Fonseca discusses defensive worries, ‘two faces’ of Milan’s attack and ‘different’ Leao strategies | OneFootball

AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca has once again answered questions about his team’s defensive struggles and his management of Rafael Leao.

The midweek win over Slovan Bratislava made it three victories in a row in the Champions League, and yet paradoxically it did little to stem the concerns surrounding the form that Milan are in.

For starters they were made to fight until the final second for a win against a side that prior to the game had lost all four matches, conceding 15 goals in the process. In addition, they scored twice in a UCL game for the first time this campaign as the defence was again exposed.

It was not, therefore, the perfect medicine after the Rossoneri were booed off the field following the 0-0 draw with Juventus a few days prior. San Siro should be packed again for the game against Empoli, and the fans expect to be entertained.

Fonseca spoke at his pre-match press conference from Milanello on the eve of the game, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

The most used term when talking about Milan is ‘balance’. Could it be the synthesis between the defensive phase in Milan-Juventus and the defensive phase in Slovan-Milan?

“They were two different games with different defensive moments. Against Slovan there were more transition moments. We are working on something that is important to me, it’s not that if we win then I close my eyes. That’s what I did this week [worked on it].

“It was important to win in Bratislava and I liked it, but we had defensive problems that I can’t close my eyes to. We also talked about improving this area.”

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Is it a learning problem? What do players think?

“Sometimes problems come with matches. Against Juve we worked a lot on defensive organisation and the team did well. Now we had a transition team and we had problems. But the players understand.

“But in any case we are the fifth-best defence in the league, we have conceded as many goals as Inter and Lazio. We work to improve, sometimes they are things that are not tactical. The problem in Bratislava is not tactical, but of reading and individual timing.

“We continue to work on it, on reading and individual technique. The players understand it. It is important to work on the problem. We won. Is everything ok? No. When we work on the problem we had in the match the team has a positive response.”

Is it possible to return to seeing a team with two strikers?

“This possibility remains in my head. We need to do it against structures in which we have an advantage by using two strikers, it is a possibility for this team.”

Why can’t Milan win clearly?

“It’s not easy to always be dominant against Empoli, against Atalanta, because of the characteristics of the other team. The team creates, but we want balance. The team creates but you have to have the defensive security to continue doing so.

“In Bratislava we had an opportunity to do so after the goal, but we suffered in other situations and the team suffered from that moment. The most important thing is to find this balance between attacking and defensive moments.”

Photo by Claudio Villa/AC Milan via Getty Images

Leao is better on the field than on the bench. Do you agree?

“Now yes. Coaches have different strategies. I used two. One didn’t have results, the other one seems to have. I’m very satisfied with Rafa’s reaction to being on the bench. But he wants consistency. The team needs this version of Rafa.”

What was the other one that didn’t work?

“I can’t say (laughs).”

Empoli defend very well, what must the team take from Slovan?

“We can say that teams must have two offensive faces. If we face Juve and Slovan it is one face. Now we must have another face against Empoli and Atalanta.

“What is this face? I must say that they are two different ways of attacking. When we play a team like Empoli there are more important things than when we face Juve. What are these things? I cannot say.

“Empoli will be very difficult tomorrow, they are very aggressive in defence. They do not concede goals, they are the fourth-best defence at the moment. It will be difficult.”

Why do you keep changing the centre-back pairing constantly?

“It’s clear that I have a more stable pair than others. But we also have to understand that we have a lot of games, we can’t play with the same ones. Matteo was injured, he played one game, after the injury it was difficult to make him play another.

“I know that it’s important to make the same players play in the defensive line, the problem is that we have a lot of games and when there are injuries we have to manage. A management, at this moment, almost obligatory.

“We are happy, but we have almost no injuries. I don’t want to talk about it, but it’s very very positive. And it’s also like this because we have this management.”

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Are you worried about the nine-point gap to the Champions League places?

“I can’t say anything else, I would like to have more points. But I’m moving forward with positivity.”

The goal conceded in Bratislava seems identical to the Udinese one in which Reijnders was sent off. If the same mistake is always made, is there no one who can speak to the team on the pitch?

