"Get your calculator. In the minutes with Tomori, Gabbia and Pavlovic on the pitch together, Milan have conceded five goals in 711 minutes across the league and the Coppa Italia, which averages out at one every 142 minutes. Only Arsenal (one goal every 306 minutes, according to StatsPerform data), Como (167), and Roma (150) performed better. In the minutes in which Allegri coached a different trio, the averages changed: one every 115 minutes. There is a difference."
"Mainly because Tomori, Gabbia, and Pavlovic have complementary characteristics. Tomori and Pavlovic, as central defenders in a back four, had disasters more than once due to errors in positioning and reading of the game. As outside centre-backs, their best qualities - aggression for Tomori, physicality and recovery speed for Pavlovic - can come out, without paying for every mistake."
Massimiliano Allegri deploys Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia, and Strahinja Pavlovic together as Milan’s preferred defensive trio to blunt strong attacks. The trio conceded five goals in 711 minutes across Serie A and Coppa Italia, averaging one goal every 142 minutes, a rate bettered by very few teams. When the trio is split, defensive fragility increases, with goals conceded rising to one every 115 minutes under other combinations. The three complement one another: Tomori adds aggression, Pavlovic brings physicality and recovery speed, and Gabbia provides positional stability and cover, enabling risk-taking from the others. Luka Modric does not provide Makelele-like defensive cover.
Read at SempreMilan
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