AC Milan vs Palermo

Good game by the troops.

Awful defending though.

FT 3-2

Lots of positives to take out of this but we simply cannot accept being taken down the wire by freakin Palermo.

Calabria was super impressive. Kucka showing why we were chasing him for all those years. Overall a really good game (besides MDS, who was somewhat at fault for both goals).

Calabria was really good.

MDS ruining another offside trap, shocker there

Calabria's composure is outstanding for an 18 year old, great performance in his first Serie A outing

Let's hope he is not like MDS who peaked at 19.

Here is my thoughts on the team tonight:

I thought the team played well overall. However, both MDS and Romangnoli were caught off-guard sometimes. Zabata actually played "well" for once. As for Calabria, it was an impressive showing and give mes confidence in replacing Abate.

In the midfield, Montilivo is unfortunately more needed in the DM role than the more solid De Jong. Don't get me wrong, I think he is doing well, but it is unfortunate that because of our inability to keep positions well, we cannot afford playing De Jong.

Kucka and Bonavnetura do well in driving the ball forward, but are not the best at passing it around. Still, they make effective runs. Honda has played well this game, despite slowing some of our attacks down. Probably our best passer in midfield, and I hope he continues to improve in this role.

Up front, Bacca was really good, as was Adriano. However, Luiz was ineffective in the second half, and I continue to favor Bacca.

Finally, Balotelli did well in his cameo. Yet, I am not sure these 20 minute appearances are going to do anything for him. Still, we don't owe him anything, and he should be able to convince Sinsia to give him a start on his own.

On MDS,

I think our criticism of him is somewhat unfair. He is a 22 year old who spent the last 4 years under 4 different coaches.

Anyone who understands coaching should be able to grasp the importance of stability to the development of young talent. Simply put, MDS was not offered the environment in which to develop correctly.

I favor playing MDS despite his mistakes, and perhaps manage to make something out of him, rather than going for short term solutions. We are not competing for anything this season, and we should take that chance to plan for the future, rather than kill it.

I know, I am just tired of us conceding goals because of him. Hopefully competition from Antonelli will spur him to reach his previous level. Right now he needs to be benched for Antonelli, his mistakes can easily cost us a lot of points.

Good game by the team overall aside from two awful defensive lapses on which Palermo did very well to capitalize.

Man of the match was Bacca. What a player. Meanwhile, Jackson Martinez is being outplayed by a past-it Torres over in Madrid

On MDS, I won't blame him for the first goal. That was mostly Lopez' fault. He was at fault for the second goal, however. That being said, he has definitely shown a bit of a return to form. He's very strong in 1v1 situations and he's quite good at getting forward and delivering some good crosses. His main weakness, and we saw this in the Inter game too, is his positioning for offside traps. He's only 22 and that can be fixed. I still think that he's doing quite well.

Shout out to Calabria who was incredibly composed on his debut.

https://i.imgur.com/PxXbheh.png

Lord Spencer wrote:Here is my thoughts on the team tonight:

I thought the team played well overall. However, both MDS and Romangnoli were caught off-guard sometimes. Zabata actually played "well" for once. As for Calabria, it was an impressive showing and give mes confidence in replacing Abate.

In the midfield, Montilivo is unfortunately more needed in the DM role than the more solid De Jong. Don't get me wrong, I think he is doing well, but it is unfortunate that because of our inability to keep positions well, we cannot afford playing De Jong.

Kucka and Bonavnetura do well in driving the ball forward, but are not the best at passing it around. Still, they make effective runs. Honda has played well this game, despite slowing some of our attacks down. Probably our best passer in midfield, and I hope he continues to improve in this role.

Up front, Bacca was really good, as was Adriano. However, Luiz was ineffective in the second half, and I continue to favor Bacca.

Finally, Balotelli did well in his cameo. Yet, I am not sure these 20 minute appearances are going to do anything for him. Still, we don't owe him anything, and he should be able to convince Sinsia to give him a start on his own.

I agree. Another thing to add to the instability is his position being constantly changed between LB and RB. He can play at both positions, however, I don't think changing switching him between the two every couple games is doing him much good.