“It seems like it’s the same situation, because at the end we saw Tijji running after the player. But it’s a totally different situation. But there’s no comparison. On the corners we have three players prepared for this moment.

“It’s an individual choice, it was an individual choice. On the pitch you can talk, of course, but it’s an individual choice. They are totally different situations anyway.”

Can your team dominate the midfield a little more compactly, leaving space for our quicker players?

“Are you asking me if we can’t stay further back to leave more space for the attackers? In the last match we had two moments. We were forward in more moments, because Bratislava defended with 10 players in front of the area.

“However, we scored two goals with space. The ideal would be to have both moments. When we recover the ball we have to understand that we have players to come out quickly. But when that can’t be done we have to create an organised attack.

“The goals we score are more with space than with a positional or organised attack. The goals we normally score are much more with ball recovery and with space.”

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Is it a problem that coaches are always so pressured and stressed?

“We can’t escape this pressure when we are in clubs like Milan or Manchester City. I don’t know what happened with Guardiola [the scratches on his face and head]. But being here means having pressure at all times, every day. Not just with the press and the fans, but also here inside and with the players.

“We are a team that must always win. If we don’t want to have this pressure we can’t be here, at this level. I don’t think there is any other way.

“It’s a big, huge pressure. And you feel it every minute, every day. I say that football is for strong people. If we are not strong we can’t be in football at this level.”

Could Fofana sit out tomorrow since he’s on a yellow card?

“At present I cannot take this risk of not using Fofana. The next match is the most important. I expect Fofana to play an intelligent match so as not to get a yellow.

“What worries me is not Fofana at this moment. If he makes a mistake, he makes a mistake. I expect the others not to make a mistake in this moment.”

There are teams near the top of the table who changed a lot in the summer, like Milan did. Is the excuse of change running out?

“I’m sure that in the end we will be ahead of some of these teams. But let’s talk about us. We started the pre-season with 15 players and the ‘kids’.

“We went to the USA, things were beautiful. We started eight days before the first game with the other players, the most influential players of the team who were at the Euros. And we worked on things for eight days. After that we never had time to train.

“And now, little by little, our training is more video, we are improving. But when you change so much it is more difficult. I don’t think that these teams, except Napoli, have not had the players in pre-season: those are 4-5 weeks of training that are very important when you change.

“Then one of these teams does not play in the Champions League during the week. Napoli have a new coach but he has the whole week to work.

“Then there are two very strong teams like Inter and Atalanta with the same coach for years. If we only want to talk about results I am the first to say that we have to do more.”

Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images

Are you calm about Bennacer and his physical condition?

“We are waiting for Bennacer in the near future and recovering him for the second part of the season could be important for us. We are confident about Bennacer’s recovery.”

Against Empoli you really can’t afford a mistake. The fact that you have all these do-or-die games, which you don’t have in the Champions League, what does that do?

“In Madrid we were under pressure… I can say that I am now an expert in the moment of pressure: since the first day I have been here all the games have been like this. There is nothing new for tomorrow, it is the same pressure.

“The players are used to it too. Everyone here knows that we have to win tomorrow, and then against Sassuolo and then against Atalanta. I don’t feel more pressure than in other games. I am not good to myself, I am the first to put pressure on myself.”

But the pressure of first is different from the pressure of the eighth or ninth…

“That’s why I say I’m an expert, I haven’t been up there yet (smiles). It’s difficult for the teams that are behind, the pressure to win is much greater. There’s always pressure anyway. The team that is first, Napoli now feels a lot of pressure: there’s always pressure.

“Maybe for me now it’s a different pressure than Napoli. Here we work a lot but I always sleep very well. I don’t sleep many hours, but the hours I sleep I sleep very well. I have a one-year-old child… It’s the only way of not sleeping well (smiles).”

Can you tell us something about the team you will pick?

“I can’t say anything, but in an hour you’ll know which team will play. It’s not me who’s talking. Something dramatic? Maybe (laughs). Maybe there’s something different.”