Week 4: Cagliari vs. AC Milan 16/09/2018 20:30 CET

beegees said:

Suso's task was to create trouble for Cagliari and he did well. I think all of his shots are necessary. I don't like him but objectively he had a good game.

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He did not have terrible game but he should give more, he was just not effective. He should be replaced in the last 15 minutes, I chose Laxalt substitute Suso, not RR by moving Samu to the right side.

Suso is frustrating because sometimes you see him opt for a shot instead of a pass that'd be smarter and sometimes you see him cut inside one too many times as the defender evidently knew 3 moment earlier what was going to happen.

BUT we have to work with what we got and in this game there's no one who can deny that Suso troubled Cagliari more than his counterpart in Hakan on the opposite side.

Y-Bido92 said:

Sitting back and not attacking/pressing is throwing the towel for winning the game. That’s them inviting us to attack and press. And we still didn’t and just passed it around for the most part.

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Sitting back and attempting to attack is basically what every small team does against a big team at a late stage of a match (if they're satisfied with the result) .

Just drop the pride and pick up the common sense please.

inconsistent wingers and lack of creativity from CM, good defence and a good striker =5th place.

Lazio are a very consistent team. They might lose to top teams but they are very good at beating teams like genoa., cagliari away ect. They create lots of chance. Empoli missed a great chance near the end but lazio could have been 3-0 up by then

Barella really impressed me. He played a couple of different roles tonight and did them all with great maturity and execution.

Youth said:

He did not have terrible game but he should give more, he was just not effective. He should be replaced in the last 15 minutes, I chose Laxalt substitute Suso, not RR by moving Samu to the right side.

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I agree that he should give more, but I don't think sub him off is the right decision. At first I thought Hakan should be off earlier, but somehow I believe he can do better of his positioning adjusted to be more closer with Higuain, so he can drag out a defender and Higuain has more space.
Samu became useless because he also played too wide, just like Hakan.

Bona out too early and he should be replaced by Bertolacci instead of Bakayoko.

And why the fk we sub off RR?

Sognatore said:

Suso is frustrating because sometimes you see him opt for a shot instead of a pass that'd be smarter and sometimes you see him cut inside one too many times as the defender evidently knew 3 moment earlier what was going to happen.

BUT we have to work with what we got and in this game there's no one who can deny that Suso troubled Cagliari more than his counterpart in Hakan on the opposite side.

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I dont think you make wise comparison there. Hakan was just terrible, too much below standard.

Suso gave threats but he was just not enough to break Cagliari defense, we should try other option since we have now. We have Samu and Laxalt for left/right wing and left side of attack respectively.

If there's one player on the field who one could legitimately compare Suso with it's Hakan. It's as simple as that. It's no one but Hakans fault that he was below standard.

I also think that it'd be good to try Samu in his natural position but in this game it was obviously Hakan who had to be subbed. It's pointless to look back in hindsight and say that it'd be a good idea to start Samu on the right tonight because Suso is obviously the player who should start the first one or two games in a new season.

Need to improve, that is all.

As long as I keep seeing a couple of the same players on the team sheet, results will more or less continue.

Lol didn’t watch second half

Think I’ll be taking a break from this team for a few days

.A.K. said:

Lol didn’t watch second half

Think I’ll be taking a break from this team for a few days

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so til we play dude-lounge

.A.K. said:

Lol didn’t watch second half

Think I’ll be taking a break from this team for a few days

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.

We look like we'll never score from a corner.

Embarrassing display from the back-four and especially Romangoli.

Hakan the same old hot and cold player. Tonight was a very cold night.

The sacrifices we're making for Bona only pays off when he's scoring.
Tonight he didn't.

Balll hog Suso forcing the team to over-rely on him. Could've had a goal and an assist...but it's just not a healthy situation.

Couldn't watch the game due to traveling, sad to see us drop points when we had a chance to jump start something here. Glad Higuain scored but need to watch the game to see how we played.

But overall, not winning these games can seriously bite us in the back come may.

Donato said:

Donnarumma once again costs us points, how many mistakes can someone make before being replaced?

Gattuso subbing in Bakayoko was a laugh also, wtf was he thinking?