Honda can pass the ball well but he slows down our attack too much.

Honda has been poor in all games this season, but Balotelli under attack can be a disaster

I disagree about Honda in this game.

He played well, and effectively linked midfield to attack.

La Gazzaeta gave him 5

He was solid, but unspectacular. He showed some skill, did a lot of defensive work, and added a lot of balance to the team.

Unfortunately, he does slow down the game quite a bit and he didn't add much offensively.

When Berto recovers it would probably be best to have Bona replace Honda at the AM spot.

I'm inclined to agree with Cas, Bona should stay at LCM. He's doing a much better job than Berto initially tried to do, i would like for us to test out Berto behind the strikers though, and if he turns out to be crap, then just continue with Civic.

Grande_Milano wrote:La Gazzaeta gave him 5

I watched the game, and I give him a 7.

In games such as these I would certainly continue to play Bona at LCM, however I do worry about the toll on the side defensively against the top sides.

With regards to the game, an excellent result but far from a complete performance. We are certainly showing a degree of progress from last season however. Under Inzaghi, we almost certainly would not have seized the lead again after conceding a second equaliser.

Bacca showed just why we spent so much to acquire his services in the summer. He lost the ball on many occasions throughout the game however through sheer determination, he delivered the result. He works tirelessly up front, drops deep, pulls wide, makes the right decisions on the ball even if some of his passes didn't come off and is deadly in front of goal. I thought he should have passed to Adriano instead of attempting the rabonna however given the speed at which the move evolved the play didn't bother me too much. His relationship with Adriano on the pitch continues to grow which is very pleasing and he also found Honda in a good position that Keisuke squandered.

Adriano didn't have the greatest of matches however he still worked hard for the team and his early cross after being played in by Abate nearly forced an own goal. Guilty at times of playing for the free kick when he might have stayed on his feet in midfield but put himself about as usual. Deservedly replaced by Balotelli though I thought. Mario himself had a fairly poor start, trying too hard to force chances at a time when we needed to control the game but he settled into the match and was excellent in the last five minutes, holding the ball well against challenges and taking down some very difficult aerial balls with exquisite touches.

Montolivo was superb in midfield, not simply in the way he helped facilitate our possession but in dropping between Romagnoli and Zapata when they were split. He made a crucial interception in the box at 1-1 when Romagnoli had been pulled wide, performed a fantastic block on Hiljemark at 2-1 just prior to the break and again on the Swede on the hour mark, whilst also taking the ball of Vasquez's foot late on in the box. He almost made countless other defensive interventions but those stood out as arriving at crucial times to maintain our supremacy on the score board and when we were lacking numbers in the box.

Our midfield play was also aided immensely by Kucka, who has injected a welcome turn of pace into the middle of the park. He started superbly but was clearly limited after taking a knock after a superb sliding tackle on Vasquez but he continued to work hard and fought through the pain, something that has cost him as he is now unavailable for our next game but which was crucial at the time, with Sinisa having already been forced into an early substitution. Showed his spirit of sacrifice when making a professional foul against Quaison to kill the counter attack after Zapata inexplicably coughed up the ball without even attempting a pass. Even as he looked better in the second half, he was clearly hampered physically but still came up with a sumptuous cross for the winner.

Jack was great on the ball in midfield and joined the attack to great effect. After assisting the first goal with a clever touch he scored a cracking free kick at a crucial moment and cemented his claim at LCM. Despite outshining Honda, I'm still not convinced that he is the solution at AM, yet I remain reluctant to field him in midfield against the likes of Roma and Juventus. He clearly benefits from the ability to pick up the ball under less pressure and see more of the pitch as opposed to being moved into Honda's position. Bertolacci's performances upon his return will likely be the determining factor on his uses in the future.

Honda meanwhile gave an improved performance but that's not saying much. Did play Bacca in for an excellent chance though the ball was gifted to him by Palermo and might have done better when the Colombian returned the favour to slide him the ball at the top of the box. He has the most to prove of any player in the side however and he is doing nothing to dissuade anyone that he's not up to scratch. I will always limit my criticism of a player who is selfless and hard working, and I must always give Keisuke credit for being a true professional, but I can barely think of an inspired pass he's come up with this season, where as I can think of quite a few from both Bacca and Adriano thus far.

