GdS: How Maignan and the Portuguese inspired Milan’s comeback against Genoa

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·06 de maio de 2025

GdS: How Maignan and the Portuguese inspired Milan’s comeback against Genoa

AC Milan made it three wins in a row on Monday night at the Marassi, but they had to come from behind (again) to beat Genoa.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes this morning, three victories in succession is something that had not been done before under Sergio Conceicao. It is also a fourth win in five across all competitions, and a fifth win in eight in Serie A.

Vídeos OneFootball

What does it mean? Maybe nothing, maybe something. At the end of the day, the Portuguese coach seems to have at least given his team some fighting spirit, given 19 points have been recovered from a losing position. The year has been a crazy one, but no one has ever given up.

Much will depend on the outcome of the Coppa Italia final against Bologna, on Wednesday 14, but Conceiçao’s stock seems to be rising anyway, also because the Genoa match was won by him making the right changes at the most difficult moment, when Genoa were ahead.

Conceiçao brought on Joao Felix and Santiago Gimenez, two players who have been criticised recently but contributed to the comeback. Previously, Genoa had caught the eye more than Milan, for their aggressiveness and desire to win, so much so that a draw would have been the fairest result.

However, football does not always reward the willing, quality is imposed and this Milan has it, to the point that one wonders how they managed to end up like this, ninth in the standings, six points below the Champions League places.

If there were five or six games to go, one could mull over forbidden thoughts, but with three to go the mission is impossible. As for Genoa, congratulations to Patrick Vieira for the early salvation, but the third consecutive defeat has arrived.

The Goalkeepers step up

If there was a scoreless first half, it was thanks to the goalkeepers. Mike Maignan did very well to stop Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Junior Messias’ attempts; Leali was sensational in rushing out to deny Christian Pulisic.

Conceiçao designed a Milan with a note of diversity compared to the last performances: Ruben Loftus-Cheek in place of Rafael Leao as a winger, albeit on the right, with Pulisic diverted to the left. It meant that the 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 from previous weeks became a lop-sided 3-5-2.

Loftus-Cheek dropped deep and guaranteed strength and physicality in the tackles and in recovering the ball. Until, around the half hour mark, when Youssouf Fofana got injured. Conceiçao replaced the Frenchman with Rafael Leao and RLC joined Reijnders in the middle. In essence, back to a 3-4-3.

These alterations are worth noting in view of the Coppa Italia final against Bologna. In Rome, Loftus-Cheek’s running and power could come in handy, even if it is impossible to imagine that one of Leao and Pulisic will be left out to make room for the Englishman.

Vieira meanwhile has prepared a Genoa team that are good at adapting to the moments. Norton-Cuffy on the right, playing a bit as a defender and a bit as a winger, prevented Theo Hernandez from taking off and pushed into the opposition’s territory.

Leao’s entry changed the geography of Milan. With the Portuguese and Pulisic together again, Milan created their great opportunity of the first half. Leao’s touch to free Pulisic in front of Leali, but the American was blocked by the goalkeeper.

A Portuguese show

Vieira wanted to win this match, also because Genoa have never beaten a team in the top half of the table this season. At half-time he replaced Sabelli with Zanoli, free to move over to the right, and with Norton-Cuffy dropped back to full-back. The message was clear: push and attack.

Genoa did so and, when Vieira took off Messias to bring on Vitinha, he immediately cashed in: the Portuguese striker scored the 1-0 goal within a few minutes with a volley, one where Pavlovic and Theo looked like statues.

Pushed by an Anfield-esque Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa kept going, hunting for a 2-0 that would have surely downed the Rossoneri. Conceiçao understood and immediately made changes: in came Joao Felix and Gimenez and a switch to 4-2-3-1. The move had immediate effects.

Joao Felix’s magical right-foot pass set up Gimenez on the right, who provided a low and intelligent cross that Leao arrived on the end of to finish, via a deflection. Then it was soon 1-2: Reijnders found Leao on the left, his cross was turned in by Frendrup, in an attempt to get there before Joao Felix.

Vitinha, Leao and Joao Felix (through Frendrup) are the men who carved out the result and they are all Portuguese. Like Conceiçao, the temporary coach who in extremis seems to have found the right balance: will it be of any use?