AC Milan Vs Palermo [15 Oct, 2011]

[theaxeofpain]

Too good to be true! we can crash this napoli neat and clean when Robinho is playing.

Fixed that for you.

[Nalx]

What I like the most is our attitude throughout the game. I was worried that we'd slow down a bit after leading 1-0 before the break but the team showed the same desire to score even after the third goal. And after criticism for his questionable decisions on our last game, Allegri deserves some credits too for his approach before and during the game.

[ACM2023]

Too good to be true! we can crash this napoli neat and clean when we fit and well rested.

doubtful. motivation is important part of game. whenever napoli plays us, they are always full of strength. we have always had difficulty playing them at san paolo stadium.

anyway, I really like this Napoli side of late - playing lousily in Italy and brillliantly in Europe. Keep it up please.

---

just one minor negativity: I hope that Silva is fine.

[ACM1899]

Robinho changes this teams playing style and speed sooooooooooooo much.

Thank You soo much R70 for letting me enjoy my first game this year.


Forza fking MILAN!!!!

[will4li]

Too good to be true! we can crash this napoli neat and clean when Robinho is playing.

Fixed that for you.

Sincerelly hope you can do the same thing after we battled barcelona.

[ACM2023]

let's not worry about that game yet. I think someone should open a game for milan vs. borisov. zeekay?

[Warro Bantan]

Thought Aquilani had a great game, even if overshadowed by Robinho's stellar return. The diminutive Brazilian's close touch (which improved as the game went on) and pace combination, made the question of Pato's return redundant. Our starlet better take note....Robinho's finish may be far from Pato's usual clinical, even cynical shots on goal, but his eye for a pass and endless running are things Pato would do well to study.

Confess to being worried w/ Bonera's introduction, but our midfield never let Palermo get any good possession and as such, opportunities to score....I believe they may have ended the match with 0 shots on goal.

Excellent performance, wonderful result.....I think our starting lineup has just written itself on the match card.

[ElMago99]

Nice to see Milan finally dominate a game. This doesn't mean we'll see it all the time from now on, as we still have issues. However, I'm happy to see what I've seen. Robinho had a bad game besides the goal, with so many bad touches. Having said that, his movement and energy make our team 10x better, that it will be scary when he actually regains his form.

Cassano was the Man of the Match for me, as he was sublime. His creativity was unreal. I love the idea of Robinho & Cassano playing with Ibrahimovic as all 3 of them work off of each other so well. I would continue exploring the trio, and rotate Boateng in with Aqua/Nocerino.

Aqua played well, tidy, and worked hard, as did Nocerino. The midfield had energy and I'm glad Aqua got the whole game. Where was Mexes? I thought he recovered. I hope Silva is ok, as seeing Bonera makes me taste vomit. It's funny how he dives now whenever he is in trouble, as he knows most likely he may make a mistake.

Lastly, Palermo were horrible. Let's not get too excited. Palermo seemed as though they were not interested in playing, and were a Serie B side, at best. We played well, esp our attack, but we will need to keep improving and eventually adding players if we're to beat top sides.

Great to see Napoli & Inter lose, although we have MUCH work to do in the League. Much Work.......

[ACMILAN1983]

Great performance with a result that was desperately needed. The game was really pleasing and should be the platform to really kick off our season. Allegri clearly used the break to good affect as the players looked sharper, tactically more aware and motivated.

The game will inevitably be mostly about Robinho's return, as he's vital to this team, but he isn't the reason we won, rather the team played great as a unit and pressed Palermo all match, whilst holding possession superbly. Palermo did try to play on the counter, and through the wings, two characteristics which have hurt us this season, but we seemed to be much more comfortable on the ball, and our midfield worked superbly to counter their pressing and direct attacks on either side. As they had just 2 central midfielders, we dominated in the centre of the pitch, one reason why we had so much possession.

Our attack moved really well this game, as in the match there were no set positions for Ibra, Cassano and Robinho and their movement left Palermo with no one to mark. Then our attackers moved into wide areas, meaning their fullbacks were overwhelmed with Abate and Antonini also pushing up, never mind Nocerino and Aquilani not hesitating to go forward either.

All in all, there's little really to say about this match except we finally played as we want to. It was a typical 4-3-1-2 vs 4-4-2, with us dominating possession due to numerical advantage in central midfield and the opposition trying to attack through the wings on the counter. We pressed really well and on the ball we were excellent. However, it's our movment, workrate and motivation that really won us the match.

Players...

Abbiati - Nothing to do all night
Abate - Really strong showing, solid at the back and made numerous runs going forward
Nesta - His usual composed self, barring the yellow card incident
Thiago - Unfortunately got injured, but it seems minor
Antonini - A surprise performer as he looked a lot stronger going forward than normal. Little to do at the back
Van Bommel - The weakest performer in midfield as he gave the ball away cheaply on a number of occasions. He grew into the match and wasn't ever caught out though.
Aquilani - My man of the match, as he did literally everything I could've asked for. Against Lazio he was defensively caught out on a number of occasions, but in this match he wasn't caught out even once. Going forward, he dictated the game in midfield, and never hesitated to get further up and more involved, where he set up another goal and could've scored a couple (his weakest aspect in the match). Even at the end, he became our regista when we held the ball and played the role really well. If he can maintain this level of performance, he'll be a star player by the end of the season.
Nocerino - I've shown a lot of faith in him in the early part of the season and he performed very much as I hoped. Though not technically great, his workrate and ability to play left mezzala are really impressive. He scored a good goal, but his all round performance was excellent as he was never second to the ball and pressed Palermo really well.
Robinho - Whilst still not match sharp, his movement is absolutely key to this side and it showed in his return. He never stops moving and this means our play always keeps ticking and doesn't stop. I can only wish our attackers moved as well.
Ibra - An excellent game despite some poor touches/passes/shots. He's a creative forward and will create opportunities for his teammates, which is key in a team without a trequartista.
Cassano - A solid game with a great goal. However, I do feel he's by far the weakest element in our attack and a player who actually hurts our game at times. He constantly tries fancy little tricks or throughballs which result in us losing possession, which is unnecessary and breaks up our tempo. I'm amazed at how much criticism Pato gets for the amount of possession he loses, whereas it never seems to be mentioned for Cassano.
Urby - Can't do what Robinho did, but solid
El Sharaawy - Had little influence when he came on as the game was finished, but showed flashes of brilliance.
Bonera - Was uncomfortable with him at the back, but no costly mistakes thankfully.

[Best-Pundit]

I think instead of 4-3-1-2, AC Milan should now switch to 4-3-3. Boateng as CAM is just not good enough. As some one said earlier, lets just hide the lack of quality creative CAM, by playing more forwards.

Say for a big high tension match, I would be more comfortable to see this:

Pato
Robinho ..... Cassano

Than these:

Ibrahimovic Cassano
Robinho/Seedorf/Boateng/Aqualani/