Benching Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho

Milan 1 Fiorentina 0

Benching Ronaldinho isn't an easy choice. Managers rather have him sold than warm the bench during games and rock the clubs at night. For Mister Allegri to show Ronaldinho the bench is indicative of the man's guts. He is no pushover. He demonstrated that yet again when he decided to start Ronaldinho in his jump suit for perhaps the fourth time in succession.

The new Milan side has come to be recognized as a team that hits the ball running from the start and Fiorentina experienced just that while they played catch up in the initial stages of the game. Milan played wide with a lot of the attack coming down the channels. Robinho played off Ibrahimovic but positioned himself on the left side-line. Fiorentina maintained a deep line which was sensible from Mihajlovic. His defenders weren't the fastest and wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace of our forwards. The deep line successfully stifled our forwards for space. Seedorf and Co. could not find the killer ball due to the congestion in the Fiorentina half. As mentioned earlier, our attack was running down the flanks and one man in particular had enough opportunity and time to thrive on the room provided. That was Daniele Bonera. But the full-back's crosses were awful and reflective of the fact that he is a centre half and not a wide-man. Robinho's movement was splendid throughout, even if he did precious little otherwise. He has demonstrated some rather surprising intelligence when off the ball and Ibrahimovic has thrived from this partnership. If the Brazilian improves with his final ball and shooting, he could be lethal. After knocking for 45 minutes, Ibrahimovic finally blasted open the door. The goal arrived from a splendid overhead kick. Such was Ibrahimovic's jubilation that he injured his elbow while celebrating.

After having faded towards the latter part of the first half, Milan returned in the second looking a lot sharper. The midfield three were working very hard, running up and down the pitch to assist the defense. This new functional midfield has given Milan great steel in the centre of the park making it very hard for teams to penetrate. Our attack began to flow from the back with both our centre backs taking shots at target. The confidence was beginning to ooze from this side. The shape of the team started to shift to a 4-3-2-1 in the second half. Robinho dropped deeper to from a line with Seedorf leaving Ibrahimovic alone up front. Though Viola played a wide 4-2-3-1, they attacked mainly through the centre. The wide-men were receiving the ball and cutting in instead of running down the flanks and crossing into the box. If they had adopted a crossing game, they would have exploited Milan's biggest weakness and tapped into their biggest strength. Allegri spotted the wide-men's movement and dropped Robinho deeper to close the spaces that Fiorentina were finding, thereby hindering any fluidity in their movement. Gilardino was being eaten alive by a two headed monster called Silva-Nesta which urged the striker to drop deep to collect the ball. This enabled his wingers to get into the game and make the runs into the box. Ljajic was quiet for most of the game by being boxed in midfield and with Gilardino dropping deeper, he got more space and room to charge up front. He was released on one particular occasion in the 83' and if not for Abbiati's block, Mihajlovic side would have leveled. Milan played out the rest of the game in a no nonsense fashion to close the game and bag the three points to go 3 clear at the top.

Milan - Ibrahimovic 45'

Fiorentina - /

Dark Arts

Goran Pandev

Inter 0 Milan 1

Allegri has brought an immense amount of industry to this chic Milan side. A team famous for classy football has now morphed into something of an engine that chugs efficiently with preset objectives. Allegri has implemented this industry by changing the face of the midfield. He now plays 3 hard men in central midfield. One of these sits right in front of the defense whilst the other two cover several blades of grass. The rugged tactic has considerably reduced Pirlo's importance to the current team bringing more dynamism into the play.

One can only imagine how nervous Ibrahimovic would have been facing the Curva Nord on the penalty. Yet he dispatched his penalty quite confidently. Benitez had chosen to go with a 3 man wide attack to try and exploit the fullbacks of Milan. Eto'o hugged the touchline but Abate's pace always slowed the Cameroonian down allowing Gattuso to track back and double man-mark the hitman. Inter played a deep line giving Milan plenty of room in midfield. AC Milan dominated proceedings for the first 25 minutes or so with Inter providing very little resilience. Allegri's solid 3 man midfield was blunting Sneijder and giving him very little space to move or create an opening. He was watched closely for most of the game. Inter were a bit fortunate with Obi's injury which allowed Coutinho to enter the game. The young Brazilian was the stimulus that sparked Inter's renaissance, giving them something extra in midfield. Gattuso's tackles were typically rough and the veteran should consider himself highly fortunate not to have seen red. Abate had a stellar half. Yes, he picked up a card in the first half, but it was arguably his best performance in defense for Milan. Positionally and tactically, he was top class.

