Andrea PirloLivorno 0 AC Milan 0
I know, its been a while since I have come in here. Dint know what to blog about, if you ask me. This club's conditions are depreciating faster than the state of human rights in Palestine. Anyway, after the tormenting international break, club football resumed. Milan had decided it was time to silence the critics with their performance. On hindsight, it all seems so funny.
This was supposed to be the game where the team and the coach were going to vindicate themselves after the drubbing at the hands of Inter some 2 weeks ago. However, it was going to be a reality bite and not a fairy tale as the men from Milan would have expected. To start things on the wrong foot, Leo decided to bench our most influential player, Pirlo. The no. 21 was reborn for the Azzuri over the last couple of games, and benching him in the game of exculpation dint make the least bit of sense to me. The result was visible for all to see. The midfield was as dead as a block of wood, and was static as well. Lack of creativity was so blatant, that it started to pierce my eye. Livorno strikers were getting the better of our defense, but lacked the finishing touch. Flamini's effort from distance was praiseworthy. Our forwards were on sleep mode. I find it astonishing that the set-piece from Seedorf wasn't punished by our strikers. Huntelaar-Pato partnership was something I was looking forward to, but if yesterday's game is anything to go by, then testing times are ahead for the optimist. They looked completely out of sync, and lacked any sort of understanding. As I mentioned before, with Pirlo out of the team, the team looked savage and disjointed. Flair and spark were clearly absent. Huntelaar wanted a start, and finally got it, but I am sure, he wouldn't have wanted it to be against Livorno if he knew how woeful he was going to play. Storari came up with some top class saves to keep the scores level. Milan still felt that direct football was the way to go, and despite no returns, they continued with the same tactic. It was one of those off occasions when Seedorf's long ball found Pato, but his finish was obstructed by De Lucia.
After the break, Pirlo and Inzaghi replaced Ronaldinho and Hunter. R80 was anonymous for the second game in succession, and call me a sadist, but I'm loving it. I was glad to see the switch, a move I would have endorsed if I was Tassotti. Pippo's rusty finishing was at its best, after Pato's mesmerizing run following a lovely interception, which goes onto indicate that Inzaghi isn't the man to rely on for the constant banging in of the goals. ACM did look the better team in the second half, but there wasn't clear domination in terms of possession. Abate then replaced Flamini, but it was surely too little too late. We did control the tempo but Livorno gladly soaked up the pressure. Towards the end, we did manage to keep the ball, but there was no sense of urgency in our game. We kept knocking the ball around, waiting for the final whistle.
Marseille in the Champions League in midweek up next. I apologize for not having updated the post on Europe. I shall soon. However, the scenario isn't promising. Our coach is not an ambitious man, and I don't need double digit games to ascertain that. With someone like Leo at the helm, we will be calling for help. Like we are at the moment. We don't have a 'Kaka' to rescue us this time in Europe, so God bless us, as well as America.
Goal Scorers -
Livorno - /
Milan - /
This was supposed to be the game where the team and the coach were going to vindicate themselves after the drubbing at the hands of Inter some 2 weeks ago. However, it was going to be a reality bite and not a fairy tale as the men from Milan would have expected. To start things on the wrong foot, Leo decided to bench our most influential player, Pirlo. The no. 21 was reborn for the Azzuri over the last couple of games, and benching him in the game of exculpation dint make the least bit of sense to me. The result was visible for all to see. The midfield was as dead as a block of wood, and was static as well. Lack of creativity was so blatant, that it started to pierce my eye. Livorno strikers were getting the better of our defense, but lacked the finishing touch. Flamini's effort from distance was praiseworthy. Our forwards were on sleep mode. I find it astonishing that the set-piece from Seedorf wasn't punished by our strikers. Huntelaar-Pato partnership was something I was looking forward to, but if yesterday's game is anything to go by, then testing times are ahead for the optimist. They looked completely out of sync, and lacked any sort of understanding. As I mentioned before, with Pirlo out of the team, the team looked savage and disjointed. Flair and spark were clearly absent. Huntelaar wanted a start, and finally got it, but I am sure, he wouldn't have wanted it to be against Livorno if he knew how woeful he was going to play. Storari came up with some top class saves to keep the scores level. Milan still felt that direct football was the way to go, and despite no returns, they continued with the same tactic. It was one of those off occasions when Seedorf's long ball found Pato, but his finish was obstructed by De Lucia.
After the break, Pirlo and Inzaghi replaced Ronaldinho and Hunter. R80 was anonymous for the second game in succession, and call me a sadist, but I'm loving it. I was glad to see the switch, a move I would have endorsed if I was Tassotti. Pippo's rusty finishing was at its best, after Pato's mesmerizing run following a lovely interception, which goes onto indicate that Inzaghi isn't the man to rely on for the constant banging in of the goals. ACM did look the better team in the second half, but there wasn't clear domination in terms of possession. Abate then replaced Flamini, but it was surely too little too late. We did control the tempo but Livorno gladly soaked up the pressure. Towards the end, we did manage to keep the ball, but there was no sense of urgency in our game. We kept knocking the ball around, waiting for the final whistle.
Marseille in the Champions League in midweek up next. I apologize for not having updated the post on Europe. I shall soon. However, the scenario isn't promising. Our coach is not an ambitious man, and I don't need double digit games to ascertain that. With someone like Leo at the helm, we will be calling for help. Like we are at the moment. We don't have a 'Kaka' to rescue us this time in Europe, so God bless us, as well as America.
Goal Scorers -
Livorno - /
Milan - /
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