We played really well in the 1st half. Can't say the same about the 2nd half though. Reminded me of how we played under Pippo, it was awful.

El Shaarawy wrote:Dunno but we just won

Gtfi

ES THAT SIG

Have to say that Udinese were playing out of their minds in the second half... but after their two goals, we lost the plot. We need to learn how to get a maintain a firm grip on matches when this sort of thing happens.

Montolivo is doing very well. I want to see him start from now on. I love De Jong to death, and I think he is an exceptional player, but I would rather see Kucka play in that position, offensively he was meh today. He should alternate with Montolivo.

Dante wrote:

El Shaarawy wrote:Dunno but we just won

Gtfi

ES THAT SIG

Calabria was on a yellow card so that might have been the reason he was taken off. And considering that both Abate and Antonelli are out, and we were 0-3 up, Mihajlovic probably thought bringing on another CB would completely lock our defense.... What he didn't expect was the disaster Zapata was at RB. I don't really blame Zapata either, can't think of the last time he played as a FB, and he was doing well in the middle. And then both Udinese goals came from crosses from his end.

I'm glad we won, as Dante pointed out though, our defense is still very shaky. Though I think once Antonelli comes back, it should be better.

Though lot's of positives form this game as well. Calabria was great again. Balotelli was great the whole game. Montolivo playing that Pirlo role beautifully. And falling in love with Jack more and more each game. That chest control was just brilliant.

If i was Sinisa , i would handle De Jong like this .

1) Consider him for the RCM in away games regardless of injuries in Kucka and other players , or simply when in need of strong defensive impact in the midfield . Even in this game , he was really effective in disrupting attacking moves and helping out. (2nd half was a team thing , can't pin that on him obvs) We will need that down the road , especially away.

2) When Montolivo is injured .

Montolivo is simply proving how badly he was being handled all this time after 2013. I personally have been moaning about this for such a long time , finally it's actually happening..We simply cannot even afford to have him play elsewhere , not only he's not the same player anywhere else , he's proved he doesn't do it justice anymore , he's too slow and too passive most of the time to make it work. Simply put , Montolivo is where he needs to be and what happens with De Jong is just side-effects , it is crystal clear who the better player there is and from whom the team benefits more in front of the defence , which is the most important thing in any case.

De Jong can still play a lot as RCM , even when Kucka is the better option at RCM . He's fast to answer , strong defensively and can cover for Montolivo's weaknesses here and there . As he proved today in the 1st half, stopping the counter that got past Montolivo , who he could not stop , but NDJ came to the rescue . Big weakness when it comes to provide offensive support , however with Calabria on his right side , it honestly wasn't that big of an issue. Even better , he didn't even need to do things he couldn't do , all he had to do was allow/support Calabria to be a threat and it was working , pretty well i'd say , because we were also protected well enough with De Jong covering for him.. 2nd half Zapata was pretty bad at RCB , so De Jong's inability in attacking phase showed a lot , but that was hardly his mistake anyway. As you can see , with the RB actually doing RB things , De Jong RCM can be a reliable option , despite his weaknesses. Obviously he will rarely be good enough at the offensive phase , no matter the right back , however what i saw today suggests it can provide sufficient results , if anything.  

I honestly think he was really good first half , can't say i have any complains about how he did as RCM before the mess up . Still , Montolivo taking back his rightful place .. this is what's best for the team and De Jong won't be starting all games . I don't feel bad for him at all , simply because that is something i waited a long time to see. Have Montolivo with 2 midfielders in front of him who can create. That's what our midfield needs to be , 2/3 of the time. In that other 1/3 , De Jong is where it's at. Add the games Montolivo won't be starting due to X reason and honestly , De Jong can still play a lot of games , it's just won't be that many like last season , or the one before.

As much as i admire his commitment and approve of his attitude on the pitch , his play is something we don't always need , at least not over other things .

Honestly it's as if God wants us to win all our matches by a one goal margin.

Could not watch match due to stupid class.Watched highlights and we were quite good in the first half. The Alex sub is up there in one of the worst substitutions in history, almost the exact opposite of Lewandowski sub in Bayern/Wolfsburg. If we had not won it would have been on level with Muntari's legendary one minute red card for Inter. Never again Sinisa pls.

On de Jong, reading the posts and I stand by he should be used when Montolivo is rested or unavailable. He adds absolute nothing in terms of attack or any form of creativity but I count him among the best in the world when it comes to shielding the defence (something which our ticking timebomb defence really needs).

Really proud of Balotelli. Right now I am cautiously optimistic about him. In fact that's my feeling towards this season. One step at a time, let us rebuild our side and get results.

Forza Milan.

Never thought i'd ever say this in my life, but, i can't wait for Kucka to come back

Those subs

Milan is Balo's club, I think if he plays well whole season we should consider sticking with him. If Bacca transforms into a world beater, then we dont need old Ibra in addition

ES that sig