I dont think he had a necessarily bad game. I think he suffers like most other players, under our lacking tactics and roles in the team. Our midfield should not be that shitty. It is probably still the best midfield in Serie A on paper.
Napoli's is better.
Even more than a WC player or a 6th CM, we're lacking a mezzala who can drive the ball forward and connect midfield with defense. That's also one of the reasons why we get pinned back. We need Ramsey now.
Failing that, Pjanic-Can/Benta-Matuidi would be better than what it is now, but Allegri would have to switch Pjanic back to his old role after teaching him how to be a regista for two years and letting Marchisio go.
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@pavluska
He’s been in pretty poor form, but you see how much we miss him almost every time he’s rested. He doesn’t do much of the spectacular in his new position but he does the simple things almost perfectly and makes our gameplay tick.
Would love to see him find his best form post-Christmas. Would really be a boon to our CL chances.
1. Biggest issue in midfield in Atalanta game was half-fit Khedira was playing (actually biggest issue was Bentancur and his red)
2. Second biggest was we were missing Matuidi - hard to miss that gaping hole and lack of physicality and balance
3. Not having Pjanic's passing tempo was third (another poor game btw)
4. No one ever said he shouldn't start or isn't useful or doesn't play a necessary role (only mid who can move the ball semi quickly) in our current lineup. Rightly pointing out he isn't a 100m player and isn't our most important midfielder (Matuidi clearly is) isn't saying that.
TL;DR Disgusting circle-jerking ITT.