2. Bologna v AC MILAN

LOL Montolivo is hurt. We probably should've bought a second creative midfielder eh. Too bad Galliani and co are going senile.

Also, this team is a f***ing disaster

i missed the last 15 min of the first half? was he he taken off the field???

Yeah, he pulled up with an injury and was replaced by De Jong.

take montolivo out for de jong...our depth

Il Pazzo hattrick

I dont remember that i ever saw 10 Italians in starting 11.

it was a really strange game .... i thought even though individually pazzini did well i thought we were bulled by bologna so badly they were trying to play us man to man, normally we would see them defending really badly.

honestly i was scared we would get defeated.

btw how long is montolivo out for???? this was what i had feared for.... we have absolutely no one to provide creativity atm then.

btw good debut for bojan and de jong, bojan could have got goal in the end. but im looking to see Niang play more! he seems to have that good physical presence to drive team forward infront of goal

Cookie Monster wrote:LOL Montolivo is hurt. We probably should've bought a second creative midfielder eh. Too bad Galliani and co are going senile.

Also, this team is a f***ing disaster

it was very scary moment for milan that it couldnt stop counterattacks... when we were still level isnt it?

i mean de jong was only one.... nocerino was driving foward too much, honestly i cant even blame ambrosini... he does well but he simply doesnt have legs to cover the ground.

i have to say we were very fortunate that bologna didnt score in counterattack

de sciglio is a strange player lol starts slow and meh but in the end he is like very dangerous ...

A lot of negatives to take from this game, but there were also some positives. First of all, I don't think it's fair to expect anything pretty from this team just yet. The starting eleven is so different and it'll take time for everyone to gel. This game was by no means pretty, but they got the job done and that's all that counts in the end.

Positives:
- Boateng was on form and dangerous.
- Pazzini showed that he still has the ability to be a 20 goal/season striker.
- De Jong put in a tidy display despite only arriving two days ago.
- Acerbi seems like a very classy defender. Put him next to an aggressive, bullish type CB like Zapata or Mexes and we could have a solid CB partnership.
- SES showed what he is capable of with some nice touches and fancy flicks. He still has to work on his overall game but that will come in time.
- Antonini was strong defensively and actually provided an attacking influence.

Negatives:
- Montolivo is injured. This is horrible news. I really hope it isn't serious.
- Bonera
- De Sciglio, while showing glimpses of true potential, still has a lot to learn from a defensive standpoint.
- Nocerino was impressive in the attacking third but was a liability defensively. Not his best game by any means.
- The team is still VERY disjointed. Allegri clearly hasn't found the right balance and playing style for this group of players yet. He better figure it out soon.

Also, one week into the season and we're already missing four of our best players due to injury (Pato, Robson, Montolivo, and Abate). I don't get it.

Very well summed up Cookie Monster.

I was wearing a very rye smile when I saw the starting line-up this morning, a team sheet that included ten Italians. One can almost tell just how impoverished our team is by how Italian our squad is. It was something we hadn't seen in a long, long time, however a nice touch to begin, and something that also heralded an encouraging milestone: Acerbi's league debut for Milan.

Acerbi acquitted himself fairly well, though it was by no means a flawless performance. His willingness to move the ball up the pitch by himself was pleasing to see, though I am curious as to what on earth he was doing in the box when Pazzini grabbed his second. Greater attention to his man in the box is required, a few positional errors on the counter-attack attended to and he has yet to truly be tested against a prominent attack. The positive from this match lies in the fact that he was given the opportunity to play and hopefully he remains a permanent fixture, to learn and improve. He'll surely make mistakes, however he needs to give the space to grow and be given a better partner, though Bonera was stable beside him. Far harder tests are to come and it's important that he be given a good run of games in order to gain confidence in his own ability.

Still in defence, De Sciglio had a curious performance. That he is a raw prospect is always evident, however he continues to do well in my opinion. I know that Cookie Monster listed his performance as a negative, however in a season where we are effectively rebuilding, as with Acerbi's appearance, each opportunity such as this is a positive in itself, even when mistakes are made. Mattia may be naive at times, however he has a natural, instinctive ability to recover a difficult situation with a perfectly timed tackle. With time, he will learn to snuff out the danger more immediately, to position himself naturally and to concentrate for the entire 90 minutes, both in defence and attack. He was subdued in the first half when it came to getting forward, however he was prepared to support the attack in the second half and his delivery into the box was excellent. Several good corners were also worth noting in his performance.

On the other side, Antonini was almost my man of the match whilst the game remained at 1-1. However, in many ways my issue with our performance lies in the fact that what was simply a solid performance stood out. He did his job in defence, with Motta having to cut in or send in a diagonal long ball long before he reached the box in order to contribute, whilst his quiet first half was met with more willing and useful support in the second.

All in all though, this was an ordinary game from an ordinary fullback. That it merits noting beyond tipping my hat to a job well done is of great concern, and here is where the post becomes scathing. A scoreline of 3-1 does Bologna a great disservice. They were energetic, committed and showed great belief in themselves. I personally felt that they deserved a draw and if they can regularly turn out such an effort then they will eventually be rewarded on the scoreboard where it counts.

Whislt we may have 'dominated' possession should one glance at the statistics for the match, much of our time spent on the ball wasn't patient and measured, it was uninspired and betrayed a lack of identity in our play. We weren't urgent, we weren't determined, we were simply waiting for something to happen and a lack of concentration and movement in the middle allowed Bologna to spend large portions of the match regularly obtaining promising situations going forward. The introduction of De Jong for Montolivo, though forced, betrayed our lack of depth and whilst I believe that a different reinforcement may have been sent on had we not been leading, that we lost our lead so quickly emphasised how quickly a lack of creativity can backfire. De Jong will no doubt be a useful addition next to Montolivo, however it was a trio that was never going to inspire a thrilling attacking display. I had been hoping for an appearance in midfield from Emanuelson, however this was not to be and should Montolivo be out for a number of weeks, we may require a drastic solution to the question of our midfield.

El Shaarawy provided several threatening deliveries from corners, however he needs to involve himself more regularly, though again, our central midfield failed to move the ball rapidly enough to open up space against a team who despite showing themselves a threat going forward were well organised in defence. Consistency in his instructions will allow him to grow though, and as with other elements of the team who are largely new to the starting line-up, simply making an appearance is something to take home. I would personally like him to take some of our set pieces, as whilst Boateng has a fantastic shot on him, he was wasteful today and we shouldn't have just a single designated taker in my opinion. Boateng, Robinho, El Shaarawy and Emanuelson when he is on the pitch should share these responsibilities. I seem to recall Pazzini scoring from a freekick whilst he was at Sampdoria however I can't say this with certainty, he's another option though.

Pazzini managed to grab a hat-trick from thin air, in a game where we arguably had three good chances, one of which was for Nocerino. He received a gift of a winner, however that's what we require. A forward who simply knows how to find the back of the net, no matter how undeserved the opportunity, no matter how poorly we are playing, someone who simply understands where to be when the opposition are set to embarrass themselves. Crucially, his ability to hold onto the ball with his back to goal was excellent, and I feel he and Boateng will benefit greatly from the return of Robinho. This game will have enormously boosted his confidence and for a striker such as Pazzini, that is all that really matters.

All in all, a match in which we never really impressed, full of mistakes, a game that had us resigned to disappointment and one that has suddenly provided a tiny little spark. League campaigns are built on a solid foundation of victories that were undeserved, that were snatched from the jaws of defeat. May it be the first of many.