We did score 2 and hit the post twice, but our game-plan was disgusting at times. Team looked clueless most of the game and we don't seem to have a plan B yet.
You just can't allow these provincial teams to slow down and kill the game.
There's still lot of work to do and Pirlo needs to oil this team up until March when everything will be decided.
I like his idea of playing this high tempo and one-touch football, but how realistic is it to do it all the time? We have 10 games in 30 days, so is it feasible to think we aren't going to have games where the intensity drops? I think it's inevitable. And if he changes the team so much (some was enforced) and tries to involve a half dead Dybala and more fringe players all the time, then the likelihood is that we will have more games like this.
Against Cagliari we looked good, the press was nice, good intensity, looked really dangerous on the counter. But after Ronaldo's golazo they had to chase us second half, and left gaps by committing players. Ferencvaros scored a goal that none of our defenders will want to see again - they all made a mistake on it - and then it becomes us chasing the game. They set up two banks of four with the occasional break through our non-existent midfield. Momentum and situations in games create challenges. You could play a Serie B team and struggle to break this down with slow and predictable football. Just hoping for a bit of brilliance or a mistake. That's what both of our goals were.
What I'm saying is that Pirlo can't be so naive as to expect champagne football all the time during big bunches of games, heavy rotation, players coming in and out the team with different levels of fitness.
In terms of our counter attack right now, something so vital in modern football the problem is this - Morata sparks them, with his close control, directness, and turn of pace, and Dybala kills them, by taking 5 touches and jogging like a fat kid in P.E. You can't have two such different players in different moments of form and expect similar results.
Individually I think our players do have this habit of switching off. They would look at the fixture run of Cagliari, Ferencvaros, Benevento, Dynamo Kyiv and Torino coming before Barcelona and consciously or subconsciously think to themselves that this is an easier run. We think that, and they are human so they will think it just the same. But if the application and lack of focus is the same then we could struggle in those next three games as well. I think Dynamo are rubbish, but we'll rotate again for that, and Benevento away and the derby are banana skins waiting to happen with the same kind of attitude.
Speaking of individuals, apart from his goal I thought Ronaldo's general game was poor. The midfield duo did nothing to stake their claim. McKennie was rubbish. Kulu did nothing as a sub, and Chiesa very frustrating as well. Dybala is what he is right now, the ghost of a great player. Danilo was terrible, he morphed into Bonucci in a position which requires more responsibility than fullback. So Pirlo gets criticism but the lack of consistency also falls on the shoulders of the players.
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