When AC Milan and AS Roma faced off in Serie A back in January, there was little the Giallorossi could recriminate about after falling to a 3-1 defeat, such was the gap between the two sides throughout the full 90 minutes.
Even when Leandro Paredes‘ penalty took them back within touching distance midway through the second half, the then-Jose Mourinho side never looked able to match the Rossoneri’s level and find an equaliser without the help of a stroke of luck. They lacked the character but, first and foremost, they lacked a game plan.
Fast forward to the Europa League quarter-final first leg meeting between the same two sides, which ended with Roma‘s first win at the San Siro since 2017, and the difference with Daniele De Rossi‘s team looks staggering.
While three months and a change at the helm are hardly enough to bridge the gap between Milan and Roma, who are still separated by 14 points in the Serie A table, their 1-0 victory certainly speaks to their mental growth as well as of the ability of a coach who knew how to maximise what he had to go toe to toe with an on-paper better team.
De Rossi’s plan to limit AC Milan’s strengths
One of the most in-form teams in Serie A since the turn of the year, Milan had found the net in each one of their 20 games played in 2024 across all competitions before hosting Roma in the Europa League.
As is often the case in their best-performing periods, Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao had been in fine form, contributing to plenty of the goals that Stefano Pioli’s side were scoring.
But Milan‘s attacking quality and reliance on their left flank was something Daniele De Rossi had taken into account. From there, he decided to move Stephan El Shaarawy to Roma‘s right side to exploit his endless running and help Zeki Celik keep track of Milan‘s best players.
The Giallorossi’s compact set-up did the rest, by often closing the passing lanes to Milan‘s frontmen, which ended up hindering the hosts’ creativity, notably on a night in which alternative attacking routes such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic were not at the races.
