Thiago SilvaAjax 1 Milan 1
I love 'the hole'. Always have. From the days of Rui Costa till Kaka inherited that position behind Crespo and Shevchenko. And beyond. Even in the day when Gourcuff played behind Chamakh and Cavenaghi at Bordeaux. Its a position that is fancy, creative, intriguing. Players often lose their character in that position. Kaka did, often being misunderstood for a second striker. Allegri has brought the 'hole' back to Milan. This time, Seedorf was being employed in that role. Allegri started with a 4-3-1-2 with Ibrahimovic and Robinho playing as outright forwards. Gattuso was handed a start and he did justice by constantly snarling at the heels of the Dutch. Jol started with 3 midfielders too. Those three were not only combative, but also creative.
During the course of the game, one question constantly bothered me. Why did Milan's full-backs play centrally? What was the logic behind that tactic? Or was it a result of deteriorating/average defenders being repeatedly caught out of position? Ajax grew in confidence by shooting from distance as Milan's defenders refused to close them down adequately. Milan's fullbacks were probably ordered to sit back in the first period as they soaked in the pressure and attempted to neutralize Suarez's influence. But the Uruguyan wasn't going to let a pretentious defense shackle him. He amazed the onlookers as he completed a nutmeg on Nesta before assisting the scorer - El Hamdoui. Flamini was completely lost on this goal and didn't offer enough protection to break down this attack. The naked eye might have missed it, but Allegri wouldn't have. Not much longer, Robinho was gifted with a one-one chance with Stekelenberg but his atrocious finishing let him down. His confidence sank a 1000 feet with that miss. Flamini perhaps rightly substituted at that halfway mark; his presence on the pitch made us look like we were playing with 10 men. Allegri had started with 2 of Milan's most defensive minded players in midfield. This backed with fullbacks not given the permission to move up in attack makes it obvious that he approached this game with unnecessary caution. Ibrahimovic began to fade in the game and I would understand that this is the case of fatigue setting in. However his class was simply too much for the young and inexperienced Dutch defense to handle. His goal was a combination of the experience of the striker and the lack of it in the defenders. Silva was clearly our best player that night as he exhibited pace and strength in abundance. He worked overtime to make up for Nesta's frailties. He played last man in order to leverage his pace against Ajax's speedy attack. After the equalizer, Ajax kept the ball, knocking it around to find an opening, but Milan shut shop and opted to defend instead.
Allegri's mentality in Europe is questionable. He entered this match with a defensive mindset when his team had more than enough quality in attack to return home with 3 points. His match-up with Mourinho should be tasty. Even though, on evidence, its fairly clear that the winner will be the Portuguese genius, it's still worth watching the class of the titans.
Ajax - El Hamadoui 23'
Milan - Ibrahimovic 37'
During the course of the game, one question constantly bothered me. Why did Milan's full-backs play centrally? What was the logic behind that tactic? Or was it a result of deteriorating/average defenders being repeatedly caught out of position? Ajax grew in confidence by shooting from distance as Milan's defenders refused to close them down adequately. Milan's fullbacks were probably ordered to sit back in the first period as they soaked in the pressure and attempted to neutralize Suarez's influence. But the Uruguyan wasn't going to let a pretentious defense shackle him. He amazed the onlookers as he completed a nutmeg on Nesta before assisting the scorer - El Hamdoui. Flamini was completely lost on this goal and didn't offer enough protection to break down this attack. The naked eye might have missed it, but Allegri wouldn't have. Not much longer, Robinho was gifted with a one-one chance with Stekelenberg but his atrocious finishing let him down. His confidence sank a 1000 feet with that miss. Flamini perhaps rightly substituted at that halfway mark; his presence on the pitch made us look like we were playing with 10 men. Allegri had started with 2 of Milan's most defensive minded players in midfield. This backed with fullbacks not given the permission to move up in attack makes it obvious that he approached this game with unnecessary caution. Ibrahimovic began to fade in the game and I would understand that this is the case of fatigue setting in. However his class was simply too much for the young and inexperienced Dutch defense to handle. His goal was a combination of the experience of the striker and the lack of it in the defenders. Silva was clearly our best player that night as he exhibited pace and strength in abundance. He worked overtime to make up for Nesta's frailties. He played last man in order to leverage his pace against Ajax's speedy attack. After the equalizer, Ajax kept the ball, knocking it around to find an opening, but Milan shut shop and opted to defend instead.
Allegri's mentality in Europe is questionable. He entered this match with a defensive mindset when his team had more than enough quality in attack to return home with 3 points. His match-up with Mourinho should be tasty. Even though, on evidence, its fairly clear that the winner will be the Portuguese genius, it's still worth watching the class of the titans.
Ajax - El Hamadoui 23'
Milan - Ibrahimovic 37'
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