AC MILAN v LAZIO: KEYS TO THE MATCH

The best way to react and get back on track, aiming for qualification to the next Champions League. AC Milan v Lazio is the next date in the Rossoneri's May, a key match that is worth double, for the table and morale. The present is now, and the challenge against the Biancocelesti has often represented an important crossroads in recent seasons. As we wait for the kick-off at San Siro, let's look at some topics related to the fixture that will open the 34th Serie A matchday.

DEFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY
AC Milan and Lazio are two teams with a strong defensive identity, but their respective backlines have experienced mutually opposing situations between Serie A 2021/22 and the current season. Last season, the Rossoneri had the best defence (31 goals conceded), with the extra gear in the second half of the season that earned them the Scudetto, while Lazio probably missed the opportunity to fight for top four due to 58 goals conceded. In the 2022/23 Serie A, the situation is diametrically opposed: only the leading Napoli have done better than the 24 goals conceded by the Biancocelesti, while AC Milan are much further behind with 39 goals conceded. Differences in numbers but not in potential, as shown by the Rossoneri in the two Champions League encounters with Tottenham and Napoli: Pioli and Sarri's teams, in fact, know how to alternate different outfits when it comes to choosing a defensive approach. With physical, instinctive and fast backlines, able to alternate between attacking the opponent's set-up from below and the ability to wait, slowing down the pace and reading passing lanes, AC Milan and Lazio possess players capable of grasping the different situations offered by the match in progress, having, as a similarity, the back four. In a direct battle for top four, whoever reads the game best will gain an important advantage for the final result.

STRENGTH ON THE WINGS
Theo Hernández and Rafael Leão on one side. The Hysaj-Luis Alberto-Zaccagni trio on the other. The common point between the Rossoneri and the Biancocelesti is also the offensive danger coming from the left side of the pitch. For AC Milan, this is not the first time this spring they have faced a strong important opponent capable of making a big impact on the left - Napoli - and against the Partenopei the key was twofold: on the one hand, the ability to contain Kvaratskhelia's threat, with Calabria's excellent performance; on the other, the difference in role and task for Brahim Díaz, who was able to offer a threatening alternative to Leão acting from the right. With Lazio it could be an opportunity for a different plan, given the presence of a midfielder of flair and talent such as Luis Alberto: captain Calabria is expected to work overtime to contain former Verona player Zaccagni, together with Immobile the best Italian scorer in this Serie A, a different choice could come for the role of winger. Among AC Milan's most in-form players are Alexis Saelemaekers and Junior Messias, who have scored important goals in recent matches. The Belgian and the Brazilian have different characteristics, they are both capable of making an immediate impact, even off the bench. A winning recipe could be that of a tandem, exploiting first the sacrifice of Saelemaekers to rely, in a possible blocked end, on the offensive flair of Messias.

RESERVING ENERGY
In the previous paragraphs we have seen two common points that can be interpreted differently, depending on the scenario. In this third key of analysis, however, we propose a difference that is far from irrelevant when there are 300 minutes still to go this season. AC Milan and Lazio are both coming off midweek fixtures, but for the Biancocelesti the victory against Sassuolo was their first midweek match since the elimination in the Europa League against AZ on 16 March. Immobile and his team-mates then benefited from only having to prepare for a single weekly fixture, given the four consecutive victories (before the losses against Torino and Inter) that have earned them their current second place in the standings. Along with Atalanta, Sarri's team is also the only one - among the six contenders for European places - that does not have a European fixture on the horizon after this matchday, and therefore it is imaginable to think of a Lazio side rushing from the first minute, strong in the knowledge that they can expend more energy. The ability to read the match, mentioned in relation to the possible defensive choices to be made, will also be important in interpreting the rhythms and moments of the game: AC Milan have the characteristics to wait for the opponent and strike on the restart, with effectiveness and incisiveness. Mental endurance, before physical, can prove fundamental in tipping the scales on the Rossoneri's side in another challenge that is worth double.

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