Ac Milan Review

By: Mostafa | November 18th, 2008

First of all; I would like to say that because i am only a co-blogger here, i can’t maintain the whole thing, but since samson is not here now, i’m sure gonna try.

So what we lost another match, at least this time to a penalty which i’m not THAT sure of..
All thanks to Sorrentino and his fab saves, if not for him we would probably be in the ditch!
But then if it’s not one way then it’s got to be the other…

What happened;

We played well, really well, doing most of the defending and a couple of missed chances, but i really could see us winning this game, if not for the penalty (gotta love calcio) and all of our missed chances, but it seems we won’t win against a top 4 team this year, (at this point i’m just hoping we survive this year.

The good sides:

Well give the coach some credit, given our form before the juve games, we should be getting hammered, and the juve we lost by 2, now it’s only one, IMPROVEMENT!, so at this point i am really hoping that the coach knows what he is doing and that we stay together as a team, but above all, we need some wins and a key, a key that unlocks the door to this relegation zone, that key is with As roma now, if they win were stuck here, and that is most probable!

The bad sides:

I say it every time, we lost! and it’s even worse when we were fighting only to get crunched by an unnecessary penalty! We could have revived our season with that match! Although i said that Di carlo might not be that bad above, i still think Iachini’s removal was a wrong choice….
Here’s what he had to say about it:

At Chievo there was nothing missing, but with a program where you try to reduce costs it’s normal to suffer at times. There were some unfortunate incidents resulting in lost points,With a bit more patience, we could have gotten back on track, but football is like this, and rightfully so,”

But when you are playing against a team that wants the Scudetto…..
Galliani:

“We found it more difficult than during the game against Lecce, but we obtained the three points,” commented the general manager, “This is football.

“This result keeps us in the top positions and maintains our hopes for the Scudetto win. From the start of the training camp, everything has been programmed to win the Scudetto.

“This is our objective and, when we set an objective, we rarely fail.”

Galliani was particularly impressed with veteran Giuseppe Favalli’s performance against the Flying Donkeys.

“Once again I saw Favalli doing very well in the centre,” he enthused, “Giuseppe is a great person and an extraordinary player – I just regret his advanced age.”

Ronaldinho also received praise for his game, despite not scoring on Sunday.

“He’s drastically improving and now has another week to re-fuel,” continued Galliani. “In fact, he will not join the national team.”

The penalty:

Di carlo on the penalty:

“The referee was a bit unlucky, he made the wrong decision which was incorrect.

“It was a good game, quite intense, but Chievo did well on the pitch. And now for us the league starts on Sunday against Siena,” concluded the coach.

Even anchelotti thinks it might not be true:

“It’s possible that the foul was outside the penalty area, but only replays can tell as it seemed inside on the pitch,” Ancelotti told after the final whistle.

Now all i can say is, PLAYER RATINGS:
stolen from you know who!

MILAN

Abbiati – 7.0: Did not have too much to do, but made one excellent save from Bentivoglio and was very alert in coming off his line.

Bonera – 6.0: Relatively sound defensively but made little impact as an attacking force. A few crosses but was reluctant to push forward.

Kaladze – 6.5: Steady in defence alongside Favalli, helping to keep Chievo star man Pellissier quiet for most of the game.

Favalli – 8.0: Favalli is often criticised on these player rating columns for being ‘old’, ’slow’ and ‘past-it’. However, this afternoon he was simply immaculate, making numerous tackles and interceptions. This is no wind-up – he really was brilliant!

Jankulovski – 8.0: Outstanding down the left, as he was up and down the flank from the first to last minute. Had a number of efforts on goal too, and would have scored were it not for a brilliant Sorrentino save from his free kick.

Flamini – 6.0: Was hailed by most experts as the signing of the summer after arriving from Milan, but he still has not settled. Seems overawed at times.

Gattuso – 6.5: Fiery display from the midfielder, who never stopped getting stuck in. Gattuso is having a fine moment at present.

Seedorf – 6.0: Drifted in and out of the match, but generally did okay. Did not create too much, but also did not waste possession.

Kaka – 7.0: Not at his inspirational best, but still a real danger when he broke forward. Linked up well with Ronaldinho, and scored the decisive and controversial match-winning penalty.

Ronaldinho – 7.0: Showed further signs of improvement this afternoon. Demanded the ball and used it well. Created a great chance for Pato with an inspired pass.

Inzaghi – 5.5: Not one of Inzaghi’s better outings. Struggled to get into the game, and wasn’t on the same wavelength as Kaka and Ronaldinho at times.

Subs: Pato 6.5

CHIEVO

Sorrentino – 8.0: Outstanding today with a string of superb stops to keep the score down. The save from Jankulovski’s free kick was world class.

Malago – 5.0: Struggled down his right hand side, and was unable to stop the Jankulovski attacking wave.

Mandelli – 6.5: Coped relatively well against Inzaghi, although he may feel he could have done better down the other end when he vollyed wide on 60 minutes.

Yepes – 7.5: Has impressed since joining in the summer, and he was superb today making countless key tackles and interceptions.

Mantovani – 6.0: Not troubled at all down his side, mainly due to Bonera staying back. Like the Milan man, Mantovani also rarely foraged forward.

Pinzi – 5.5: Worked hard, but was the least active of the Chievo midfielders. Did not catch the eye too much.

Bentivoglio – 6.5: Unlucky to give away a penalty, and apart from this he was impressive. Always involved in the action, and came close to equalising with a fierce long shot.

Marcolini – 6.0: Neat and tidy in the middle of the park with that sweet left foot of his, but created very little.

Langella – 6.5: Dangerous in the first half down the left hand side, where his trickery caused a few problems. Faded after the break and was substituted.

Luciano – 7.0: Chievo’s best outfield player. A real bright spark every time he touched the ball, and also had a few efforts on goal.

Pellissier – 4.5: For the second week running Pellissier was a major disappointment. Completely taken out of the game by Favalli and Kaladze. Did not get a kick.

Subs: Esposito 6.0, Iunco 6.0, Italiano N/A

As we are still waiting for Italiano to be fully fit, and Esposito to prove his worth (other wise he’ll be permanent here), and above all Pellisier has to score more, heck he just has to SCORE.

I’ll post everything untill samson tells me he wants a post, i have waited for you samson to do this milan Pre/Re view, but god knows how busy you are, so i’ll just keep on posting!

THIS BLOG HAS NOT DIED!!!!! , the team might have, but the blog is pretty much alive and kicking!