Returning The Favor

Thiago Silva - reinvented

A.C.Milan 2 Cesena 0

The days haven't been forgotten. Cesena started the season with tremendous promise, their first big scalp being AC Milan. Ibrahimovic's debut became a nightmare. For the first time, he didn't score in his first game at a new club. Milan went onto be outclassed by the newly-promoted side and eventually lose 2-0. Alarm bells did ring because just a few days before the game, Allegri had used Leonardo's side to hammer Lecce 4-0 at home. With his glossy acquisitions, Allegri was expected to break records. He ended up breaking the wrong ones.

The defeat to Cesena would have come as a wake up call; no games can be taken for granted. I am not in doubt that the defeat shaped the club's mentality for weeks to come. This time round, at home, the players were fired up to send Cesena back into the hole. It was achieved, but perhaps not with the intensity that was initially hoped for.

For the first 15 minutes, both clubs were merely kicking the ball around. There wasn't a hint of intent in their game. I remember closing my eyes in partial slumber but waking up to the occasional roars from the San Siro faithful. On the 18' minute, Antonini demonstrated ample reason for being a nincompoop with a laughable clearance. Fortunately, Abbiati's heroics saved the day once again. Cesena got the belief that they can take Milan down again and began to attack relentlessly. Cassano and Robinho stepped up and joined the party. Silva was re-invented in the Desaily-role, shielding the back four after injuries to Gattuso and Flamini. Papastathapolous replaced Nesta after the veteran experienced a shoulder injury. Merkel played in midfield and his movement reminded me of Lampard. Yes, the 18 year old doesn't track back like the superstar does, but his attacking forays are almost identical. He gets into scoring positions and always hugs the shadows of the striker to pounce on the loose ball. With a little more composure in the final third and less naivety under pressure, he could blossom into a fantastic footballer. Milan finally broke the deadlock on the stroke of halftime as Cassano set up Ibrahimovic but the pass was unfortunately directed into the back of the net by Pellegrino.

Cesena had two of their front three missing for this game, therefore their task of scoring was that much harder. Milan began to relax in the second half until Bogdani almost leveled the scored before Papastathapolous cleared the ball off the line on the 76'. Robinho continued to annoyingly scuff chances and Allegri introduced Pato on the 84' to wrap up the game. Cassano made way for the oncoming Brazilian. Ibrahimovic put the game to bed in injury time with a beautiful finish to seal the points. The players who shone in this game were few but they did show quality nonetheless. Yepes has proven himself over the course of the season that he is a reliable back up to Nesta. He will do the job, if not spectacularly. Ambrosini has been moved out of the Anchor Man role to a box-box position and his enthusiasm dictates that he can still cover ground. He isn't as reckless and appears to be happier in his preferred position.

Milan - Pellegrino 45' o.g, Ibrahimovic 90'
Cesena - /