Benitez shuffled things around after the break. An absolutely woeful Milito took the bench as Pandev was thrown into the fray. Pirlo entered the game for the departing Gattuso. Materazzi, who had been given charge to marshal Ibrahimovic had failed miserably. Therefore, Lucio took up the responsibility and succeeded in taming the big Swede. Just then, Pandev performs a bit of dark magic. He entices Abate to react and gets the full back sent off! Milan reduced to 10 men due to some dirty tactical play from Inter which is distinctly characteristic of them. It did appear that Flamini's influence on the game had dropped in the second half. He did make the darting runs into the box but wasn't very effective in defense, which is a shame given he wasn't carded and should have been more physical. Robinho and Flamini ran circles around the Inter midfielders and caused a great amount of distraction by drawing players away, creating more space for the likes of Ibrahimovic and Seedorf. Silva-Nesta looked superb all night and the midfielders weren't running short of legs. Kevin Prince was introduced to add more graft in midfield and that tightened up the spaces forcing the Inter players to try their luck from distance. Antonini however was having trouble with the pace and skill of Biabiany on the right. He was constantly faked and permitted several crosses to be floated into the box. In the end, Milan showed great character and spirit to close the game and get the vital win. We now sit six points clear of Inter!

Inter - /
Milan - Ibrahimovic 5' pen

A Costly Win

Mario Yepes

Milan 3 Palermo 1

Inviting the pink panthers to the San Siro has proved to be fatal in the recent past. With the additions of Pastore, Pinilla and Ilicic, Palermo are looking more intimidating than they have over the last few years. When you have a leaky defense and are facing one of the most talented attacks in Italy, you have to be brave and respond in attack. Allegri did just that. It seems like the Italian is finally finding the missing pieces of the puzzle. Seedorf had one his best games in a Milan shirt this season in the trequartista role against Bari which merited his start in the same position in this game. Boatang returned from suspension whilst Gattuso took his turn on the bench after accumulating the cards. Pirlo started from the bench for the second game running.


Milan bossed the possession in the first period giving the visitors very little time on the ball when not in possession. Palermo resorted to a counter attacking style to hurt Milan but they weren't prepared for a solid almost impermeable defense that AC Milan had set up that night. Pato opened the scoring after some horrific man marking from a corner. Seedorf adds another to the assist list. Ambrosini who has been reformed into an anchor man this season was flying into challenges and thereby found his name in the book. Palermo's attack was severely blunted by our defense. This is arguably the best defensive performance that I have seen from Milan in the last couple of years. Fantastic organization and positioning by the back 4. Credit must also go to Flamini and Boatang for closing down the midfielders and tracking back to assist the defenders. Pastore barely touched the ball which was largely due to precise defensive tactics employed by Allegri, who had clearly done his homework. One man who did disappoint in the first half for Milan was Zlatan. He just hasn't settled down at the club and is beginning to look rather jaded if not disinterested.

Palermo threatened more in the second half. Pastore sustained a knock and was replaced with Miccoli. Rossi put on a striker to assist Pinilla who was struggling against Silva and Yepes because he was isolated from his midfielders. A blip was around the corner and it arrived with Bacinovic's goal. It was a well placed shot into the left bottom corner of the net. Abbiati stood motionless without even trying to go for the ball. A sense of urgency seeped into Milan; Seedorf pushed from a deeper position and nearly scored only to be denied by the post. Boatang disappeared in the second half. His passing and shooting was top class in the first half but went mising in the second. The Rossoneri's efforts in attack were duly rewarded by Sirigu as he brought down Ambrosini in the box. The penalty was dispatched with confidence by Zlatan to give the hosts a deserved lead. Prior to this, Pato limped off with an injury and was replaced with Inzaghi who in-turn was injured during the build up to the penalty. Facing a draw before the derby was unacceptable to the home side which pushed Ambrosini out of the deep to make the runs from midfield. Robinho, who replaced Inzaghi was very fortunate on the third goal. Ibrahimovic sprinted down the left to cut the ball back to the Brazilian who hit the ball straight at the keeper before it sneaked under him and crossed the lined. Robinho had the chance to repay the favor to Ibrahimovic later in the game, but was very lazy with his pass. Milan at this stage were relying on counters and should have comfortably scored a couple more. The man of the match however was Mario Yepes who played his first game for his new club at the Meazza. He was like a rock at the back and made it very hard for the Palermo front men to get past him. Of course, Silva had a role in making Yepes look that good.

