Enough with the Papa

Sokratis Papastathapolous - The Greek must go

AC Milan 2 Palermo 2

Max Allegri has consistently reiterated the importance of the Coppa Italia. I for one think of it to be a vital trophy while the likes of Adriano Galliani treat it like a mickey mouse cup. I suppose that is fair but the irony kicks in when the same people take great pride in winning Intertoto Cups and Club World Cups. Coming back to Allegri, he never downplayed the relevance of this competition.

However, when he fields Sokratis and Massimo Oddo in the same team, one would have question his motivation. This anomaly somehow got balanced with Zlatan and Andrea Pirlo returning to the starting line-up. Call it tactical genius or sheer luck but Oddo combined with Zlatan for the opener. Milan surprisingly had the upper hand in a game against Palermo. Sokratis hates to keep a low profile and added to his long list of dreadful mistakes. His poor man marking allowed Javier Pastore to charge at Marco Amelia and slot the ball past the keeper. Suspect keeping again from Amelia who completely avoided guarding his near post. The full backs kept bombing down the flanks for both the teams. Palermo have the best pair of full backs in the league but not the quickest by any stretch of imagination. Mattia Cassani's lack of pace was stripped bare when Luca Antonini out ran him on several occasions. Up front, Zlatan had characteristically fazed out after his goal.

Palermo do not have a air tight defense. Far from it actually. They have been hammered by less flattering attacks than Milan but the Rossoneri find it hugely challenging to penetrate Delio Rossi's pink wall. The Italian has educated himself on Milan incredibly well and knows how to organise his side when he takes on the Lombardy giants. He makes it very hard for Milan to score against him. On the contrary, Milan's defense were clueless against the trickery of Palermo's forwards. Abel Hernandez in particular was proving to be too slick for the Milan defense so they resorted to playing a high line of defense. This tactic backfired and Abel got behind the defense before unleashing a furious shot to give the away side the lead. Predictable. Palermo ahead of Milan, again. Thankfully, Thiago Silva was ever present to clean up Sokratis' mess. Allegri had not given Sokratis too many chances this season and might just have given the Greek defender his last chance to represent Milan. Allegri finally rigged some changes by bringing on Emanuelson and Robinho thereby injecting pace into a slow, predictable Milan side. Even then, Milan played direct, playing the long ball to Zlatan which was dealt very professionally by Dorin Goian and Guilio Miglaccio. Both these players marshaled Ibrahimovic and gave him very little to work with. They are physical players and matched the bid Swede with strength. Therefore Milan's decision to continue playing a direct style baffled me. Antonini isn't a good right back, much less a left back. His attempts to cross with his left foot can go into a video guide of 'how not to cross'. Milan's lack of a natural left back has killed the width in the team. That added dimension of play might have made a drastic difference in this game. Zlatan got a lot of attention from the opposition team. He was clearly pinpointed as the danger man for Milan and probably had his name written in bold letters in the Palermo dressing room. He continued to draw players to him which gave room to the others to move into attack. Emanuelson became the impact sub as he ran into space and unleashed a left footed drive to equalize. Emanuelson makes a great impact sub, he brings the vibrancy and the enthusiasm to attack tired legs towards the end which has proven to be crucial. Allegri has identified the Dutchman's role in this side for this term. Until he has that leap in quality, I don't see him being anything more.

The game ended in a draw with Milan now forced to get a result at the Renzo Barbera. If I didn't know better, I would say adios amigo to the Coppa. This is a pressure situation for Allegri, a much bigger task than many would like to believe. Out of the remaining teams in the competition, Palermo are the only ones who seem like they have an appetite to lift this cup. To snatch it from them at the Renzo, where Milan haven't won in 5-6 years is going to be a challenge that will test Allegri. He is certain to fail this test if he is decides to field Sokratis again.

Milan - Zlatan 4', Emanuelson 76'
Palermo - Pastore 14', Hernandez 53'