Match Review Thread

AndreiX

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Objective reviews only.

stats, well thought out posts etc. No BS.

Meltdown -> Timeout
 
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papaberlu

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posted in the Napoli match thread
 

KujaIX

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So what is the actual feedback?

We were alright, fairly fortunate to go up 2-0, then too rigid to keep it and lost?

Thanks
 

dcfcfan1

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Deserved to go 2-0 up, as we scored good goals, defended well (cant remember any glaring misses by napoli only half chances), and passed the ball out of defence alright at times

However, when biliga made the mistake and napoli got one back, we didnt change the style of play as napoli pressured us more. What we should have done was maybe put in caldara, sub laxalt of for borini earlier and park the bus. Waste time, go long, be dirty/streetwise. Thats on gattuso IMO

But we have a young team and young manager, so we will show exciting signs of promise and make mistakes . The game last night showed both sides of Milan

I dont subscribe to this "Milan were crap for 90 minutes we were lucky to score" bs
 

MilanMB

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So what is the actual feedback?

We were alright, fairly fortunate to go up 2-0, then too rigid to keep it and lost?

Thanks

I don't think we were alright at all. Felt like Napoli was battering us all game and the right team definitely won this one.

But I won't take much with me from this game. It's not gonna define our season and I think we still have a good chance for 4th spot. It's gonna be a fight till the end.
 

Thenebra

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I don't think we were alright at all. Felt like Napoli was battering us all game and the right team definitely won this one.

But I won't take much with me from this game. It's not gonna define our season and I think we still have a good chance for 4th spot. It's gonna be a fight till the end.
Not really. We did good until 2-1 then we stopped playing.
 

MilanMB

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We sure did get worse after 2-1, but IMO we didn't play well before that either. Napoli was the dominant team, as they should be at San Paolo, but we were way to shaky for my liking. But like I said before, this is not how we'll look going forward.

One of the reasons why had a good run with Rino last season was that he found a good starting XI stuck with it, something he'll hopefully do soon again.

Also: HAKAN!
 

Thenebra

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If we play the rest of the season like we did the first 55 min we will be just fine.
 

Quan

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Deserved to go 2-0 up, as we scored good goals, defended well (cant remember any glaring misses by napoli only half chances), and passed the ball out of defence alright at times

However, when biliga made the mistake and napoli got one back, we didnt change the style of play as napoli pressured us more. What we should have done was maybe put in caldara, sub laxalt of for borini earlier and park the bus. Waste time, go long, be dirty/streetwise. Thats on gattuso IMO


But we have a young team and young manager, so we will show exciting signs of promise and make mistakes . The game last night showed both sides of Milan

I dont subscribe to this "Milan were crap for 90 minutes we were lucky to score" bs

I hope Gattuso get this, you are up 2-0 play dirty man nothing wrong with that especially against Napoli.
 

Fabio

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Only If WE win
 

mleite

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But the results will be skewed if we only do it when we win, won’t it?
 

dcfcfan1

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Explain why instead of one liners.

At big away teams such as roma, juve , lazio and viola (to an extent) , I agree. Because we dont have the midfield to outplay them, or the legs to outpress them. So we need to be conservative and clinical.

At home, or against mid-table teams I expect us to be on the front foot, and have more of the ball. Get more service to Higuain and for Samu/Hakan to play , so we look more attackive
 

Thenebra

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At big away teams such as roma, juve , lazio and viola (to an extent) , I agree. Because we dont have the midfield to outplay them, or the legs to outpress them. So we need to be conservative and clinical.

At home, or against mid-table teams I expect us to be on the front foot, and have more of the ball. Get more service to Higuain and for Samu/Hakan to play , so we look more attackive
Well yes. I saw a milan that tried to play from the back inviting napoli forward and then trying to attack with fewer napoli players in the middle. We did score 2 goals. We obviously lack quality but caldara should make the difference, there are others players that were missing and/or new signins.

The flavour of the day is change modulo to 4-2-3-1.
 

jon

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Looking at the stats, we were certainly outplayed on paper... Still, it hurts surrendering a 2 goal lead, but such is football.

Watching the second half, you could tell Napoli were much further along in their fitness. They had 90 more minutes of competitive football under their belts.

I think we can smash them at the San Siro they aren't as good as last year imo.
 

