I would like to make two things clear;
1) I don't particularly like or dislike Montolivo; I can merely observe how he played and plays, and base my opinion on whether I think he, in general, should be a starter or not. Overall seen; no, in the position he has played lately, he does not convince me to be a starter.
2) I didn't write this analysis with any older matches in mind; I only based my opinion on what I saw in -this- match, leaving out any personal preference or historical knowledge. I just looked at this match (several times), and observed what he did or didn't do; both regarding his personal skill and his fit in Montellas tactics.
It's real easy to notice someone play shit and keep hammering on that. But once Biglia came on and Montolivo isn't DM anymore (>65th minute):
- All except 2 (out of 10) of his passes reached their target; including several long ranged ones.
- Prevents build up play several times by clever positioning, including 3 interceptions.
- Gives the pass from which Suso was fouled, which became the FK for the 2-1. Was a long range pass too; Suso after receiving the ball starts to cut to the middle, where he was fouled.
- He earned a penal. Got his shirt pulled for a rather long time. If the ref would've VAR'd it; 100% penalty given.
- The first pass he misses is because of a succesful interception in the 89th minute. He corrects this by a tackle, earning him yellow. But this was a sort of a good foul, because Cagliari had a lot of room otherwise.
- The second pass he misses was towards Kessié in the 92nd minute in the opposing half's penalty area.
- There's another time a pass doesn't reach, but it's cancelled anyway by the referee. Did not count that as a pass nor as a miss, because it's nullified anyway.
Again; I don't care about Montolivo, neither attacking nor defending him. Merely observing how he did. In the beginning; crap. In the end; not that bad.
There's this little thing called "confirmation bias". You see what you want to see, you ignore what you don't. Try leaving that out when observing and analyzing.
I hope it's clear now that I observed with a bare minimum of personal preference as possible.
On a personal note: I got some nice feedback, and might actually do some more of these analysis posts (whether its about a single player or the whole match, I'll see then), because I can have my moments of being bored, and I like doing it. And guess what? Getting into discussions is a great way to learn. I don't mind discussing the (quality of the) content of the post and conclusions, but I do mind the way of discussing it. I try to be civil, I sort of expect the same courtesy. I'm too old for flaming and insulting. Please don't waste my time with it.
iseriously think the poster is serious too. 
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.. Sorry ... It was a good post but you dont need to open new thread for this just post it in Milan - Cagliari.
