Summary: As another epic battle looks to unfold at Camp Nou between Barcelona and AC Milan, the Catalans would still be the clear favorites even while chasing a two goal deficit, but that would underestimate what should happen should the Italians strike but only once on another counter-attack with its two of its young stars, Stephan El Shaarawy and MBaye Niang. Underscored is the defensive problems that Barcelona continues to experience in the Champions League and whether they should look to prevent that important away goal over outscoring AC Milan in this return leg. Key factors could be whether Milan continues to cause Barcelona in the wide areas and whether Barcelona breaks from its formula to play two defensive midfielders in front of the defence for extra security in those transitions. This opens a discussion into why Italian clubs traditionally find success in the big games, how they approach matches tactically and soon enough we look at another team in Europe who also is defying logic and that is Vladimir Petkovic and Lazio. Defensively they continue to defy yet another label by deploying up to four midfielders in behind a target striker, using combinations and athletic mismatches to attack space and minimize transitions against continental opponents. We also examine a number of new emerging players in Serie A such as Juraj Kucka, Victor Ibarbo and Paul Pogba who represent a new wrinkle in Italian football where long, athletic players who can be effective at either end of the pitch are now becoming a byproduct of three man defensive formations and overloaded midfields where up to five players are often deployed.
