There was obviously a lot of talk ahead of the game regarding Milan’s poor Serie A start as well as Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s worrying mid-week comments.

Ibrahimovic had made statements about his waning desire and enthusiasm for playing football during the international break. Comments that certainly had the Milan tifosi not only scratching their head but worried about potential future contributions from their Swedish talisman. After all, Ibrahimovic’s whimsical nature has been well documented throughout his career and the fear that this latest mood swing would coincide with an inopportune dip in form was cause for concern.

However it was the opposite as Ibrahimovic gave one of his best performances to date. The Swedish striker was all over the pitch, dropping into midfield, working the flanks, harrying the opposition, and making himself available for the team. The big difference between this Ibrahimovic and the one we are more accustomed to had to do with both his positioning and role within the tactical setup. In his usual scheme, Massimiliano Allegri plays Ibrahimovic as a prima punta (target striker) who stays up top and serves as a focal point for the team from which to play. However the Swede played much deeper, almost in a trequartista (playmaker) role with Robinho & Antonio Cassano making runs ahead of him. I have always been of the opinion that many coaches – Fabio Capello [when at Juventus] most notably – have unfairly type-casted Ibrahimovic as a hold-up striker due to the Swede’s strength and size. However Ibrahimovic’s greatest assets are his vision, passing range, and ability to unlock defenses without the use of his formidable athletic gifts. Bearing this in mind, the idea of Ibrahimovic as a playmaker is not so farfetched after all, having been responsible for the cross that found Alberto Aquilani in open space to tee up Antonio Nocerino for the opener, as well as for assisting Robinho’s goal.

Playing Ibrahimovic in a slightly more withdrawn role not only got the best of the Swede but it also added fluency to Milan’s game that was really missing in recent weeks. When Ibrahimovic plays as a prima punta, Milan not only too early but too often opt for the verticality in order to take advantage of the Swede’s hold-up play and singular ability to pierce defenses on his own. In other words, the team becomes all too reliant – and detrimentally so – on the Swede and simply lobs the ball up to him in the hopes that he will make the individual difference. However, with him dropping deeper and partnering him with Robinho and Cassano, it offered much more variety to the Rossoneri attack. In a way it blurred the reference point and made it more difficult for the Palermo defenders to pick any of the forwards up for marking. Robinho and Cassano were constantly moving by going wide, cutting in from the flanks, dropping deep, making runs and calling for the ball in the verticality or for a simple one-two at the edge of the box. Indeed it was the most complete offensive display we have seen from the Rossoneri so far this season.

Playing Ibrahimovic in the trequartista position may have also solved a worrying tactical conundrum for Allegri: Kevin Prince Boateng. The Ghanaian flourished in this position last season that Allegri has assigned him too ever since. However, there is a considerable change of pace/rhythm when Boateng is absent from the lineup. In effect it was his physicality and athleticism that are missing, and the fact that neither of Cassano or Robinho can make up for it has been an issue in the sense that Allegri always needs to tweak his tactical setup because of it. When Boateng plays as the trequartista, he does so as a pivot. That is to say that he is the midfield’s first reference point in that the deepest players [defenders and midfielders] look for him first. Unlike a static pivot however, he plays in relays [one-twos] in a fetch-and-carry role that accelerates ball movement and facilitates fluency in the transitional phases [from defense to offense] of the game. Cassano is unable to play this role for lack of pace, and neither is Robinho for his lack of physicality and ability to hold the ball up. Ibrahimovic is the best candidate in that he possesses all the necessary athletic gifts as well as offers an even greater passing range than Boateng, which [in truth] makes the Swede a more viable candidate for the role.

Whether Allegri played Ibrahimovic in the trequartista role with the intention to replicate Boateng’s effect or simply gave him freedom to roam with the Swede simply putting himself in his comfort zone, Milan have seemingly turned the page today by not only winning but producing good football. The performances of Cassano for the Azzurri may have also convinced Allegri to play the Italian further up top where he can be a greater goal threat. When Boateng returns, it would not be a surprise to see Ibrahimovic allow Cassano play ahead of him while he swaps positions with Boateng throughout the match, just as he did yesterday with Robinho at times. Indeed the one who finds himself threatened right now is Alexandre Pato, who requires for the ball to be played in more vertical spaces and thus would make the Rossoneri attack slightly more one-dimensional. It is also good to note that the football proposed against Palermo was made possible by a midfield setup where Nocerino and Aquilani offered a lot of running than when the veteran Clarence Seedorf is present. Ibrahimovic dropping deeper also offered the Rossoneri more ball retention in midfield – and thus more possession (69%) – as well as more presence in an area where other teams had been overrunning them in past games. The most important lesson gained from this however is certainly that the team has learnt to play without Boateng, especially given the fact that the Ghanaian will be off to the African Cup of Nations in January.