MATCH:
Thoughts on Milan vs Juventus? Not much to think about. We started off with a basic 4-4-2. At first I thought, like many others, that Sali shouldn't be on the right flank. I also thought that we should have put more creativity in the midfield, but I was satisfied with what Ranieri chose.
It started off well, there was a few chances and it looked up for the rest of the game. I remember the commentator actually saying we could be in for a treat today. In the first half I saw Nocerino and Nedved run all over the pitch. Nedved in particular was a beast. He won a ball, passed it to Cristiano and ran into space to get a cross in. We came very close to scoring but Dida matched it. Defending was great from us.
Second half came, I wanted to see something more from us in the creativity department and we did when Sali blasted a shot at Dida who made a good save. Ranieri should have made subs around the 60 minute mark. He didn't, Ancelotti did though and that was when Milan improved. They scored a goal which was correctly ruled as offside and Buffon put in a few decent saves. Ranieri left his substitutions way too late, they didn't have enough time to get into the game.
A paragraph about one Milan player, by the name of Ambrosini. 90 minutes was all it took for me to find dislike for him. He was constantly fouling our players with a high foot, studs showing, pulling shirts and pushing them on headers. I am amazed he didn't get booked. He didn't even play good, and he still was a cocky shit running all over the pitch. Then, when he was touched, he went down like a sack of potatoes winning a free kick. Fuming.
PLAYER RATINGS:
Buffon - 8 - He made really important saves, and damn they were good. Superman saved us today. Really.
Molinaro - 5 - A headless chicken when he got into the oppositions half. Im not sure why I saw him kick a ball at Pirlo when he had a simple option of passing to Zanetti. The sooner we can replace him, the better. Balzaretti in this game would be a dream.
Chiellini - 8 - He completely took Kaka out of the game. There was little room for the Brazilian and if Giorgio keeps that up, he is a starter in the summer of 2008. This guy is the rock of our defense. All he needs to do know is not get booked so often.
Legrotagglie - 6.5 - He was nice and solid. Gila was offside countless times, good game apart from his yellow
Zebina - 7 - Played nicely. Got to balls first and made the right side for us, look okay. If only he had Camo...
Nedved - 8.5 (Man of the match) - He was all over the place. He contributeed to defending, passing the ball upfield and in the final third he put in shots. He made Oddo look invisible. There was no reason to take him off, he was creative, setting up chances and putting the opposition in their place. 2 great performances, 2 man of the matches.
Zanetti - 7.5 - This guy is consistently great for us. I think he does hi job in the centre brilliantly and all that. Its a shame he doesn't distribute balls, because then he would be the perfect midfielder.
Nocerino - 8 - He played like more of a terrier then Gennaro today. He too was all over the pitch, constantly using his strength to work his magic. He even tried setting himself up for a shot. He wants to prove a point.
Sali - 6 - Not much to say on him. He didn't put in any crosses, he didn't run a lot. Only high was the shot he had.
Iaquinta - 6.5 - Not really in the game. He is great in the air, he didn't get balls to him in the air. He played better last week when he had Camo's ball in for him, we know what he needs.
Trezeguet - 7 - Lethal shot. He was the better of our attackers but still, there wasn't enough balls in for them.
Del Piero - 5 - Not enough game time to judge more, and he was crowded out.
Marchionni - 6 - Linked up with Jonathan well a few times. He NEEDS to cross.
Palladino - 5 - He was very quiet. There wasn't enough space for him to run.
Ranieri - 6 - Not a creative set up, and the subs were far too late. He took off our best player and as a result, he did nothing to help us push for a goal. We need crosses, and loads of them. They were essential today.
All in all, we should have won. Much more was needed for attacking, crosses and creativity being the 2 essential things. We need Nocerino/Zanetti to go forward more or a Tiago like player in the centre. I don't really see two defensive, winning-the-ball type centre midfielders working a whole lot with no crossing. Tiago is what we never knew we had, he needs a chance, someone attacking minded. Trez and Vincenzo hunger for balls into them, the lack of them cost us what could have been 3 points today.
I also hope the board bring back some youngsters out on loan currently. I would choose Giovinco or De Ceglie, maybe Marchisio. Something more attacking though. They would be free aswell.
We were better defensively, then attackingly today. Camoranesi was missed.