The points earned against Palermo are crucial for Milan and I mean that not only from the table perspective. Yes, we are at the top of the table, alone, after Lazio's loss away to Cesena. And yes, we haven't been top of the table, alone, since November 2, 2008. But we have beaten Palermo after they did the double on us last season. Palermo have psychologically messed with Milan in the past and have been a thorn in Milan's seasons. This win will help balance the records and the psyche. But the win has come at a cost. Inzaghi has been ruled out for the rest of the season and Pato will miss the next 2 games. Well, the next game is the Milan derby! One can imagine what our attack would be with an out of sorts Robinho in attack. But more importantly, it is the loss of Inzaghi that could cost us in the long run.

Milan - Pato 19', Zlatan pen 77', Robinho 83'
Palermo - Bacinovic 63'

Growing Guts

Pato

Bari 2 AC Milan 3

Questions have been raised about Allegri not having the personality or the air of authority to be able to talk down the big boys at Milan. And these words must have flown with the wind and fallen upon his ears. The man must have straightened his tie and stood up like a manager of this club must, which could be an daunting task for someone who has recently walked down the glorious corridors of the Milanello from a humble provincial side based in Sardinia. His decision to bench Pato, Ronaldinho and Pirlo would have come as a stupendous surprise to fans and neutrals alike. He opted to go with Ambrosini, Gattuso and Flamini viz, a very work-man like midfield against a gritty side of Bari. Seedorf was given the role to assist Robinho and Ibrahimovic as Yepes partnered Nesta in the heart of defense and he did so, quite literally twice in the game.

Ambrosini's trademark has been his ability to head the ball exquisitely and he showcased this talent with the opener. Flamini struggled initially and the lack of match practice seemed rather evident. Milan played a zonal marking system when not in possession of the ball. Gattuso has been reborn this season and continued to be a live-wire in this game. He chased players, closed down creators and put in the inevitable crunching challenge from time to time. Robinho played off Ibrahimovic, however he was perhaps given a free role. Marking him would have been a tough job with him moving from the left to the right and sometimes even running down the centre. His movement is second best to only Inzaghi in the team but his finishing is unbelievably poor. He created chance after chance but couldn't find the back of the net. I can't think of another reason but low confidence to be the trigger for not scoring given the chances he was provided. Allegri has probably realised that teams will attack his wings. This was visible as midfielders pulled wide to assist the fullbacks. The absence of the creator meant that the centre backs would have to direct the long pass to find the forwards, but both the centre-backs were poor with their passing, their passes often being easily intercepted. Flamini's darting runs into the box are amongst his brightest assets and he put that to good use on the second goal. The opposing midfielder however should have tracked his run. Barreto's runs and sharpness tested Yepes a number of times. The forward turned the defender on one occasion and should have put Bari in touching distance before the break.

Ibrahimovic has been a bit off with his performances lately. However, he still comes up with a goal or an assist in every game even if he doesn't blow the oppositions away with his enviable talent. He tried to go for the spectacular a few times in the game when simplicity was the easier option. Bari found themselves on the ball a lot more in the second half. Pato was introduced to give Milan more bite in attack and he responded with a brilliant goal from the edge of the box. That, with his weaker foot and from a tough angle. The goal is a must watch. YouTube it. But that wasn't before a former Milanisti walked though our defense to peg one back for the home side. Gattuso's legs refused to match up with his effervescent spirit. He simply couldn't keep up with the pace of the game in the second half. Bari's right sided midfielder Alvarez consistently employed pace to get beyond Zambrotta, who dragged him down on a number of occasions. Bari intentionally focused on the weaker full back and attacked him with pace and overlaps. They refused to give up and scored another in the closing stages. A well weighed lob into the box was volleyed into the back of the net by Barreto. I would like to add here that he was Nesta's man on this occasion. Enough said. Yepes had the added responsibility to cover up for Zambrotta's lack of pace in the latter stages which created a massive hole in the defense which the home side couldn't take advantage off.

