MN: Four players, two coaches, one issue – Milan unable to settle on centre-back pairing | OneFootball

One of the hallmarks of a top side is an established defensive line, generally speaking, and that is something AC Milan have not had all season.

As MilanNews write, one of the big doubts that has surrounded Milan both under Paulo Fonseca and with Sergio Conceicao concerns the starting centre-back pairing. Both coaches have changed a lot, something we wrote at length about a few months back, and this has not helped build a cohesive unit.

It started with Fikayo Tomori as an immovable starter, with Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic competing for the place next to the Englishman. Then Malick Thiaw reappeared, who had been out due to injury at the beginning of the season.

The German, apart from a few poor games, has probably been the most consistent, also giving a big hand in the build-up phase given his ability on the ball. Towards the end of 2024 (and the end of Fonseca’s tenure), Gabbia-Thiaw had emerged as the main pairing.

With the arrival of Conceiçao it seemed that Tomori – the most aggressive along with Pavlovic – would regain the starting ranks and so it was, but only for a short time. The ex-Chelsea man has started the last eight games on the bench, with Gabbia and Thiaw who the main choice again.

Pavlovic acts as a bit of a wildcard: there is a lot to refine, but the spirit that the Serbian shows on the pitch is difficult for his team-mates to match. As such, he cannot be considered totally out of the picture either.

Having practically reached the final part of the season, as the numbers below show, Milan still do not have a pair of central defenders that are immovable, even if the preference for Gabbia-Thiaw stands out, who have evidently proven to be the most reliable.

Among the many things to change and improve for next season there is also this issue: a pair of centre-backs must be chosen and maintained. Below is the list of how many times each duo have been used:

➤ 10 times: Thiaw – Gabbia ➤ 8 times: Thiaw – Pavlovic ➤ 7 times: Tomori – Pavlovic ➤ 6 times: Thiaw – Tomori ➤ 6 times: Gabbia – Tomori ➤ 5 times: Gabbia – Pavlovic