Finally, the backline. We are yet to keep a clean sheet this season. This is not necessarily the backline's fault as the entire team must contribute more in defence. These were avoidable goals however and Lopez and De Sciglio will need to up their game after this match if we're to keep up with our competition for the Champions League. MDS was active in supporting the attack this game to his credit but I really can't stress enough how frustrating it is when I see him lining up to shoot. It's simply not going in.

Romagnoli and Zapata had a good game overall but a few blunders on the ball gave rise to terror. Zapata gave the ball away too often under no pressure, undermining the good defensive work that he had just done. Watching Calabria in his first major test in Serie A control the ball under pressure and calmly roll it across to the experienced Zapata who wildly swung his foot at the ball to switch flanks and send it straight out of play was absurd to say the least. Romagnoli was also at fault, attempting to dribble out of trouble late on only to cough up the ball near our box, though he was otherwise reliable.

Calabria meanwhile can take a bow. Not a perfect performance by any means but he did not look out of place out at all. He displayed confidence on the ball and tenacity off it. His willingness to go forward and demand the ball was admirable, particularly when one remembers how long it took the likes of Abate and De Sciglio to win the confidence of their team mates and be given the ball in advanced areas. Demonstrated the advantages of sending the ball into the box early with a beautiful first time cross in the build up to the opener and won the affection of the crowd. It's too early to draw any conclusions about Davide as a player, but showed that we need not fear if he's thrown on again.

On a more general note, I felt that we looked tired as the game drew to a close and it certainly contributed to our struggles in the last half an hour. Even having taken the lead again quickly after Hiljemark's second, we looked liable to give it up at any stage until we finally started to exert a bit more control in the middle around the 85th minute mark. It's early in the season however and hopefully we will progress in this regard but it was a tad disconcerting.

Most importantly of all though, we held on for three absolutely precious points, points that we'd have dropped last year. It's progress for now, but we need far more to come before I can say we've delivered a complete performance.

Agreed with Dostoevsky, good summary. One thing I found interesting was that we were much more direct than we have been thus far in the season. Granted, Palermo should not and was not that great of a test, but it was encouraging how much better we were going forward when we circumvented the midfield and went to the final third as quickly as possible.

Another thing I found interesting was that when Bonaventura moved forward to replace Honda, it was Kucka, not Poli who took his place. Evidently Miha doesn't trust a side with MDS and Poli defensively, which is perhaps wise.

dostoevsky wrote:In games such as these I would certainly continue to play Bona at LCM, however I do worry about the toll on the side defensively against the top sides.

With regards to the game, an excellent result but far from a complete performance. We are certainly showing a degree of progress from last season however. Under Inzaghi, we almost certainly would not have seized the lead again after conceding a second equaliser.

Bacca showed just why we spent so much to acquire his services in the summer. He lost the ball on many occasions throughout the game however through sheer determination, he delivered the result. He works tirelessly up front, drops deep, pulls wide, makes the right decisions on the ball even if some of his passes didn't come off and is deadly in front of goal. I thought he should have passed to Adriano instead of attempting the rabonna however given the speed at which the move evolved the play didn't bother me too much. His relationship with Adriano on the pitch continues to grow which is very pleasing and he also found Honda in a good position that Keisuke squandered.

Adriano didn't have the greatest of matches however he still worked hard for the team and his early cross after being played in by Abate nearly forced an own goal. Guilty at times of playing for the free kick when he might have stayed on his feet in midfield but put himself about as usual. Deservedly replaced by Balotelli though I thought. Mario himself had a fairly poor start, trying too hard to force chances at a time when we needed to control the game but he settled into the match and was excellent in the last five minutes, holding the ball well against challenges and taking down some very difficult aerial balls with exquisite touches.

