The Real Derby D’Italia had everything, from intensity, tactical
strategy, goals, refereeing blunders, and controversy. With only 2 points separating
second place AC Milan from first placed Juventus, the match at the sold out
SanSiro Stadium was highly anticipated by both sets of fans.
Milan fielded their usual 4-3-1-2 formation with Antonini,
T.Silva, Mexes, and Abate at the back, Nocerino, Van Bommel, Muntari in
midfield, and Emmanuelson playing behind Pato and Robinho. It is interesting to note that over the past
few games, Allegri seems to have slightly altered the 4-3-1-2 system into a
4-3-3 with Emmanuelson pushing up front at certain points in the game.
Juventus went into the game with a 3-5-2 formation. Barzagli,
Bonnuci, and Chiellini in defense. Pirlo , Vidal, Estigarribia, Marchisio and
Leichsteiner in midfield, while Qualiarella played alongside Borriello in
attack. The most surprising part of Conte’s selection was his decision to keep
both Vucinic and Matri on the bench.
The game started off with pace from both teams, Milan then
started pressing Juventus high up the pitch, and with only 3 defenders, Robinho,
Pato, and Emmanuelson, effectively closed down Juve’s option to build up their
play from the back.
This forced them
into playing long, less accurate, less dangerous passes.
The opening goal for Milan came as a direct result of their game
plan. Bonucci was left with little passing options, and was forced to play a woeful
pass which resulted in Nocerino’s eighth goal of the season.
Milan’s continuous pressure forced Juve’s wide midfielders
into a defensive position, and hence formed a 5-3-2, instead of their intended
3-5-2, foregoing their numerical advantage in midfield and greatly limiting any
supply to their two forwards, who had to run into their own half to get a touch
on the ball.
Milan continued to dominate the first half creating a number
of attempts, the most significant one being a shocking disallowed goal from a
Muntari header. Buffon scooped the ball out of his goal after it had clearly crossed
the line, the whole stadium could see that it was in, but the referee signaled for
play to resume.
Conte adjusted his formation late into the first half to a
4-3-3 but that wasn’t enough to get them back into the game as Marchisio was
well out of form and the Borriello/Qauglia partnership upfront provided very
little mobility.
In the second half, Milan brought on El Shaarawy for Pato,
as Juve replaced Estigarribia with Pepe, and Vucinic for Borriello. Milan still created a few more chances but
eventually began to tire as Juventus started to dictate play.
Conte brought on Matri for Quagliarella on the 70th
minute; Allegri responded by substituting Emmanuelson with Ambrosini, changing
the system to a 4-4-2.
With 10 minutes to go, Matri’s goal was incorrectly ruled
offside by the same linesman that ruled out Muntari’s goal in the first half.
After some protests by the players, Juventus continued their relentless search
for an equalizer. Milan did not heed the early warning and continued to play at Juve’s
frantic pace until Matri struck again from an assist by Simone Pepe with only 7
minutes left on the clock to make it 1-1.
The game opened up in the final minutes with both teams searching
for a winner. However, Juve’s assault was put on halt as Vidal got himself sent
off for a tackle from behind on Van Bommel in the last minute of the game. However,
there wasn’t enough time for Milan to make use of their numerical advantage as
the game ended at 1-1 with tension still flaring at the San Siro.
Closing Points:
·
In 45 minutes, Pato had 7 touches of the ball, 4
of which he gave away possession. Apart
from a few moments where he was applying pressure high up the field, his
presence was non-existent. Looks entirely out of his depth, bereft of
confidence; a quarter of the player he was 2 years ago.
·
Marchisio hasn’t been effective in recent games
providing little quality to the squad, both defensively and offensively.
·
Conte’s decision to exclude Matri and Vucinic
from the starting lineup was quite bold, and possibly a mistake on his part,
but it paid off nicely as both strikers came on full of energy ready to face an
exhausted Milan side.
·
It seemed more logical to bring on Matri for
Borriello , and then Vucinic for Quagliarella. The way Conte structured his substitutions
meant that Vucinic had to play as a striker – a position he isn’t accustomed
to- for about 10 minutes until Matri came on.
·
While Milan’s pressing and closing down has been
impressive in the last few games, they don’t seem to have enough fuel in the
tank to make it last for a whole 90 minutes. Muntari and Robinho’s drop in energy levels
were quite evident during the last quarter of the game.
·
In close games, Milan is greatly missing the
experience and influence that Nesta brings to the defensive line. In the play
that led up to the Juventus equalizer, T.Silva naively headed the ball into a
dangerous position-when he could’ve easily cleared it- putting Antonini in a
compromising position.
·
It was a great tactical battle between Allegri
and Conte who changed things up a few times during the game. However, Allegri
still had a substitution in hand and could’ve brought on Inzaghi in the final
minutes after Vidal’s sending off. His inaction suggests that he wasn’t willing
to take the risk in the final minutes – considering the emotions flaring on the
pitch, it was probably a wise choice too.
Twitter id: @eyehab
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