In fact, at the beginning of the season, when Ambrosini was injured, "All Market" had once revealed that Thiago Silva was tested as a defensive midfielder by Allegri in practice, but without more proof. Later, after Ambrosini recovered, Allegri did not conduct such experiments in actual matches. However, this time he did not stand in his old position. AC Milan has few opportunities to play warm-up matches during the season, so Allegri took the chance to conduct many experiments, such as Ibra playing as an attacking midfielder in the second half, Oddo appearing as a left-back, and Thiago Silva starting the match as a defensive midfielder.
It can be said that this was a beneficial experiment. It cannot be said that Allegri's concerns about the defensive midfielder position were unnecessary. Currently, Pirlo is injured, Flamini and Gattuso have strong vertical mobility, but their positional sense is not as good as Ambrosini's. In Allegri's system, they have never appeared as defensive midfielders, but rather as left or right central midfielders. Even in the later stages, Pirlo was moved from the defensive midfielder position to the left central midfielder by Allegri, who clearly stated: "Ambrosini can bring more security to the back line in this position." In fact, compared to Ibra, Ambrosini is the only player in AC Milan without a substitute. The experiment with Thiago Silva was based on this. Of course, under normal circumstances, Brazil's presence is still indispensable in AC Milan's defense, but with Ambrosini out due to injury, Allegri now has a second confident choice.
In addition to Thiago Silva's advancement, Ibra's retreat also attracted attention. The Swede delivered many good passes in the new position and was very serious. He even received a yellow card for arguing with the referee during the game and had a verbal altercation with the opposing coach after the game. However, Ibra also has problems in the attacking midfielder position. His movement is not much different from Ronaldinho's. Although Ibra has been actively involved in defense as a striker this season, the defense of a forward and the defense of an attacking midfielder are two different things. As an attacking midfielder, Ibra has no problem with ball possession and offense, but his defense and withdrawal to receive the ball are not well done.
AC Milan defeated Al-Ahli 2-1. Besides Cassano's debut and Pato's return, what was most surprising and astonishing was actually Thiago Silva's appearance in the first lineup. At the beginning of the month, Thiago Silva underwent surgery on his meniscus, and the team doctor's analysis was that it would take at least a month to return to the field. But in less than a month, Thiago Silva, the core of AC Milan's back line, was back.
Among several right backs in AC Milan, Odo is considered to have relatively good left-foot skills, but his performance as a left-back in the second half was still slightly awkward. At the 70th minute, Ibra sent a through pass, and Odo chased up but barely sent a cross that flew out of the other side's baseline. Earlier, at the 55th minute, Robinho's through pass was originally good, but by the time Odo sent an awkward left-footed cross, the ball had already gone completely out of bounds. Actually, Odo's performance today was quite good, with multiple nice performances in both attack and defense in the first half, so he became the player chosen by Allegri to play the longest in this match. This season, AC Milan has indeed encountered situations where there was no one available for the left-back position, forcing Bonera to play as a guest. But from this game, it appears that Odo is not much better than Bonera.
Regardless, these warm-up matches that are irrelevant to winning or losing are the best opportunity to test lineups. Allegri brought out some things he wouldn't dare to in regular games. Whether confirming or overturning some of them, it is all extremely valuable and will benefit the team in the future.
In this match, Thiago Silva brought more surprises to AC Milan. After all, he started as a defensive midfielder, so although his forward runs were few, his positioning and ball control were excellent. Relying on accurate long passes for left-right scheduling was very effective. AC Milan had a clear advantage in midfield in the first half. Except for a brief moment of relaxation after scoring, which allowed the opponent to form a one-on-one situation, the third goalkeeper, Roma, basically faced no challenges. Besides that goal, Pato, Seedorf, and even Antonini had excellent chances to expand the score. In the absolute advantage in midfield, Thiago Silva, as a defensive midfielder, deserves much credit. Antonini's powerful shot at the 25th minute, which headed straight for the corner but was deflected out by the goalkeeper, came from Thiago Silva's direct pass. The shot inside the box by Cassano to Gattuso at the 11th minute and the through pass to Seedorf by Cassano at the 20th minute were respectively from Silva's long-pass transfer and direct pass.