Milan Torino

AS Roma has done a huge favor from themselves and for us by beating Fiorentina. Hope we win game against Torino and stretch a bit of a distance from them.

At this point, I feel that even AS Roma is in contention for 3rd CL spot.

Milan really need to win this.

At this stage of the season, and given our current situation, every game is a final for us and is a must win. This one is no different. Even though Fiorentina lost, we must not take our foot off the accelerator. Winning this will give us a 4 point advantage over Fiorentina and that will also prove to be an important psychological advantage as overcoming a 4 point gap is going to be a much harder task. On the other had, if we lose this, not only does it put Fiorentina back in contention, it also provides further motivation for Roma to defeat us next Sunday.

To sum it up, we better win this game or we're screwed.

its funny how fiorentina was the one who took away CL spot from us in 2008 season.. and even more interesting fact that, Osvaldo's goal won the spot for Fiorentina. we had won i think 4-1 or 5-1 against Udinese but it was too late.



we cant let that happen again

Il Diavolo wrote:At this stage of the season, and given our current situation, every game is a final for us and is a must win. This one is no different. Even though Fiorentina lost, we must not take our foot off the accelerator. Winning this will give us a 4 point advantage over Fiorentina and that will also prove to be an important psychological advantage as overcoming a 4 point gap is going to be a much harder task. On the other had, if we lose this, not only does it put Fiorentina back in contention, it also provides further motivation for Roma to defeat us next Sunday.

To sum it up, we better win this game or we're screwed.

yeah man... if we win this, we will be much more safer, though at this point ... milan should win all the games.

Firstly, I would like to give praise to Torino for their performance. Far from pretty, however a devastatingly effective set-up that stifled our attack and should have handed the match to the Granata. Their 5-3-2 allowed them to close down space in the box, gave them aerial dominance and forced us to work hard for chances. An excellent collective performance defensively, at the heart of their counter attacking efficiency was one man, Cerci. Torino's transition was lightning fast and direct and their forages down Constant and Nocerino's flank offered three excellent opportunities to grab a lead and what would likely have been a deserved victory.

It was to be however, a precious victory. Tight, late, uninspired, but precious. Our approach was positive, we played the match with our centre backs on the halfway line and both fullbacks advanced, looking to find space on the edge of the box, work into the space behind either fullback to pull the central defenders out of their line or working a cross into the box, however Torino were largely capable of getting in a block or a tackle when an opportunity did present itself.

Whilst our goal was to finally arrive from a set piece, our delivery was disappointing alright, frustratingly so as through the rising corner count and Balotelli's ability to draw fouls, we found ourselves presented with a dozen opportunities to whip in a positive set piece, only to too often find the ball struck meekly into the first defender. Why Nocerino was ever tasked with taking a set piece is beyond me, whilst too often our routines were dealt with at the first attempt. The one time we managed to get the ball quickly back in, courtesy of some quick thinking by Mexes off a nonchalantly lofted sidefoot, Boateng was presented with a simple header which was one of our best chances of the half.

We struggled in Montolivo's absence, understandably, however Muntari did an able job at the base of midfield. Had Abbiati not been so strongly tested in goal, he would have been my pick for our best player on the night. Sulley Xavi Muntari made 93 passes at 90%. He played a balanced role, kept the ball moving quickly and was defensively solid, however his tendency to shoot at will was frustrating, even if he somehow managed to trouble the keeper from 50 yards, providing a chance for Boateng from the ensuing spill. Flamini's movement was useful, however Nocerino in particular cut a frustrating figure and much of Torino's success in this match came from exploiting losses of possession in midfield down our left and the susceptibility of Nocerino and Constant to counter attacks threatened to be our downfall.

It is this susceptibility to the counterattack which is why I believe that Cristante was not used by Allegri despite our struggles to break Torino down. Whilst Allegri did push for the win with a 4-2-3-1 that eventually fielded Balotelli, Pazzini, Niang and Robinho, Allegri's concern that we at the very least not lose the match was still very much in evidence. Against an even poorer Pescara side however, I very much advocate the use of Cristante to add some much needed guile into our midfield as well as providing a player who is noted for set piece taking.

Overall, not the greatest of matches, however at this stage of the season, performances matter little. We have but one goal, which we are very close to attaining and as long as the result flow, we will have little to complain about. A victory against Pescara would leave us just a few points away from guaranteeing third place and our place in the Champions League qualifying stage. Boateng will be suspended, however I had rather hoped that El Shaarawy would rub himself out of this match as well to ensure his availability against Roma. This was not a performance that inspires confidence ahead of our final few fixtures, as it merely serves to emphasise Montolivo's importance as the true hero of our club. We must learn to stand on our feet without any one player however and our education continues against the safest opposition we could hope for, let us hope we see a more intelligent performance from our side against Pescara.

P.S. Ninja, went a whole match review without bashing Flamini, not bad, eh?

P.S. Ninja, went a whole match review without bashing Flamini, not bad, eh?

Oh Lawd this match i was literally screaming at the television, criticised every player, made use of every curse word in my home language to the extent where my cousin, who was seated a bit away from me for some reason, questioned whether i actually was a Milan fan.