Alo88

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I'll throw this post of mine from the rumour commode in here. Sorry didn't saw it before :)

I don't think we shifted the ball well. Actually I think we were very bad at it. Probably it had to do with Napoli closing all our pass routes in midfield very well and run up our players on top of that.

I think Biglia was the player to suffer the most from that Napoli-treatment since after Bonucci has gone he's the only deep laying player who is able to dictate our game. Well, unless he doesn't get run-up by Napoli-players like he was the next incoming of Hitler. He literally had the most awful game since being here at Milan, but a lot of that had to do with Napolis well executed pressing and Rinos stubbornness to use long-balls too.

We saw that during pre-season, we saw it last saturday. And make no misstakes my friends, Roma will do the exact same thing this friday: Pressing like bastards, especially our only playmaker Biglia, and watch our midfield collapse. I have no big hopes tbh. Not as long as Gattuso doesn't allow his gk or his fullbacks to use long-balls.

Speaking of long-balls. I see what Gattuso wants to be our style. Playing it with short passes, smartly and clever, keeping defence, midfield and attack tight in order to find a way from our goal to the opponent's.

Sadly it rarely works.

Yeah it did work one or two times, and I think in the 1st instance it resulted in us scoring. But how many times did our passes land into the feets of Napoli while we were trying to play it smart? How many times did our defenders and fullbacks pass to Donna who isn't able to stop a ball properly even if his life depends on it and sending shivers all over the milanworld?

Maybe we'll be better in that against teams with less tactical class. But as soon as it gets obvious that we are not able to outsmart our opponents with our pass-play we need to use the good old "palle lunge e pedallare" tactics. There's no way around it.

And ffs... don't field Borini on that wing never again!

Borini was the player who made me outrage the most. Not because I don't like his grinta or running. But for being a winger he doesn't bring nothing, absolutely nothing to the table who makes him a valuable winger. Nothing! I mean, have you seen what he did in the rare occasions we finally found a way around that crowded midfield and the ball got to him? He fucking passed the ball back into the crowded midfield where it got lost immediately again!

Jesus. Christ.

I mean, okay, what else can you expect from him? He can't stop the ball, he has no pace to beat his mean, he has no flair to beat his man with a dribbling in a 1:1, he has no good passes to assist Higuain, he has... absolutely nothing I consider important for a winger. When the most valuable thing you can say about a winger is "yeah hi has grinta and backtracks a lot", then that player simply is no winger but a fullback.

And what did Gattuso do? He threw Laxalt into the mix! And how indicative it was that a fullback was doing a better job on that wing than Borini... that said, Laxalt is a fullback, not a winger. We needed a player who has either speed or flair to beat his man. IMO, Castillejo [EDIT: ofc Castillejo and not Callejon ] or even Halilovic would have been the better choice to try to create problems to Napolis backline. Laxalt is not a man who beats his man, at least not as a winger. He's good in that when overlaping as a fullback, but not as a winger.

Anyway, sorry for the long long post. I needed some days to get over that loss and think of all what went wrong. At the moment, I feel a little bit anxious about this season. The key to make us collapse is to press us high, or simply Biglia. I saw Gattuso struggling big times finding a way around it and I saw Gattuso making the wrong choices. We needed that LCM signing so hard, and as I predicted, it will bite our ass in the future. Well, it was day 1, and maybe the Roma game will change my humor. But at the moment, I have no big hopes to be perfectly honest with you guys.
 

IL Diavolo 3

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Napoli Milan review from Sempremilan.com

Why Napoli - Milan should be judged on a positive note

August 28, 2018


Last Saturday Milan started off their campaign with a 2-3 away loss against last year’s Serie A runners-up Napoli. Gennaro Gattuso’s men could have left Southern Italy with more, after being 2-0 up in the 49th minute of the match.

However, the Partenopei‘s second half spectacle was too much to handle for the team. So why exactly should Milan fans be positive, rather than negative, about the rest of the season?


To begin with, it is necessary to underline a couple of crucial statistics, to give a better view of where both teams stand. In the last 6 Serie A seasons, Napoli have finished above the Rossoneri. The gap has been increasing throughout years, with a record 27 point difference between the teams coming last season.

Moreover, the team currently lead by Carlo Ancelotti, scored 77 goals last season and conceded 29. In Contrast, Milan netted 56 goals and conceded 42. The difference in goal difference between the two was an astonishing 34 goals.

