In the Zone: How Maignan's passing game undid Real Madrid

AC Milan may have scored three goals in ending Real Madrid's 15-match unbeaten home run in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, yet it was actually their goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, who earned the Player of the Match prize.

According to UEFA technical observer Ole Gunnar Solskjær, it was richly deserved, with Maignan's role in Milan's build-up play proving crucial to their second win of this league phase. Although he made important saves, it was his excellent distribution which forms the focus of this analysis, brought to you by FedEx.

"Maignan was key as he was so calm and secure in starting the build-up," said Solskjær, citing, for example, Maignan's ability to find midfielder Youssouf Fofana in the first half. Moreover, Solskjær applauded the variations in the French goalkeeper's build-up play, observing how Milan had a "slow and controlled build-up when they wanted and then quick transitions when they felt there was an end product".

The first video features three clips which serve to display this varied approach. Clip one shows Paulo Fonseca's men building from a goal kick: Madrid are pressing player to player but Maignan, after collecting the short pass from Fikayo Tomori, succeeds in finding Álvaro Morata in space. As the video highlights, Morata does well to drop and find space prior to the precise execution of the pass by Maignan to break the press.

Milan defended in a 5-4-1, but in possession Theo Hernández on the left would advance to support his winger on that side in their attacking efforts – and this is evident in clip two, which reflects Solskjær's assertion that Milan's "left-hand side was dominant".

The sequence shows Maignan's impressive passing range too. He feeds the ball out to that side with a terrific lofted pass to substitute Noah Okafor, and from there Milan are able to expose Madrid right-back Lucas Vázquez in a 2v1 situation. With a lovely pass, Okafor frees Hernández, whose centre so nearly brings a goal.

Maignan caught the eye throughout with his composure, never looking stressed by Madrid's press, and this is another aspect to note about clip two.

The third example of Maignan's distribution comes with Madrid chasing the game. Recognising that both Real centre-backs were stepping higher up the pitch, the goalkeeper looked to exploit the spaces behind them, as we see with a long searching pass into the hosts' half which finds Okafor 1v1 with the defender on the left.

It was not just Maignan's work with the ball at his feet which caught the eye. Overall, Madrid had 24 shots, with ten of them on target (and an xG of 2.30), and this save in the second video above was one of his most impressive – a reaction stop from substitute Brahim Díaz which extinguished any lingering home hopes of one of those improbable Bernabéu comebacks.