Week 12: Milan - Atalanta (Saturday, November 7 - 20:45 CET)
Donnaruma being Man of the Match sums up tonight's performance.

we obviously struggled both in midfield and attack with the absence of Bonavetura and Bertolacci.

And I miss Menez and Ballotelli
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I guess the positives from tonight are that we kept a clean sheet, and that we're undefeated in 5 matches. Can't remember the last time that happened.
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Also we're having a better season than Chelsea, so that's something, I guess.
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Donnarumma won us a point today. Atalanta were better, I expected them to lose momentum in the second half and tire, but it ended up with us tiring first. It was interesting to see two teams playing surprisingly similar set ups, the key difference being that Atalanta in their midfield had players picking better passes, while Gomez and Moralez were causing us more difficulty than Niang and especially Cerci did for them.

I think it would have been a different game had Bertolacci and Bonaventura been available. They'd hold the ball better, meaning we'd control the tempo better, but it would also mean for a better managed game, less likely in us tiring out first.

Anyway, let's look at the bright side, we managed to get a clean sheet, that's 2 in 3 games now and Donnarumma's a big part of that. The team also showed a little grit when needed and it also didn't take a significant step back. Honestly, I think this game in recent times would have normally ended in a loss, players heads would have dropped and suddenly all the good work done over recent weeks would have collapsed. That didn't happen.

Players.

Donnarumma (8): Really did everything to protect the clean sheet, excellent game.
De Sciglio (5.5): Wasn't particularly poor, but he was becoming a risk of a red card and rightly subbed off.
Mexes (5.5): He was generally quite bright in the first half, even if not overly tested. The second half saw a drop in performance and some clumsy mistakes came through.
Romagnoli (6.5): Had a slow start with some mistakes early on, but he grew into the game and was solid, often covering well for Mexes and Antonelli.
Antonelli (6.5): Had a reasonably decent game, continuing his form from last week, though wasn't quite as solid.
Kucka (5.5): Some slack moments alongside some better ones. He didn't do particularly great though.
Montolivo (6): A few too many aimless long balls, but generally looked solid and the best in midfield.
Poli (5.5): Pretty average in all aspects. He wasted the counter at the end where Cerci could have scored.
Cerci (5): Really did very little to almost nothing. He had the counter at the end, which Poli messed up and I think took on one opponent all game.
Bacca (5.5): Not completely his fault, he was generally struggling without much support up front. He had the odd chance, though his first touch is at times terrible.
Niang (6.5): A really good first half causing Raimondi a lot of problems. He unfortunately ran out of steam, but that was expected.

Calabria (6): Was generally quite composed beside a couple of sloppy fouls.
Luiz Adriano (6): Helped win some aerial battles and alleviate pressure.
Honda (5): Really did very little once coming on, though did chase back well a couple of times. I respect him working hard despite Miha's strong words yesterday.
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So is Mihajlovic not allowed to be on the touch line next game?


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(11-07-2015, 10:47 PM)Ace Wrote: Donnaruma being Man of the Match sums up tonight's performance.

we obviously struggled both in midfield and attack with the absence of Bonavetura and Bertolacci.

And I miss Menez and Ballotelli

Where is Menez and Balotelli if you don't mind me asking?  I've been out of the game awhile....

Looking at the squad.. it seems the best team we have on paper is:

--Menez---Balotelli---Niang
---Bonav.--Montolivo--Bertolacci
Anto----Romag.--Mexes---DeSciglio/Calabria
----------------Donarumma------------------



Now, obviously Bacca is also very good and can play instead of Balotelli, and I realize we had two injuries and a suspension, but shouldn't that be our normal 11?  Or am I missing something?
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No one knows Balotelli's real status, at least I haven't seen any updates. Menez's bad back that had been bothering him for a while is not 100%, he hopes to be back in January.
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I must admit I was frustrated at the way we were being outplayed and it was just one way traffic in the second half, but Donnaruma's saves were exciting to watch, I'm such a fan.

Having said that, it's not panic station as we did have injuries and on the bright side we got a point from the game and a clean sheet. 

The Midfield is the one issue that I feel for the next game needs significant improvement as we are playing the Champions at their own turf, regardless of the fact they may not be in a great position.
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All our optimism and excitement killed, nonetheless its a cleansheet and we re reminded that you wont win anything with mid consists of Monto, Kuco, and Poli

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aka edysim
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Terrible display. We were completely outplayed and should've lost the game.

The first half wasn't bad. It was actually fun to watch as the pace was high and both teams played well. However, we stopped playing in the second half and Atalanta didn't.

I was AGAIN disapointed by De Sciglio. A few sloppy moments. His substitute Calabria wasn't much better. He was awful on the ball. Multiple misplaced passes and multiple missed controls of the ball. Killed possession with that a few times.

Poli wasn't as bad as he normally is, but wasn't great either. He is confirming his place in this team, which is on the bench.

Kucka is showing more and more, game after game....that he is just an average player. He started brightly in his first couple of games and ever since, it's been mid-lower table quality performances. I didn't expect much more from him when we bought him, and he is proving me right. A player like this shouldn't be a starter for Milan. We BADLY need another midfielder this winter.

It's a little frustrating to look at a 0-0 against Atalanta at the San Siro as a positive....only because I was really afraid that we were going to lose. Donnarumma was great today. So impressed by the kid right now.

I agree with everyone that said we missed Bertolacci and Bonaventura. It was clear as day. The midfield we had on the field today was terrible. I was hoping that we would get an ugly 1-0 win....but honestly, after that performance, it's a miracle we actually got a point!
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