Week 19: Milan - Atalanta 23/01/2021 18:00 CET

[Tobinho]

Originally Posted by Cloren

Have we ever lost a match with Saelemaekers on the pitch

Originally Posted by Cloren

He is our lucky charm, and with that said he was really missed today. Samu wasn't exactly bad but he adds nothing on the offence, his work rate is amazing but he?s just an average player. A good sub at best, nothing more. The red card last week for Saele was really harsh. Him, Hakan and Bennacer would have made a whole lot of difference for this match. That?s what I would like to believe. But the whole team didn?t perform today, even Ibra/Kessie/Theo had a poor day for their standards. Rebic was clearly not in shape after recovering from Covid.

Yes we missed many of our hardest workers and also our most press-resistant players, also the players who would have got close to Ibra when receiving long balls.

[VultureSheva]

Originally Posted by Ronin

did Leao touch the ball today?

[Thenebra]

Originally Posted by Ronin

did Leao touch the ball today?

He was great 10 mins.

Then switched of.

[Il grande Milan]

Saw a lot of people complaining about the ref, but it's just an excuse for how bad we were. It's so difficult for some to admit we just were horrendous. I can't count the number of long balls we played towards Ibra starting from the back. Sloppy and uninspired. It's a desperate way to play when you feel you're just not able to bring your game. There was no midfield whatsoever to make the connection between attack and defence. They pressed high and with a lot of people, so we were forced to play this way. It's up to Pioli to react to this but he seemed to have no answer for it. Makes me question his capabilities as a coach. He should know Atalanta were gonna press high and force us to play like this. Samu and Leao were non-existent, but at least Samu moves his ass around. Also Rebic proved this.. did he actually touch the ball? Tonali seems more and more like a media hype than actual quality. Fails to put his stamp on any game he's in. He's always there and at the same time he's not. Very weird player. His gameplay is a mixture of bad and okay moments. Desperately need bennacer back for bigger games.

Atalanta were actually playing football, some good over the ground passes, between the lines. Good movement off-ball, things we also did for a very long time, but it faded away over the last 2-3 months, for some reason.

[Il grande Milan]

Originally Posted by Thenebra

He was great 10 mins.

Then switched of.

Leao seems to switch off at some point in almost every game. Next to that, he looks so uninterested. He brings this vibe where we should be grateful to field such an amazing 'star'. He's clearly thinking more about his rap career than about football. We can't rely on his two good actions every 90 minutes. Sell while you can.

[Pingu]

I wouldn't really blame Leao (or Ibra) for the loss. The midfield battle in the first half was completely lost, we had no one to link up play and was either long balls to Ibra which failed, or him dropping back for the ball. Leao struggled after the first 10 minutes but it happens when Theo is having a bad day behind him and nobody else is helping out either.

[milanator]

Originally Posted by Il grande Milan

Saw a lot of people complaining about the ref, but it's just an excuse for how bad we were. It's so difficult for some to admit we just were horrendous. I can't count the number of long balls we played towards Ibra starting from the back. Sloppy and uninspired. It's a desperate way to play when you feel you're just not able to bring your game. There was no midfield whatsoever to make the connection between attack and defence. They pressed high and with a lot of people, so we were forced to play this way. It's up to Pioli to react to this but he seemed to have no answer for it. Makes me question his capabilities as a coach. He should know Atalanta were gonna press high and force us to play like this. Samu and Leao were non-existent, but at least Samu moves his ass around. Also Rebic proved this.. did he actually touch the ball? Tonali seems more and more like a media hype than actual quality. Fails to put his stamp on any game he's in. He's always there and at the same time he's not. Very weird player. His gameplay is a mixture of bad and okay moments. Desperately need bennacer back for bigger games.

Atalanta were actually playing football, some good over the ground passes, between the lines. Good movement off-ball, things we also did for a very long time, but it faded away over the last 2-3 months, for some reason.

Atalanta also improved their CB performance which really killed Ibra.

We really lacked performance from the CAM, even Diaz didn't do too much in the second half.
Also Kessie was unusually bad in positive play yesterday, Tonali was good but had to drop deep to get us out from the back and there was no one to further our offensive game in the mid.

[Qaas]

Originally Posted by Pingu

I wouldn't really blame Leao (or Ibra) for the loss. The midfield battle in the first half was completely lost, we had no one to link up play and was either long balls to Ibra which failed, or him dropping back for the ball. Leao struggled after the first 10 minutes but it happens when Theo is having a bad day behind him and nobody else is helping out either.

this.
But ibra was also bad. His hold up play wasnt good + that missed chance in the first half

[sheva]

Originally Posted by Tantalis

Chinamilan wins biggest loser in my book for getting himself banned after a loss.

how about dividing the awards into sub-categorical awards?

Most Negative Nancy, Most Downer Debbie, Most Scared Steven, etc.

[Pingu]

Originally Posted by Qaas

this.
But ibra was also bad. His hold up play wasnt good + that missed chance in the first half

Missed chances happen, was unlucky. It's more on the fact we couldn't create anything for the first 70 minutes apart from that chance + the offside one that he missed. Mandzu then came closest after he came on, so for 60 minutes we did NOTHING offensively. Ibra and Leao you can say were poor but they had no help whatsoever as the team let Atalanta walk the ball into our half/our box time and time again. It's on Pioli that we took this approach but won't lose sleep over it. Again, it happens. We were just outclassed even if everything went against us.

Need a big reply against Inter in Coppa even if we rotate. People forget we had Romagnoli, Bennacer, Hakan, Saele and Rebic out (for the first ~60 min). Another game with 4 starters out, two of which are KEY players for us and could change the game.

My hope now is that we can go the next 19 rounds with minimal players missing, have a full squad for it and show our real strength game in game out.

[General]

We need to open the next match thread...

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by VultureSheva

good answer bro

Originally Posted by Thenebra

He was great 10 mins.

Then switched of.

Kinda like every game. He needs to be used as a sub more than a starter

Originally Posted by Il grande Milan

Leao seems to switch off at some point in almost every game. Next to that, he looks so uninterested. He brings this vibe where we should be grateful to field such an amazing 'star'. He's clearly thinking more about his rap career than about football. We can't rely on his two good actions every 90 minutes. Sell while you can.

yep, idk what is he thinking about

[Qaas]

Originally Posted by Pingu

Missed chances happen, was unlucky. It's more on the fact we couldn't create anything for the first 70 minutes apart from that chance + the offside one that he missed. Mandzu then came closest after he came on, so for 60 minutes we did NOTHING offensively. Ibra and Leao you can say were poor but they had no help whatsoever as the team let Atalanta walk the ball into our half/our box time and time again. It's on Pioli that we took this approach but won't lose sleep over it. Again, it happens. We were just outclassed even if everything went against us.

Need a big reply against Inter in Coppa even if we rotate. People forget we had Romagnoli, Bennacer, Hakan, Saele and Rebic out (for the first ~60 min). Another game with 4 starters out, two of which are KEY players for us and could change the game.

My hope now is that we can go the next 19 rounds with minimal players missing, have a full squad for it and show our real strength game in game out.

[Australiano1980]

This game was a total disaster. We didn't had the players to play this mediocre 4-4-1-1.. the lack of tactical variation is abismal. With only 5 minutes you could see that Gasperini was opening a hole in our centerfield to Ilicic play. Pioli should had form an 4-3-2-1 bringing back Meite to fill the gap created between Kessie and Tonali and solve that.

[yonggoh]

We can’t fall back and think this defeat was from missing hakan or benny or whoever else....

We were clearly pegged back by a fitter and sharper team on the day. Tactically out-mastered and missing hakan to reason an ineffective offence is incorrect analogy.

We were not cohesive especially in linking from midfield to offence that why our wide players were of zero effectiveness. Too many sideways passes in midfield and from the back without telling through balls or driving runs. This was meant to be Tonali’s purpose, but we can’t just pinpoint him for this failure.

Atalanta is proving that our rigid formation can be undone by an effective free roaming player like illicic. Holding a firm line, the space afforded to him was criminal... he could have a picnic while playing if he wanted.

[Goodfella]

Originally Posted by hakim

Wish we had Ilicic instead of that fucking useless Samu

Ilicic is carried by 9 outfielders defensively.
We have too many passengers as it is.

He's like a poor man's Messi or Ibra.

Same goes for Papu Gomez.

Originally Posted by brk

Me too I thought he was fine.

He bailed out Gollini/Atalanta when Ibra beat him in the air. Hateboer should've had at least a yellow for the late, intended ass attack on Kalulu's lower back.

But on the other hand I think Zapata was also hard done by. The ref seemingly bailed out Calabria when he got dispossessed by Zapata, and it looked like Kessie fouled him at the end.

[Goodfella]

Originally Posted by Sven

In general I'm getting worried by how much our intensity, in pressing and in attacking has been falling in the last 2 months or so. This is what made the team so dangerous and Serie A leader but it's not happening lately. Pioli adjusted to the missing players by sitting deeper and conceding possession and we still won most games but our performances have been falling. We used to outwork teams.

Not sure I agree with this.

I think what we're seeing is just consequences of the absences.
If you're forced into fielding makeshift teams every week then you're losing the cohesion, chemistry and quick passing combinations that did wonders for us.
If you have Leao at LW instead of Rebic then you won't get the same intense and well-organized press. On the other hand, Leao at CF is an upgrade on Ibra in that aspect.

If you suffer for long stretches in every game due to your inability to maintain possession then you'll get fatigued mentally and physically.

If you don't have a bench to sustain the pressure then intensity will drop in the second half. Or, the team adapts by conserving energy in the first half.


I think the team played the Juve game with more and longer intensity than any other game this season.

[Savo]

Some of my key points from the game:

1) Kalulu lost his man on the first goal, which unfortunately seems to happen each time he plays. He definitely has his area to improve on (marking on crosses and set pieces) but this is going to happen as he's young. I hope this doesn't drop his confidence. I don't think it will as he seems very mature and I really think he's going to be dynamite in a few years.

2) That was not a penalty by Kessie. This game is getting so weak these days it can be hard to watch. Ilicic knew exactly what he was doing and it's sad they get away with things like this.

3) Pioli starting Meite at AM was ridiculous for many reasons. First, jhe just got here and was ok in his first sub appearance at his natural position of CM, so either sub him on or play him as a CM/DM if you really want. But don't start him at a crucial position of AM against a top team like Atalanta... Meite should be a sub. Brahim should have started at AM. Bad selection Pioli.

4) It's clear that Leao and Theo don't gel on the left. Theo just doesn't seem to have the proper movement when it's not Rebic up on the left.

5) We really miss Calhanoglu and should make his re-signing paramount. Yes Bennacer would have helped but I don't think it would have changed anything that game. It was more about poor defensive marking as well as no presence at AM as we had Meite and not Calha which really really showed.