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AC Milan 2-0 Fiorentina: Statistical analysis

Have a look at some frustrating stats from a frustrating game.

That is some quality Ilicic stinkface. Shame it's the only quality he displayed.
That is some quality Ilicic stinkface. Shame it's the only quality he displayed.
Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Well, this AC Milan match wasn't nearly as fun to break down as the first one. Here's how they had Fiorentina's number all day long. The numbers are from WhoScored.com. Also, sorry for the long delay, which may have helped you forget this one a little bit; combination of life stuff and really not wanting to do this one made me set it to the side for a bit.

Team statistics

Shots (on goal) Shots inside/outside area Possession Passes (short/long) Passing success Crosses/attempted Dribbles/attempted Aerial duels won/attempted Tackles/attempted Interceptions Clearances Fouls Yellow/red cards Corners Offsides
AC Milan 4 (3) 3/1 31% 305 (225/69) 70% 0/11 11/20 4/13 23/32 22 24 20 2/0 4 8
Fiorentina 14 (1) 9/5 69% 653 (563/57) 86% 7/27 9/20 9/13 24/35 10 14 19 4/0 10 2

Player statistics

Short passes/attempted Long passes/attempted Crosses/attempted Touches Shots (on target) Shots inside/outside area Dribbles/attempted Possession lost Tackles/attempted Interceptions Clearances Successful aerial battles Fouls committed/suffered Yellow/red cards Offsides Saves Goals Assists Minutes
Tatarusanu 16/16 3/12 0/0 42 0 (0) 0/0 0/0 0 0/0 0 1 1 0/0 0/0 0 1 0 0 90
Roncaglia 65/68 4/5 0/1 95 1 (0) 0/1 0/1 1 9/14 2 2 0 1/1 0/0 0 0 0 0 90
Tomovic 70/76 3/4 0/0 90 1 (1) 1/0 0/0 0 3/3 1 2 1 1/2 1/0 0 0 0 0 90
Astori 55/58 5/10 0/0 79 1 (0) 1/0 3/3 0 1/1 1 5 1 3/2 0/0 0 0 0 0 90
Bernardeschi 32/40 3/6 2/4 68 2 (0) 2/0 2/6 4 3/3 2 1 0 1/2 0/0 1 0 0 0 90
Vecino 71/79 2/5 0/0 97 0 (0) 0/0 2/2 3 2/3 1 2 2 1/1 1/0 0 0 0 0 90
Suárez 54/59 3/3 0/1 68 1 (0) 0/1 1/1 1 1/3 0 0 0 1/2 1/0 0 0 0 0 64
Alonso 32/39 1/5 1/4 59 0 (0) 0/0 1/4 2 2/2 1 1 1 2/2 0/0 0 0 0 0 74
Valero 54/58 3/4 2/6 74 1 (0) 0/1 0/1 1 1/1 0 0 0 1/4 0/0 0 0 0 0 90
Ilicic 26/33 2/3 1/4 53 1 (0) 0/1 0/1 5 2/2 2 0 0 1/2 0/0 0 0 0 0 81
Kalinic 14/17 0/0 0/0 25 4 (0) 4/0 0/0 3 0/0 0 0 4 6/2 1/0 1 0 0 0 90
Rossi 8/10 1/1 0/1 15 1 (0) 0/1 0/0 2 0/1 0 0 0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 24
Pasqual 6/6 1/1 1/5 15 0 (0) 0/0 0/1 1 0/1 0 0 0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 16
Babacar 2/2 0/0 0/0 3 1 (0) 1/0 0/0 0 0/0 0 0 0 1/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 9

Conclusions

Never thought I'd say this, but Siniša Mihajlović completely out-generaled Paulo Sousa, who must have known what Miha's strategy would be and didn't take any steps to stop it. An early goal played into Milan's hands, true, but Sousa's inability to respond was painful. Against a Milan club that was always going to sit deep and break quickly, the decision to field both Matías Vecino and Mario Suárez in the middle looks irrationally cautious; neither offers much guile on the ball, and that was clearly what the team was lacking in deeper positions. While the decision to bring on Giuseppe Rossi for Suárez was the right one--it pushed Borja Valero back, where he could offer more of a playmaking threat from deeper positions and force Milan's defense out, and it gave Nikola Kalinić some closer support--but Sousa waited far too long to make it.

Quick thoughts: For the first time in months, an opponent attacked Facundo Roncaglia directly, and boy did it pan out. He was nowhere to be seen when Carlos Bacca scored from his side, and switched off for Kevin-Prince Boateng to score easily. It was clearly an intentional strategy, as evidenced by how involved he was defensively. Nice to see Suárez show some signs of life, especially with his passing, although Milan's disinterest in pressuring the Viola midfield probably had something to with it as well. Isn't it the worst when the bad Josip Iličić shows up? And doesn't a bad Kalinić just magnify and refract the badness?

Really no time to mope, because Torino is up next, and, given what happened last time they played, Fiorentina need some answers, and fast.