Lethal Ancelotti – Sarri mixture

That said, one can say it is just a couple of numbers on a sheet of paper. But Napoli have indeed been a very dangerous side on the pitch under Maurizio Sarri’s reign. The team pressed incredibly well and the the dynamism of the game play is unprecedented in Italy.

Napoli

Some, including myself, were skeptical towards the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti, but both their opener against Lazio and especially the match against Milan showed that the Sarri automatism is still there among the players.

Above all, with the former Milan manager on the bench, the team also possesses greater personality and winning mentality. This was perfectly showcased in both matches, considering they had to come from behind on both occasions.

About the game itself

Milan started the game extremely well. You could see the players knew exactly what to do. The team played a a dynamic and linear-passing game, despite missing an extremely influential player in Hakan Calhanoglu.

Defensively, it was also a very solid presentation in the first half, considering the fact that Napoli did not create a single goal-scoring opportunity. And on the other side of the pitch, with ease and elegance, Milan clinically opened the scoring with their first real chance of the game. The whole build-up to the goal showed exactly what this team is capable of, starting from Lucas Biglia and with Giacomo Bonaventura finishing it off.

The second goal also resulted from a brilliant combination, with Biglia once again being at the beginning of it and Suso playing a key role with the assist to Davide Calabria. At this point, every Milan fan was in wonderland.

Calabria

But then, the whole team blacked out. Instead of trying to take advantage of the hole’s in Napoli’s defense, the team resigned from the attacking phase of the game and sat back. The key to the comeback was probably Napoli’s very quick first goal, which came from an misunderstanding and error on Musacchio’s and Biglia’s part. From there, it all went from bad to worse and eventually led to a 2-3 defeat.

Too defensive?

Many have harshly criticized Gattuso for choosing to sit back while being 2-0 up at the beginning of the second half. This is fair criticism, definitely the approach should have been better after the goal. The mentality shown was very poor and the coach himself admitted this and took absolute blame for the blackout and approach in the second half.

Claims that we are overall too defensive and have no real game plan are absurd. Both goals, as well as many other build-ups, were clear examples that the team knows very well what the coach wants from them and that there is a game plan that can be successful. Every player has a clear role and it if one closely analyses the aspects of the game, it is evident.

Regarding the more defensive approach in the game in the first half, it is somewhat exaggerated but the tactics were definitely justifiable and brought the desired fruit. Milan had the quality, looked very solid at the back and effectively took advantage of their big chances.

It is necessary to understand that the coach has to adapt the playing style to the opponent and if someone expected a great result with an overly offensive side at the Stadio San Paolo, he must have been crazy.

Suso Milan

As already mentioned, the second half disaster was not a matter of quality. The quality was there, in all departments of the team. The issue was the mentality, the approach and psychological preparedness of the team, which started to crumble immediately after the first goal. These are things that can be improved in the short-term, while if you are missing quality and a game plan, it is indeed difficult to respond.

Not the key for TOP 4

And now back to the quality of our opponent. Napoli have been undeniably the better team than Milan for several years now in terms of quality. They are a great force at home, which is clear by the fact that last season they only lost two matches at the San Paolo – against Juventus and Roma. The Rossoneri themselves have not beaten Napoli away in eight years.

The point I want to stress in this part of the article is that Napoli are not the team we are to challenge this season. In terms of quality, they are clearly second only to Juventus. In terms of game play they are the most dangerous team in Serie A and the away fixture against them might as well be the most difficult one in the league.

Ancelotti Gattuso

Gattuso’s fight and the team’s fight the season is for the TOP 4. Starting the season with a win at the San Paolo would have been amazing, but it is not tragedy that it did not end up positively.

The league positions from 3rd to 4th and Champions League qualification will not be decided in Napoli or in Turin (against Juventus), but in Rome and Milano against Roma, Lazio and Inter. But especially they will be decided against the smaller teams, against which Milan lost many unnecessary points especially in the first half of last season.

The importance of Higuain and Biglia

In the matches against the smaller teams, which could ultimately make a big difference in the standings, the importance of Lucas Biglia and especially Gonzalo Higuain will be shown. The two players who are expected to be the experienced leaders of this young Milan side.

