The Jinx

Dorin Goain - who would've thought?

Palermo 1 AC Milan 0

Palermo. What is it about this team dressed in pink which brings the worst out in Milan? Is it the quality or talent of the squad? The tactical aptitude of their coaches? The fans and the intimidation that comes along with it? I think its the pink. Men in pink. Not a delightful sight.

Going into this game, Milan knew that a win would keep them ahead of Napoli and Inter, especially with Leonardo’s team preparing for the all-important derby in two weeks. Milan would be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the Renzo Barbera. Big miss for the Swede and it turned out to be a bigger miss for Milan. Max Allegri has resorted to the tried and tested ‘Give it to Zlatan’ approach for a bit too long and this dependence hindered the formation of a plan B. Palermo came out with all guns blazing and opened the scoring with an unlikely source, namely, Dorin Goian. Milan were undone by a set piece, yet again. This is an apparent weakness of the team from the fashion capital of Italy. Physical sides bank on this flaw of Milan while playing them and often end up scoring. Palermo are a slick side. They pass the ball and run into channels without needlessly hacking people down. Their front three, on their day can wreck havoc. On this day, it was two of them three. Javier Pastore and Mauricio Pinilla combined brilliantly. Pinilla used his strength superbly against Nesta and received a standing ovation while leaving the pitch. Holes were being drilled in the visitors’ defence with the passing and movement being top notch. Antonio Cassano and Alex Pato put up a horrid showing on the night. Players as talented as these not being able to unlock a Palermo team which prior to this game have been in shambles, is rather shocking. Milan’s inconsistency cannot be highlighted in too many better ways. Palermo were very well organized while not in possession. They sat deep and defended their zones. There wasn’t much space for Milan’s front men to move around which broke the link between the midfield and the forwards. Added to this, Milan’s forwards find it a constant requirement to over-elaborate in front of goal. Yes, the side has glamorous names up front but that doesn’t necessarily translate in each attacking move being glamorous too. Robinho did change the feel of the game after coming on. He made the right runs and found the right people. He did well to stretch the Palermo defense but with little avail.

The home side put in a sturdy performance at the back which is not a regular feature of their game-style. This is the same team that was humiliated by Udinese and Catania. What’s most interesting is they bring their best against Milan while Milan bring their worst against Palermo. If I’m not wrong, this happens to be the 4^th consecutive defeat to Palermo! Maurizio Zamaprini would be smiling in glee and rightly so. It seems Allegri doesn’t have the tricks to undo this jinx. Perhaps, we can only hope for Rosanero to undo it themselves.

Palermo - Dorin Goian 10'
Milan - /