Suso needs to be dropped, just no movement until the ball gets to his feet and with him on we are just so predictable. Cross cross cross shoot no fluidity in our game, going to be one frustrating season ahead. Higuain won’t score 15 goals in Serie A.

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Why are people putting the blame on Donna when Romagnoli was the main culprit?

And especially when he made the initial save?

I may have voiced my issues in the past with his performances but this is just ridiculous.

Atleast try and be objective

Bonaventura LW and Castillejo RW. These slow faux-wingers suck.

Should've signed Veloso, he had no club.

IL Diavolo 3 said:

Good performance second half, it really takes a miracle to score when you’re playing against 11 behind the ball.

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Something has to give. It is no secret that every so-called provincial side will park the bus. That has been their template since time immemorial. I thought the performance in the second half was marginally better, owing in no small part to Cagliari slowing down.

You guys have highlighted most of the culprits, but Biglia was pretty shit again today. The amount of times he raises his hand in apology after a misplaced pass is embarrassing.

Disappointing game especially when you consider the psychological blow that a neat win today would have had on the likes of Inter and Roma. Early days sure, but for once I'd like us not to squander 3 points after our rivals lose or draw.

I cling to the hope that maybe it's just fine margins, and we have the raw material to have a good season, but I also have the unshakable feeling that when it comes to several of our players we've already seen how good they can be. RR and Suso, for example. Biglia in glimpses.

There is absolutely no excuse to be pinned in your own half against Cagliari for more than a minute, whether they're pressing or not, whether you're playing in Sardinia or not.

Anyway, andiamo avanti...

Ash said:

Why are people putting the blame on Donna when Romagnoli was the main culprit?

And especially when he made the initial save?

I may have voiced my issues in the past with his performances but this is just ridiculous.

Atleast try and be objective

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Agreed.

The first save he pulled off on Pavoletti was excellent and not one many goalkeepers could pull off. He could have done better on the second, but the question is how does the defence let the opposing team's strikers shoot unchallenged twice in 5 seconds.

That goal is mainly on Romagnoli as he was totally off on marking Pavoletti, but most posters don't like to critique him for whatever reason - every player deserves criticism and praise as fit.

SUSO MOTM

Y-Bido92 said:

0 grinta to get a win? Cagliari threw in the towel and we still don’t want the win

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uhm ... Cagliari was a srs srs calcio and super 10 grinta.

Sognatore said:

Why do you write "both"? Because it's not actually both? Suso plays like that, just like Robben plays like he does and Kessie in his way etc. It's stupid to say that Suso is ******ed because he plays in a certain way and it's even more stupid to believe that Gattuso isn't aware of what Suso is doing

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our overall style of play is too cross from the wings to know one, but I'm over it.

cagliari took us by surprise. team(players, gattuso) probably thought they will try to play defensive. when they came all in attack, we didn't knew how to response. and most importantly, early in the game, mofos were passing the ball around with speed and precision like prime barca for some reason. how the hell were they able to do that? because rest of the game their passing was sloppy as fuck.

overall, gattuso has to take some blame too. hakan should have been subbed way earlier and baka should never have been brought when we were in need of goal. bona was missing sitters but we at least know he gets into these scoring position consistently. higuain needs more service too but i don't particularly blame anyone for that as cagliari were playing full defensive mode after the equalizer.

RR, kessie were good
suso, calabria decent
donna and higuain were ok.
hakan, musa, roma, biglia were terrible.
and bona average

Moggster said:

Bonaventura LW and Castillejo RW. These slow faux-wingers suck.

Should've signed Veloso, he had no club.

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Castillejo slow?

Sign Veloso for winger spot?

forward said:

Castillejo slow?

Sign Veloso for winger spot?

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Hakan and Suso are shitty slow wingers. Bonaventura and Castillejo should play on the wings in this shitty formation for kids.