Gonzalo Higuain Milan

Against Napoli, it was clear that the tactics were not exactly suited to the Argentinian striker. Nevertheless, Higuain showed some very promising things and made it clear to Milan fans that he is a giant leap forward compared to Nikola Kalinic and Andre Silva.

In matches where the team will expect to dominate, either at home or against smaller sides, the player will show how important he really is and will hopefully make the absolute most from two creative players in Suso and Hakan Calhanoglu on the wings.

Meanwhile Biglia was clearly struggling against Napoli’s high pressing game, but despite this stood at the birth of both Milan goals. As mentioned before, no team presses in such a manner as Napoli, which means it will only get easier for Biglia and the whole team from now on and he will relish in matches where the team will have creative initiative.

Fresh additions, pace and unpredictability

And last but not least, Milan fans should also be more optimistic about the season because the team now has very much improved its depth. There are more bench options for coach Gattuso in Diego Laxalt, Samu Castillejo and Tiémoué Bakayoko, who was granted a very tough debut match on Saturday.

Castillejo Milan

All the above mentioned players can add something new to the team. Laxalt is a much more pacy fullback compared to Rodriguez, Castillejo is a very quick and flashy player offering alternatives to the current wingers, while Bakayoko adds physicality to the midfield as well as some tactical variability.

One should not forget Mattia Caldara, the young defender who arrived from Juventus this summer. When the Italian adapts to Gennaro Gattuso’s training methods and game plan, he can form a defensive force to fear along with captain Alessio Romagnoli.

Moreover, as mentioned previously, Hakan Calhanoglu missed the Napoli match due to suspension. The Turkish midfielder-winger was an absolutely key part of Gattuso’s Milan last season and will look to prove himself further.

Calhanoglu Milan

The team is also awaiting the return of Andrea Conti, who is big question mark considering his physical condition. But if he manages to recover successfully and return to the top of his game, he may form an impressive right flank along with Franck Kessie and Suso, with Calabria being a more than worthy alternative to the former Atalanta man.

All in all, I found the negativity surrounding the team after the loss against Napoli somewhat misleading, reactionary and extremely harsh. Above I have mentioned my reasoning for why I cannot jump on this negativity and #GattusoOut wave and this is also why I firmly believe in the coach and think we will have a successful season.
 

dcfcfan1

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I dont agree that we went defensive after 2-0. We didnt go defensive ENOUGH. We should have took suso off and put caldara on after 2-0, subbed borini for laxalt sooner and parked the bus. Wasted time, hoofed it long, and became more harder to break down
 

MilanMB

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Compared to the game vs Napoli, I was much calmer during this game, except for a 15-20 minutes in the second half when Roma took over. Even if we'd lost I would have taken a lot of positives with me. Napoli was just a game to forget even though we scored twice vs a very good opponent.

The schedule will be better from now on and it will be interesting to see the team vs opponents who are on paper inferior to us.
 

KujaIX

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Compared to the game vs Napoli, I was much calmer during this game, except for a 15-20 minutes in the second half when Roma took over. Even if we'd lost I would have taken a lot of positives with me. Napoli was just a game to forget even though we scored twice vs a very good opponent.

The schedule will be better from now on and it will be interesting to see the team vs opponents who are on paper inferior to us.

I'm interested too.

Hopefully, our much improved passing and control will help against teams that park the bus, and having a top class striker in Higuain certainly doesn't hurt.
 

IL Diavolo 3

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A fan review on Milan vs Roma.

Seven lessons we learned from Milan 2-1 Roma

Sep 3, 2018

What a game! The Rossoneri came out guns blazing, firing from all cylinders. The least result we deserved was a win especially with how tactically disciplined and attacking minded the team played. Regardless, the game seemed to be heading for a draw in the final minute of added time when a sublime piece of Higuain magic and a Cutrone finish put the game to bed for the Rossoneri.

It was a refreshing and thrilling win at San Siro and here are the 7 lessons we learned.

1. Continuity is key!

Please say that again. The entire starting eleven (aside from Higuain) played together for majority of last season. 10 players out of 11 continued from last season and the cohesion and understanding was inevitable. Higuain had no trouble slotting in and seemed to be somewhat of the missing jigsaw that’s now found in the Milan attacking puzzle. The way they played, you could tell this team has built an understanding which they followed up with from last season.