Montolivo was superb in midfield, not simply in the way he helped facilitate our possession but in dropping between Romagnoli and Zapata when they were split. He made a crucial interception in the box at 1-1 when Romagnoli had been pulled wide, performed a fantastic block on Hiljemark at 2-1 just prior to the break and again on the Swede on the hour mark, whilst also taking the ball of Vasquez's foot late on in the box. He almost made countless other defensive interventions but those stood out as arriving at crucial times to maintain our supremacy on the score board and when we were lacking numbers in the box.

Our midfield play was also aided immensely by Kucka, who has injected a welcome turn of pace into the middle of the park. He started superbly but was clearly limited after taking a knock after a superb sliding tackle on Vasquez but he continued to work hard and fought through the pain, something that has cost him as he is now unavailable for our next game but which was crucial at the time, with Sinisa having already been forced into an early substitution. Showed his spirit of sacrifice when making a professional foul against Quaison to kill the counter attack after Zapata inexplicably coughed up the ball without even attempting a pass. Even as he looked better in the second half, he was clearly hampered physically but still came up with a sumptuous cross for the winner.

Jack was great on the ball in midfield and joined the attack to great effect. After assisting the first goal with a clever touch he scored a cracking free kick at a crucial moment and cemented his claim at LCM. Despite outshining Honda, I'm still not convinced that he is the solution at AM, yet I remain reluctant to field him in midfield against the likes of Roma and Juventus. He clearly benefits from the ability to pick up the ball under less pressure and see more of the pitch as opposed to being moved into Honda's position. Bertolacci's performances upon his return will likely be the determining factor on his uses in the future.

Honda meanwhile gave an improved performance but that's not saying much. Did play Bacca in for an excellent chance though the ball was gifted to him by Palermo and might have done better when the Colombian returned the favour to slide him the ball at the top of the box. He has the most to prove of any player in the side however and he is doing nothing to dissuade anyone that he's not up to scratch. I will always limit my criticism of a player who is selfless and hard working, and I must always give Keisuke credit for being a true professional, but I can barely think of an inspired pass he's come up with this season, where as I can think of quite a few from both Bacca and Adriano thus far.

Finally, the backline. We are yet to keep a clean sheet this season. This is not necessarily the backline's fault as the entire team must contribute more in defence. These were avoidable goals however and Lopez and De Sciglio will need to up their game after this match if we're to keep up with our competition for the Champions League. MDS was active in supporting the attack this game to his credit but I really can't stress enough how frustrating it is when I see him lining up to shoot. It's simply not going in.

Romagnoli and Zapata had a good game overall but a few blunders on the ball gave rise to terror. Zapata gave the ball away too often under no pressure, undermining the good defensive work that he had just done. Watching Calabria in his first major test in Serie A control the ball under pressure and calmly roll it across to the experienced Zapata who wildly swung his foot at the ball to switch flanks and send it straight out of play was absurd to say the least. Romagnoli was also at fault, attempting to dribble out of trouble late on only to cough up the ball near our box, though he was otherwise reliable.

Calabria meanwhile can take a bow. Not a perfect performance by any means but he did not look out of place out at all. He displayed confidence on the ball and tenacity off it. His willingness to go forward and demand the ball was admirable, particularly when one remembers how long it took the likes of Abate and De Sciglio to win the confidence of their team mates and be given the ball in advanced areas. Demonstrated the advantages of sending the ball into the box early with a beautiful first time cross in the build up to the opener and won the affection of the crowd. It's too early to draw any conclusions about Davide as a player, but showed that we need not fear if he's thrown on again.

On a more general note, I felt that we looked tired as the game drew to a close and it certainly contributed to our struggles in the last half an hour. Even having taken the lead again quickly after Hiljemark's second, we looked liable to give it up at any stage until we finally started to exert a bit more control in the middle around the 85th minute mark. It's early in the season however and hopefully we will progress in this regard but it was a tad disconcerting.

Most importantly of all though, we held on for three absolutely precious points, points that we'd have dropped last year. It's progress for now, but we need far more to come before I can say we've delivered a complete performance.

Fantastic review Ras Dost, agreed wholeheartedly

Kucka really surprised me, didn't expect we'd get such an athletic player, thought he was your run of the mill DM