Veloso is a better mid than Biglia/Bakayoko/Kessie - don't know why people pretend this midfield isn't a disaster. Sassuolo has a better midfield than us.

helloAgain said:

cagliari took us by surprise. team(players, gattuso) probably thought they will try to play defensive. when they came all in attack, we didn't knew how to response. and most importantly, early in the game, mofos were passing the ball around with speed and precision like prime barca for some reason. how the hell were they able to do that? because rest of the game their passing was sloppy as fuck.

overall, gattuso has to take some blame too. hakan should have been subbed way earlier and baka should never have been brought when we were in need of goal. bona was missing sitters but we at least know he gets into these scoring position consistently. higuain needs more service too but i don't particularly blame anyone for that as cagliari were playing full defensive mode after the equalizer.

RR, kessie were good
suso, calabria decent
donna and higuain were ok.
hakan, musa, roma, biglia were terrible.
and bona average

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Absolutely agree with the bold part. Hakan should be replaced with Samu, Jack still there and Suso should be subtituted by Laxalt (later on after Samu came in) with Samu played on the right side. Tsadjout could be introduced in the last 10 minutes, just put him on the penalty box. We just need players there not only Higuain.

In the last 15-20 minutes we just lacked of the killing attempts. At least Jack had some chances that threat Cagliari.

Wasn't able to watch this match live so caught the full game online a few hours late.


Cagliari played really well during the first 20+ minutes. They did their homework, had a clear gameplan and executed it very well. Their pressing caused us huge problems and we looked sloppy. Later on they shut shop and we weren't able to break them down apart from Higuain's opportunism.

One could say that we were unlucky as Jack could have scored his chance in the first half, but overall I think we were lucky to get the draw as we could have left the game empty-handed.

Rino looked shell-shocked with the early conceded goal. Bringing in Bakayoko was odd given his interviews in the last few weeks since the Napoli defeat. It says a lot when a "defective" Bakayoko is first off the bench when the midfield needs a change. He is probably the only midfielder Gattuso rates, above Berto and Mauri, and it seems he doesn't rate Halilovic and Monto at all.

Maran read Gattuso's tactics very well. Gattuso did not respond as quickly and he should have and has to take his share of the blame. Samu and Laxalt could have been brought on earlier. We also looked toothless at set-pieces. I hope Rino will bounce back. Although admittedly is hard to change things around with the lack of depth in midfield.

The players sadly did not cover themselves in glory either. They looked sluggish and then shocked and later even chasing the game they appeared sloppy.

We really shouldn't struggle against teams like Cagliari so it was disappointing the way it all went down.


Gigio: Could have done better for the goal although he was not completely to blame, 2 years ago he may have saved it. Passing was alright. Average outing for him.

Calabria: Solid, created some decent chances. Worked hard.

Musacchio: average game.

Romagnoli: at fault for the goal.

Rodriguez: decent enough outing both defensively and attacking although nothing spectacular.

Kessie: A lot of buzzing about but no end product.

Biglia: off night.

Jack: off night, could have had a spectacular goal, worked hard, but made some poor decisions.

Suso: off night, had one good shot tipped away for a corner but overall decision making and crossing was poor.

Higuain: He is always a threat but he is starved of service. At least he opened his account for us. Having said that he did not play as well as he did against Roma. Visibly not enjoying his life with us. We need to change that.

Hakan: off night, did not seem at all like he did in the first half against Roma.

Bakayoko: actually showed some quality in spots but totally not who you want on the field when you are chasing the match.

Samu: bright and speedy, but got frustrated by the physicality of Cagliari. Needs more time to adapt to the closer attentions of defensive players in Serie A.

Laxalt: thought he was good for the short time he was on. Nice cross to Higuain.


Glass half-full verdict: at least we avoided defeat. However we need to learn to grind out victories against these type of teams to get our CL spot.

We need a good result now against Dudelange in EL to keep spirits up.

As always, for better or worse, Forza Milan.

Goes without saying we need midfield reinforcements ASAP. Hope the voluntary agreement is finalized soon so Leo can start working on his winter mercato targets.

4-3-3 formation is a fucking cunt.

Paolo's post-match interviews:

“The words of Gattuso? The coach spoke and I agree with his words,”*Maldini said in an interview with Sky Italia at the end of the game.*“The team must grow mentally, it’s there where we must insist. We must not forget that we’re coming off two sixth place finishes, the road is very long.

“The Rossoneri project [with Elliott Management, Milan have a new project of 3-5 years]? The project is serious and we intend to bring this team to the highest levels. There are young players who are not yet convinced of what they can do and who have to find self-confidence.


