinson received the ball in space on the right, crossed, and Cissè got ahead of Morgalla to head into the back of the net. The Salzburg defender was left looking very bad, allowing the striker to get in front of him far too easily.
Two minutes later, Milan nearly doubled their lead. Loftus-Cheek tried to chip the goalkeeper, the ball fell to Hutchinson, who shot with the goal unguarded, but Boma appeared on the line to prevent the goal. Hutchinson was one of the team’s most interesting players, always looking to attack the space.
The second goal arrived in the 32nd minute. Rabiot crossed to the far post, Bartesaghi touched the ball first time into the six-yard box, and Cissè , once again unmarked, simply had to tap it in. Milan didn’t need to do anything extraordinary to break down the Austrian defence. They just had to take advantage of the space they were being given.
At half-time, the numbers were telling: Salzburg had managed just two shots, neither on target, and a ridiculous 0.03 expected goals. The game was under control, although anyone looking for entertainment hadn’t found much to enjoy in the first half.
The second half began with the same problem for Salzburg. In the 49th minute, Rabiot drove forward down the left and sent in a low cross for Cissè to arrive between the centre-backs and complete his hat-trick. Cissé’s positioning was perfect, but the defence once again made things far too easy. At 3-0, the game was practically over.
Salzburg started seeing more of the ball, but that didn’t mean much. They moved it around without creating any consistent danger, while Milan slowed the tempo and managed their lead.
In the 67th minute, Hutchinson forced an excellent foot save from Zawieschitzky, a goalkeeper who is just 19 years old. Shortly afterwards, in the 72nd minute, the fourth goal was handed to Milan by their opponents. Mazurek failed to control a slow pass just outside the box, Jashari won the ball back and set up Gonçalo Ramos, who got past the goalkeeper and finished without difficulty. A serious mistake, although it’s worth remembering that Salzburg rely on plenty of young players and Mazurek is only 19 himself.
Milan simply managed the game from there. Terracciano was sent off in the 83rd minute for pushing the last man in the back during a counter-attack. A completely unnecessary decision at 4-0. Salzburg had a dangerous free-kick late on but failed to make the most of it.
Post-match
It was a comfortable win and an important response for Amorim. Cissè was the star of the night with three goals, and Milan took advantage of practically everything the opposition defence gave them.
