Milan v Torino

He's going to become the best keeper of all time

We desperately need Gustavo Gomez to be somewhat competent.

Some things post-game:

-Montolivo shouldn't be a starter, gave away possession so many times and is overall a negative impact, we desperately need Paredes
-Antonelli and Abate were very active, they were underlapping while Niang and Suso were the wide men, something i've noticed thats different from last year
-Antonelli needs to track back more, too many times Romagnoli was caught in a 2v1 situation
-Romagnoli needs competition to encourage him to play better, ideally we should get one, but considering our current circumstances, i'd like a midfielder
-Suso needs to cut the FIFA crap, i like that one pass where he set Bacca on goal
-Niang needs to stop fumbling the ball between his feet, cut a few touches
-Paletta is like that girl kid from Stranger Things except 20 years later
-Donny is gonna be the best keeper in the history of the game
-Bonaventura found some nice positions a couple of times, needs to work on the last detail
-Kucka is a stud
-Luiz Adriano is a retard

Finally, Gustavo Gomez is going to start v Napoli, last time an unproven CB from some B+ league started against them, we conceded 4 goals :-)

Montolivo was poor yesterday, but I wouldnt right him off completely. He has been much better than that even if sub-par still. Awful from him yesterday though.

ES, I really cant agree more about our wing play. I dont think I've seen Abate this deep since Allegri.

Our three forwards created more chances in this game than most of the second half of last season, kudos to all three. once settled, this could be really potent.

Solid from the Tank, Kuco, and as always from Jack.

And Gigio....wow. Cannot wait to watch more of him. Looks ready at 17. He was bossing around the box like hed been our starter for years, so impressive.

Gonna hurt us that Gabi Paletta is missing for next game, we should takes notes from Pescara I guess.

Anyway, though we almost blew it, we also got to see Gigio win a game for us which was sweet, great start.

For myself, the biggest positive to be taken from this game was Niang's increased effectiveness in our build up. As a youngster he always had a few delicate touches to show but his movement and decision making meant he wasn't often in the right position to influence the game. Here though, particularly in the first hour after which the whole team declined, he was continually central to our progress up the pitch.

Bacca is always likely to be a peripheral figure in our build up play, a point of concern given Montella's game. Niang though was excellent in offering himself as an option in possession in Bacca's stead. He spent as much time coming inside to hang just off Bacca as he did providing width on the left wing, constantly moving around to find space and he actually used the ball productively when he got it, as evidenced by his wonderful long ball to Abate prior to our first goal. There's still a lot of room for improvement in Niang's game but it was a promising start to the season.

Due to Niang's role and particular his tendency to come inside off the ball, a great deal of pressure is going to be put on our left flank defensively as Antonelli will be required to push forward aggressively to provide width and Jack is also granted a great deal of freedom on and off the ball. This imbalance only serves to increase the pressure on Montolivo. His reading of the game defensively is still superb - despite the constant criticism of him in this forum, he continues to make telling interceptions and tackles around our box - but he's been absolutely shattered physically by his injuries. He was never particularly quick but he can no longer be relied upon to protect us on the transition and his confidence on the ball has also been affected. He's an excellent substitute to retain due to his positional sense and experience but we need a more physically dynamic anchor, particularly given his injury record of late.

Speaking briefly about each individual, apart from Niang, Bacca and Donnarumma were the obvious standouts. I thought Jack and Kucka were quiet by their standards, though they were still positive. I agree that Romagnoli needs competition but hopefully we see a general upturn in his performances as the team gains in fitness and continues to learn Montella's game. A large part of protecting our back four will come down to better controlling games. We created chances well in this game but we failed to control the tempo of the game for the most part but this will take time.

Finally, Suso came up with two exquisite passes into the final third but overall must show more. As with Honda, he's more a midfielder than anything but he's the best we have for the moment, so we'll have to make it work. Involving Abate more will no doubt help him, as he was quite conservative for large parts of the match, despite two very prominent forays forward in the first half.

Genuine final note: Adriano's clearance towards our own goal.