Milan Football Formation

Starting Lineup

Mike Maignan · Strahinja Pavlović · Koni De Winter · Pervis Estupiñán · Fikayo Tomori · Youssouf Fofana · Adrien Rabiot · Christopher Nkunku · Rafael Leão · Alexis Saelemaekers · Christian Pulisic

Milan aims to win the ball high up the pitch and play with extreme verticality through a 3-4-3 formation. This lineup is built to hit the opposition in transition using quick, direct movements. The team looks to use the width of the pitch to stretch the opposition before breaking through the center.

Mike Maignan acts as the goalkeeper, starting the build up from the back. The back three consists of Strahinja Pavlović, Koni De Winter, and Fikayo Tomori. Pavlović sits in the middle to win the header and clear the lines, while De Winter and Tomori act as wide centre-backs to cover the space behind the midfield. This unit tends to defend zonally to maintain a compact shape. They aim to squeeze the space between the lines to prevent easy passes into the attacking third.

The midfield functions with a central engine room of Youssouf Fofana and Alexis Saelemaekers, while Adrien Rabiot plays as an attacking ten behind the striker. Fofana works to shield the defence and win the second ball, allowing Saelemaekers to connect the defensive and attacking lines. Rabiot acts as the primary creative force, looking to find the feet of the striker or play through the lines. Pervis Estupiñán operates in the wide midfield area to provide much needed width and support the forward line.

In the final third, Milan utilizes three attackers to pin the last defender. Christopher Nkunku plays as a pressing centre-forward, constantly looking to run in behind or link up play with the wide men. Rafael Leão plays on the left as an inverted winger who likes to cut inside and use his dribbling style to beat his man. Christian Pulisic occupies the right side, looking to get to the byline and whip it in or cut it back to the arriving midfielders. This front line creates constant threat through runs in behind and quick combinations.

This 3-4-3 formation offers Milan significant advantages in transition. The presence of Rabiot and Leão allows the team to break quickly once the ball is recovered. By using wide centre-backs like Tomori, the team can also create numerical superiority in the middle when they push up. The ability to press from the front with Nkunku makes it difficult for opponents to play out from the back.

Milan relies on high intensity and rapid verticality to overwhelm their opponents. This formation is best suited for games against teams that sit deep and struggle to track runners in behind.