· 2 min readIn this Man United vs Milan match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
There are friendlies that end up carrying enough stories to grab your attention. This was one of them. Manchester United hosted Milan just a few days before the official start of the season, but the biggest story was on the Italian team’s bench. Ruben Amorim was facing the club he managed for months once again, having left after a spell that fell well below expectations.
On the other side was a Manchester United now under Michael Carrick, in what will be his first full season in charge of the team. And, just looking at the names, the feeling was clear: United had more to offer.
The game practically started with a goal. After 2 minutes, Bruno Fernandes delivered a corner to the far post and Maguire did what he does very well. He created space against Musah and headed the ball into the back of the net. Putting a 1.78m midfielder up against one of the opposition’s strongest aerial players seemed like a risky idea and Milan immediately paid the price.
Even after going behind, the Italian side started to grow into the game. There were obvious mistakes in the build-up, especially from Pavlovic, who once again showed difficulties with the ball at his feet. In a system like Ruben Amorim’s, centre-backs have huge importance in the build-up and, at least in this game, Milan’s captain didn’t provide much security.
United’s press was working and Milan were struggling to get past the first line. Even so, possession started to clearly shift towards the Italians. The problem was turning that superiority into chances.
Loftus-Cheek was the first to come close to equalising, but found an inspired Lammens. The United goalkeeper came up with an even better save shortly afterwards, keeping the English side’s lead intact.
But the equaliser eventually came after 37 minutes. Jashari managed to protect the ball, United’s defence completely lost their markers and Gonçalo Ramos, inside the box, showed enough intelligence not to shoot. He played it to the side and left Chukwueze with nothing more to do than tap it in for 1-1.
United had the perfect opportunity to retake the lead before half-time. In the 40th minute, Terracciano lost the ball in a dangerous area and the move ended with a penalty. Bruno Fernandes took responsibility, struck it with power as he almost always does, but Torriani responded with an excellent save.
The second half started with the same problem for Milan: individual mistakes from the centre-backs. In the 51st minute, Terracciano tried to play the ball back to the goalkeeper, but the pass was too short. Dorgu anticipated it and took advantage of the gift to make it 2-1.
But Milan were playing better and better.
In the 57th minute, Chukwueze received the ball on the right, entered the box, won the individual duel and placed the ball towards the far post. Cissé was completely free and equalised.
The most interesting thing was that Milan’s goals started to look almost identical. In the 68th minute, another triangle created space for Chukwueze to cross and Gonçalo Ramos headed in for 2-3. Three minutes later, another quick combination between Ramos and Loftus-Cheek completely dismantled the English defence. The midfielder ran into huge space, went one-on-one with Lammens and calmly finished to make it 2-4.
From there, United looked lost. Rashford had a clear chance and couldn’t even finish it properly. Maguire still forced Torriani into a good save, but the feeling was of a team with no ideas.
Post-match
The result is heavy for Manchester United, but it ultimately rewards the team that grew the most throughout the game. Milan started badly, made more serious defensive mistakes, but managed to improve as the match went on.