We are getting the points, somehow, someway. This is characteristic of a title winning team. Therefore, I am not complaining. The quality of performances need to improve though. Our opponents this week are Palermo and Inter. Two cracking games against two formidable sides. Did I tell you that our natural full backs are either injured or lack match practice? And to make things worse, Thiago Silva is out with injury too. This is hardly the time we could say 'Bring it on Pastore, Ilicic!'

Bari - Kutuzov 66', Barreto 90'
Milan - Ambrosini 5', Flamini 31', Pato 72'

Mourinho's fear

Howard Webb

Milan 2 Madrid 2

Ronaldo would run down the left and it was necessary that someone with more than adequate pace kept him quiet. Abate was thankfully assigned the role of doing so. Ronaldo could rarely cut in from the left with Abate proving him with very little room to run riot. He closed down the winger superbly at the risk of getting sent off. Also, the former World Player of the Year couldn't penetrate through the heart of the Milan defense. He therefore chose to dance at the sideline and catch his face when contacted on his throat. Allegri's selection of Ronaldinho made sense however he was positioned out wide on the left where Ramos would shackle him for the rest of the game. Madrid played a high line of defense which caught Pato and Ibrahimovic offside a number of times to the frustration of the forwards and the onlookers. The home defense started revealing the cracks in the fort when Pepe was left unmarked on a free header. That should have been 1-0. Almost instantly, Pirlo clears the ball of the line not once but twice! Should have been 3-0. After these close calls, I stopped counting. Madrid began to control the tempo and the San Siro effect was neutralized. Those in white passed freely around the park with the Milan front three cooling their heels up front. Gattuso had to work his socks off to cover for Pato and Ronaldinho's indifference, which he did rather admirably. Ronaldinho had a couple of flicks in the game. That aside, he had no answers to Ramos' marking. Inevitably, Madrid took the lead. Higuain was left free in the box by Nesta who stepped out to close down Di Maria. The winger found the forward quite comfortably. Unfortunately, this time, Higuain made no mistake with his finish. For the rest of the half, Pato and Ibrahimovic contributed by conceding several offsides. Enough perhaps, to strain the lungs of the linesman.

Madrid continued to win the midfield battle. They toyed with Milan by passing around inviting the midfield onto them. However, the midfield of 3 were so stretched that they didn't know which direction to move in. Madrid seemed content to keep the ball and slow the pace of the game. Ronaldinho was later axed for Inzaghi. This move was going to be the turning point for the home side. A lapse of concentration from Madrid and a surge of the same from Inzaghi saw Milan claw one back due to Ibrahimovic's endeavorer. Ibrahimovic was getting more involved in the game by dropping deep and creating from a trequartista position. Madrid were rattled by the equalizer and Allegri decided to bring Ambrosini on for Pato! The logic of this move is beyond me. Adding Robinho to the fray would have brought some width and skill upfront which was hugely lacking with Pato on the pitch. 10 minutes later, Inzaghi scores again! However, the goal was clearly offside. Mourinho hooked Carvalho and gave Leon a run-in. This move was soaked in intent. With 12 minutes to go, Milan use theatrics and corner flag possession to kill time. This, against a supremely talented Madrid side. Madrid answered the taunt with a goal at the death. Pedro Leon left Zambrotta for dead as he turned and blasted the ball through Abbiati's legs.

Inzaghi cemented Mourinho's fears with a brace. Jose wasn't taking a jibe at Milan with that comment some weeks ago. Inzaghi instilled the fear in the Special One and taught the younger lads what it means to score. Howard Webb was my man of the match. A superb performance from the Englishman who produced the cards only when necessary. He kept his composure and bullied the bullies showcasing why he is the finest referee in the world. Pato has shown time and again this season that he is unreliable and his performances in the big games has been nothing short of awful. Ronaldinho has most likely booked his tickets to LA Galaxy and Milan might have booked their tickets to the Europa League. Auxerre away are a nasty opponent and Ajax are massively unpredictable. The Dutch side will be sniffing qualification which would make them a lot harder to beat. The next two ties are must win for Milan if they have a genuine interest to qualify for the knockout rounds. However, such a feat requires top quality football, which is currently lacking in great proportions in this over-rated Milan side.

