Before the game I was looking forward to seeing how a Robinho, El Shaarawy front line would function as both forwards usually like to come from behind and neither can really be used as a target man.
Udinese came on the field in the first half seemingly convinced that they had what it takes to defeat Milan and add to their misery. Truth be told, Udinese were not brilliant in the first half, but Milan put on what was probably their worst performance this season.
Udinese defended deep and looked to catch Milan on the counter-attack, and they did have plenty of them as Seedorf played one too many misplaced passes, and without the presence of Ibra as a target man for long balls , Udinese found themselves winning most of the balls in the air. On the 20th minute, Udinese opened up the score from a Di Natale shot that took a slight deflection off Thiago Silva, who in my opinion should have done better with that. Indeed Thiago Silva has been playing below his level in the last couple of outings.
Milan's reaction after the goal was non-existent, they were lifeless, boring to watch, and looked out of ideas. There are not many players who can outpace Abate, but Armero is one of them, completely taking over the left flank (Milan's right) with some help from team mate Antonio Di Natale.
It was 34 minutes and Milan had their first attempt from far far away, a weak shot by Seedorf. Milan looked anything but dangerous, and had they been facing Udinese on one of their good days would've probably conceded more goals. Milan only had one more attempt on goal from their center back, Mexes, from a long range effort directed at Handanovic which he saved effortlessly. So with 45 minutes gone, Milan's offense had failed to create a single opportunity. Ambrosini made some interceptions, Seedorf just passed to nobody, Emmanuelson was trying to figure out how he can help Abate out, Robinho putting his usual insignificant performance, and El Shaarawy barely touched the ball. No runs, no overlaps, no switching play, it was such a static side that even Udinese couldn't believe how easy it was to defend against. The only Milan player who tried to free himself and make some space in the first half was Nocerino.
Allegri was in a tough situation, 14 players unavailable and none of the players on his bench were proven game changers. In fact, in midfield, the only available substitutes were Primavera players who were probably in the roster just because he needs to submit a list of 18 players. A good speech and injecting either Maxi Lopez or Inzaghi are the only options he had.
Milan came onto the second half a changed side, they showed determination and a hunger that was missing in the first half. Seedorf finally started to get his act together and read the game well by dropping back and creating some space for either Emmanuelson, Robinho, or El Shaarawy to slip into. Milan looked a notch better, but still no significant danger was created and Ambrosini turned into the best player on the pitch, holding the ball , intercepting, and passing. Great for Ambrosini, but not so great a statistic for a trailing team to have your holding midfielder stand out this much. At the 66th minute, Allegri finally chose to bring on Maxi Lopez for Nocerino.
In truth, this was a great substitution by Allegri and not many would have agreed with him at the time, including yours truly. There was no doubt that Maxi Lopez had to be introduced as the team clearly needed a physically strong target man to act as a base for their attacks, but who has to come off was the trickier question. Nocerino was contributing well, Emmanuelson was also doing his part , albeit mostly defensively, and Seedorf just didn't look sharp. I would've probably removed Seedorf for Maxi Lopez, but what I failed to see until later in the match (after the introduction of Lopez) is that Seedorf's movements and not so much his touches, were creating some problems for Udinese. Seedorf's tactical awareness is indeed far superior to Nocerino's.
It was surprising to see how Maxi Lopez changed the dynamics of the team. Very few fans would have predicted that Maxi Lopez would be capable of changing anything, but he did and shut all his critics up in the process.
Unfortunately for Guidolin, his substitution of Antonio Di Natale coincided only 1 minute before Milan drew level and without the threat of Di Natale , it only made things easier for the red and black outfit. In 25 minutes, Milan found two goals , a Lopez rebound, and a Lopez assist, with a slick finish from El Shaarawy.
Robinho finally came off in the final minutes to make way for Bonera signalling Allegri's intention to tighten up any holes in defense in the final minutes of the game. Credit should also go to Amelia , who unlike Handanovic at the other end of the pitch, managed some wonderful saves.
Milan showed real character today, Allegri also proved that he could be a crude tactician. Truth be told, for a team to come back from such a miserable performance in the first half and turn the game around come full time is truly a feat. This win couldn't have come at a better time for Milan, who will take this confidence into their game against Arsenal on Tuesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment