learn the lesson

Gennaro Ivan Gattuso

Milan 1 Genoa 0

There was talk of Pirlo and Seedorf being mentally tired after playing a string of games. One of them was to be rested ahead of this game and that happened to be Seedorf. Robinho was handed his first start at the club. Rafinha being playing on the right hand side of the 3 man Genoa midfield was rather surprising because I had always thought of the Brazilian as a right back.

The home side started brightly. It appeared that the players were high on Red Bull. They were running after the ball frantically, with the forwards too covering yards of grass. The front three were rotating as Ibrahimovic was often spotted on the left and sometimes in the centre with Ronaldinho playing down the middle. Gattuso was bursting in from the midfield, often lending a 'leg' to the attack. His commitment and output is maddening given his age. When he is on the pitch, he gives a 100% with no questions asked. I have never seen Gattuso performing this role for Milan previously. Arguably, this is a refreshing change of the Allegri era. In the first half, there were disturbingly high amounts of solo play up front. There wasn't sufficient passing in the opposition box and the Genoa defense had no trouble stealing the ball. Ibrahimovic and Ronaldinho were very poor in the first half. They rarely got involved in the game and posed a minimal threat to the Genoa back-line.

Gattuso's inspirational performance carried into the second half. Ibrahimovic doesn't need to have a good game to score and he shows why again. Pirlo's splendid long ball was well read by the long Swede who finished in style to give the Rossoneri the lead. After scoring this goal, Milan sat back and invited Genoa into their half. This was a dangerous tactic to employ which has resulted in dropped points for Allegri over the last few games. Yet, the lesson hasn't been learned. A stupid move from Gasperini caught my eye as he hooked Veloso for Milanetto. Veloso was the crux of creativity for the away side and with him gone, Genoa went flat. Their midfield was redundant and there was no play-maker in the side. Gasperini has the squad but lacks the brains and should face the sack soon. Pirlo improved his performance in the second half. He was busy intercepting the passes and sending in the killer balls.Ibrahimovic performed his duties as a target man effectively for the rest of the game holding off defenders and earning free-kicks. Robinho was bright throughout the game and unfortunately missed out on opening his account for the club due to Criscito's goal line clearance.

We can't afford to score a goal, sit back and defend like the good ol' days. We don't have the midfield or the defense to compliment such a style. Our fullbacks were surprisingly competent today. But that wont be the case every week. Abate can't defend to save his life and there were times in the game where others had to clean up his mess. There is a strong need to score that second goal and finish the game. Bag the points and get going. Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena next. Learn the lesson boys, you got 3 days.

Milan - Ibrahimovic 49'
Genoa - /