Milan - Inzaghi 68', 78'

Madrid - Higuain 45', Leon 94'

Unpredictable

Luca Antonini

Milan 1 Juventus 2

Del Neri's favorite 4-4-2 lined up on the pitch to match Milan's 4-3-3. Right from the start, Allegri had lost the tactical battle with this formation. Del Neri's men had an extra man in midfield which would mean that even if Milan controlled the game, breaking the Old Lady wouldn't be easy. Chiellini was called off action after having injured himself during the warm up. Ibrahimovic would have been all smiles when he sighted Chiellini limping to the bench. As expected, Milan dominated possession and looked the most likely to score. However, Quagliarella had other plans. He took advantage of Antonini's defensive lapse and headed home a beautifully placed header from a De Ceglie cross. The goal provided a sucker punch to Milan. Spirits and heads dropped while Juventus found their feet in the game. The Bianconeri grew in confidence after the goal and the home side did precious little to dampen the opposition's mood. Antonini has easily been Milan's worst player this season which begs me to ask, why isn't Bruno Montelongo being played this season? The highly rated right back was brought in the summer on loan to add to the numbers of the Primevera? I think not. Then why does Allegri still stick to the faded champions of the squad? Antonini can't dribble to save his life, his positioning sense is awful and his passing probably his worst attribute. How he makes the Milan first team remains a mystery. On the right flank, Bonera had a collision involving De Ceglie. The young left back was stretchered away with Pepe replacing him at left back. Yes, Pepe. Just to emphasize, Juventus' defense looked like this - Motta, Legrottaglie, Bonucci and Pepe! One would expect a flamboyant attack like ours to run riot, especially since we were at home. These are the occasions when Milan defy logic, which they successfully did. A lot of credit has been given to Abbiati over the last season. But he is astonishingly incompetent from set pieces and crosses. He fearfully flaps at the ball like a 15 year old would flap at a harmless mosquito. He cuts a sorry picture as a professional making it an embarrassing viewing experience. Juventus gifted Milan enough chances for this to become a mauling. However, Ibrahimovic chose not to take them.

The tall Swede continued to let chances slip by with poor first touches. His partner in crime Pato has taken to the idea of being Italy's Messi. But the Brazilian lacks the technical skill and quality to replicate the Argentine wonder which no one evidently has told him so far. Therefore, his runs into the penalty box inevitably ends up with lost possession. Aquillani and Melo were defensively efficient. Aquillani dropped deeper in the game to let Melo move up in attack and the Italian was relishing the midfield battle. Bonucci who has the tactical awareness of a tortoise was combining admirably well with Legrottaglie to keep Ibrahimovic very quiet. It was perhaps Chiellini's chance to smile. Just like in the first half, Juventus hit Milan out of the blue. Antonini to be held responsible again for not using his feet to clear the ball. He was trying to be innovative by doing the salsa with Sissoko but Del Piero didn't dance. I thought to myself, no Krasic and no Chiellini and Juventus are up by two goals to nil at the San Siro! Unpredictability can rarely be demonstrated any better. Following the second goal, Juventus dropped deep and opted to defend the lead. Ibrahimovic bagged one in the eighty second minute with Pepe unable to hold of the big Swede on the cross. Special mention to Antonini for playing a part with an assist. Milan dominated possession whilst Juventus relied on the counter. One of the notable observations that was made was of a talent called Sokratis. This Greek is a disaster waiting to happen; he is brash and crude with his challenges and lacks the composure at this level.

Its shocking that we could not beat a severely depleted Juventus. If our men had trouble against Pepe and Legrottaglie, it doesn't take an immensely imaginative mind to fathom how we would cope with Carvalho and Ramos. Ronaldo is arguably on top of his form at the moment and his razor sharp movement will hurt Milan. A defeat on Wednesday might see us getting knocked out of the Champions League much earlier than we would have imagined.

Milan - Ibrahimovic 82'

Juventus - Quagliarella 24', Del Piero 65'