2. The team’s getting an identity

When Gattuso arrived to replace Montella last season, he wasn’t particular about playing good football. He wanted a more direct bombing football but it dawned on him that though Milan were getting the results, the team was boring and on a bad day, the team was an eyesore. Gattuso is trying to give this team a different Identity this season by enabling them build from the back and play beautiful football. Hence Donnarumma has begun to touch the ball more times with his leg than some players in the opposing teams. This is a good and welcome development as who knows? We could be the most exciting team in Serie A (especially with Maurizio Sarri gone) and it would be surprising to see that from a coach like Gattuso.


3. The bench makes the team look really good.

Nothing compares to a team with depth! Having Castillejo, Laxalt, Cutrone, Reina and Caldara on the bench made Milan look like waiting champions. When the game seemed to be heading for a draw, all three substitutes brought in from the bench injected life into the team and somehow, the winning goal was unavoidable.


4. Higuain raises the bar.

Higuain is an excellent professional. He looks out of this world and mostly plays like an alien. The way he combines with the midfield and his movement is unrivalled. It was a shame his goal was cancelled but his positioning was class. The way he even finished up that goal was a joy to behold. Then in the dying minutes, he produced a pass that can only emanate from a phenomenal number 10. A pass that got through 4 Roma defenders and straight to Cutrone’s feet to seal the win and the 3 points. Higuain has raised the bar. We’ll need him so much this season and we hope the team will raise their mentality to his. The last person to do this at Milan was Ibrahimović. It’s great to have someone like him again in Higuain.


5. Donnarumma still letting in cheap goals

Yes… the team is playing well but it’s a thing of worry that Donnarumma is still letting in cheap goals he’d usually save. His positioning was poor for Fazio’s goal, same for Zielinski’s second goal in the Napoli game. We really hope the coaches pay real attention to this and make him step up his game in subsequent matches.


6. The team learned so much from the Napoli game and stepped up!

It’s a fact that the 3-2 loss in Naples was a bitter pill to swallow, however, the boys went back to the drawing board, analyzed their mistakes and came into the Roma game to leave the stats shattered.

From Biglia who had a 98% pass success rate to Suso who had 5 shots on goal to the entire team who combined to deliver over 20 shots on goal and limit Roma to 4 shots on goal especially keeping all the opponents key men (Edin Džeko, Javier Pastore, Patrik Schick and Stephan El Sharaawy) quiet. The team learned a hard lesson in Naples and displayed it at the San Siro. Progress right?


7. Letting legends run the club brings its own Utopia

Maldini, Leonardo, Gattuso (and soon Kaka) are close to this team and it shows. It helps motivate the players and makes the job of instilling the Milan DNA into the players easier for Gattuso.

Milan is known for flair, resilience and brilliance. This management and the charisma brimming from each individual therein will make the boys give their all. We hope this season will be one to remember.


Conclusion

Gattuso deserves some accolades for his apt substitutions, Cutrone deserves Inzaghi’s boots and blessings for that poacher’s finish. Higuain deserves a round of applause for that pass and Biglia, Kessié, Musacchio and Rodriguez deserve salutations for stepping up their game. As we go ahead into the season, we can only hope for consistency and more wins.

Forza Milan!
 

shevyshevy

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Please can someone post the link to the full match... I really need to download and re-watch it..
 

Sognatore

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drobeck

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Overall I believe we controlled the game well except for the first 15-20 mins of the second half. I think the team as a whole is growing and learning and that includes Gattuso. He seems to me like a reactionary coach, kinda reminds me of Allegri in a way.

If things are going okay he kind of doesn't really try to change it. In the game it was painfully obvious that Roma's 3 in the back was a disaster for them and they would have to change in half-time, as they were getting beat in the middle and their wingbacks were being pushed back by hakan and suso. They changed to a back 4 brought an Elsha for pace and width and that really bothered us. Suddenly their lackluster press was effective and they equalized and were looking like they were gonna take the lead. I think Gattuso could have prepared the team tactically better for the changes roma were bound to make in the second half.

Overall though he made some brave substitutions that paid off. Bring on 2 pacey players in Samu and Laxalt was a brilliant move even though there was an obvious lack of cohesion and familiarity from them to the rest of the players. That is to be expected with new players in a new system and in Samus case a totally new league.

I liked what I saw from them both honestly and would definitely introduce laxalt into the starting 11 as he looked very solid defensively and got up and down well albeit against a tired roma team.
 
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