Not all that much to say about this game. Though i'll try. This match reminded me a lot of the Rapid Vienna match somehow.
First half we had most possesion, while Messina was harmless. Whenever Messina did have some possesion, our awesome defence neutralized them. Mutu was our most active player in the first half and had some nice moves up his sleeves. We did not create many chances though.
Not entirely surprising, considering we had little or no scoring chances up to that point, that DP's excellent solo effort for the 1-0 came of Zoro's mistake.
After the goal we went asleep for the rest of the match, until Camo came on the field and created a lot of space in midfield and some excellent chances in the last minutes of the game. Especially that combination with Trezeguet was nice, goal deserving move. Hm, that must be why this match reminded of the Rapid match.
Against Rapid too, after the 1-0 we went asleep, until the final minutes when Mutu and Del Piero pushed us forward for two more goals. This game Camo took the role Mutu and Del Piero had vs Rapid. No additional goals this time though.
We even had a shakey moment towards the end of the game, when Thuram almost scored his second own goal in a weeks time..
We generally lacked penetration in this match and did not shoot on goal enough.
Defence looked good again. Zambrotta perfect defender also. Pessotto played a rough game, though attack-wise he seemed to somewhat lack some communication with Nedved. Shame about both Thuram and Canna's yellow cards.
Giannichedda had little to add to the game, except for a few decent interceptions. Emerson tried to do well both offensive and defensive, but lost the bal several times in attack. He did play play very actively. It made me laugh, when I heard Capello shout " Puma !" on the sidelines. Mutu was very quiet in the second half, opposite to his good first half. I still have high hopes for this player though, permitting that he keeps getting regular playing time.
Nedved did not impress me tonight, despite two good efforts on goal. Mistimed some of his passes and was indecisive all night. Maybe Capello wants him to play for the Czech repuplic, so he can get into form a little.
Camoranesi was our best player again tonight, despite only playing 30 minutes. Great shots, strong on the ball and a natural assist-man.
Ibrahimovic does seem to be an important player upfront, as the entire team uses him as the target for all their play. If one of our defenders is in a tight position he can always play the long ball towards Zlatan. Ibrahimovic'll do something with the ball. He still needs to find a certain level of effectiveness though and an eye for other players, when he is in the box. He has improved though, compared to previous matches, as he did not slow down the attack today.
Del Piero looked fit and good on the ball. He actually looks fast nowadays. Great goal too. He really seems fired up. I want him to start against Bayern also. Only drawback about his play today was his lack of support after the 1-0, when the team started to look lacklustre. He vanished out of the game.
All in all we did enough to warrant the win. I kind of expected a game like today; A scrappy win basically. Despite us playing a 4-4-2, we were lacking wingplay today. I'd like to see that improve. Width is always important when trying to break down the opponent's defence. Both Nedved and Camo seem to play as (semi- )playmakers.
Don't really know what the expect from the bayern match, to be honest. Potentially we should beat them, but a draw would not surprise me..
Seems I had plenty to say about this match after all, any comments?