“Being the anti-Juventus? Let’s be serious, we’re still a long way off being that. We’re aiming to reach the top four in the league and have a great run in the Europa League. Projects are important, but you can’t yet compare Milan to Juventus. The interviews of the players [Higuain reportedly refused to do one as he was angry at full time]? I never liked doing them so much, I spoke in a different way.

“What to improve? We have to try to accelerate the growth of experience, we have an opportunity and the results of the other teams show it. The team is not yet aware of how strong it is, many guys have not realized how much they can give. Dialogue with us directors could be important for them.

“The importance of having former players? All the former men who have passed through Milanello have great affection. I have come back very willingly, we want to involve former players who can give something for the Milan of the future.”

Speaking to MilanTV at Sardegna Arena, Paolo added:“We are only at our third game of the season, it’s a team that has a lot of work to do to achieve the goals set at the start of the year. There’s still work to be done at the level of mentality, this is the message of this evening.

“The reaction comes after going behind? This shouldn’t happen because looking at Cagliari at the start of the season we knew that they would start strong. Our technical ability is higher and we need to improve physically. Even when you’re technically stronger, you’ve to be physically ready.

“Higuain’s goal? Yes, it’s a positive note, there are many more. For El Pipita, like for all great strikers, the goal is everything and we’re all happy. The start of the journey in Europe? It’s out natural habitat. It’s the Europa League but we still have to try to go all the way, it’s a way to get to the CL.”

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Gattuso's words:

“Starting the game the way we did with those first 20 minutes was embarrassing,”*coach Gattuso told Sky Italia at the end of the match.*“If you go 2-0 down in that match, you’re not going to recover from that. We have to resolve these issues, because our attitude in the first 20 minutes was awful.

“We came out fighting in the second half, but it’s not enough. Cagliari deserved to be 2-0 up at the break and we would’ve been dealing with a completely different match. The team? Right now both I and those who represent the club have to ensure these young players realize that they are strong, because a lot of them don’t get it yet. We knew it’d be difficult in Sardinia, but we can’t be angry at the final whistle because we wanted to win it. We should’ve thought of that earlier.

“We’re lacking vertical plays? I agree. Higuain is coming back deep so much and in the first half-hour I didn’t see a single forward run from the midfield. We’ve got to push forward and try more through balls, not just with Biglia. Higuain keeps the ball and helps the team move up. He’s a player who helps our wingers to play wide. We need to improve finding space with our midfielders and wingers.

“Insertions from midfield? We get there in the last 15-20 meters, the problem is we miss the final play. Kessié arrives in that area 15-20 times per match, but we have to be good at making things happen. Çalhanoğlu played below his qualities, but this often happens when he returns from his NT.


“If Milan can be the anti-Juve? It’s laughable. There is a long road ahead of us, the team has potential to improve and be strong. If we can’t win this type of game, and in fact I thought we were lucky to get a point, then it makes me laugh to hear people say we’re the second or third top team in Serie A.

“If we manage to improve certain aspects, then we can go far. This season compared to last year? I was born a week prematurely so I was in a hurry already when I was in the belly. This team has the passion and the grit, but needs a punch in the teeth before it pulls that out. I’m happy with compliments but we’ve got to read games better and have the right attitude. We prepared for this match and we knew the difficulties and in the first 20 minutes, we did the exact opposite of everything we had prepared. If we want to be protagonists this season, we can’t afford to do that.”

Speaking to RadioRai, Rino added:*“I’m sorry for how we started this game, in the first 20 minutes we could’ve found ourselves 2-0 down. For the umpteenth time, we gave 20-25 minutes to the opponents. The biggest regret is to see that the team is surprised when the opponents play vehemently. We cannot afford to approach games like that. We always arrive second, this is the aspect that we have to improve. It’s not good to start playing only after a ‘slap’.

“My players don’t know what potential they have. We showed some pride in the second half but I cannot be content. I have to understand how to solve this problem that we’ve been dealing with for a long time. Our wingers need to score more? It’s true that with the quality they have then they have to score more. Perhaps the wingers should do more, but maybe the midfielders score their goals.”

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