The game last night was a good performance and the team shouldn't be disheartened as the ref was the reason we didn't win, simple as.
The first half was a sound display of pressing and dominating the ball against Fiorentina, who were quite frankly rubbish for the whole 90 minutes (other than Pasquale who I'll get onto later). What was most heartening about our performance was our defensive display, as the midfield pressed well in the first half and it was rare to see our defence needing to do anything other than start moves. This was in part due to our patience on the ball. Rather than taking unnecessary risks to move the ball forward and push the issue of finding a goal, we took our time and looked for openings. This lead to a slower paced game than some of our other matches this season, but all in all, it meant we dominated the game more comfortably.
The second half wasn't too different. Our midfield looked to get frustrated, most notably Aquilani who didn't have a great second half by any means, and this lead to openings for Fiorentina to try and exploit. This was most notably done through Pasquale, who had a decent match down the left and gave Abate a good game. However, he alone can't win games and Nesta and Thiago never once seemed stretched at the back. This is evident in the statistics as Fiorentina didn't have a single shot on target (the only one that seemed close was Pasquale's long drive, which Abbiati had covered imo).
So, with our dominance, there are two reasons why the result wasn't positive. The first and most obvious was that the officiating was horrendous, and this is me putting it lightly. There were 2 handballs in the box, one of which was simply unquestionable and admitted by Behrami post match, while the second was also pretty definite, with the ball rolling down the arm of the Viola defender (can't remember who). Then there was the third clear penalty as Pato's shirt was almost ripped off. Also, how the officials ruled off Seedorf's goal is beyond comprehension as the offside wasn't even close.
The second reason for the result was Boruc. Quite honestly I don't understand why this guy always seems to raise his game against us, but last night his saves on Pato and Urby were incredible.
All in all, we shouldn't feel upset about the performance, we did what we should have and in the end we were left screwed over.
Players...
Abbiati - Had nothing to do all match
Abate - Solid if not at his best, he had a good matchup with Pasquale
Nesta - Rarely if ever under pressure, and it showed
Thiago - Excellent performance, it wasn't so much he had much to do, but his anticipation of moves and ability to read the game that stood out.
Antonini - Never threatened, but also offered little going forward
Ambrosini - I honestly thought he had a solid game. His anticipation of Fiorentina was good and he often broke up their play before they even got started.
Aquilani - Really good first half, but lost his way during the second when frustation seeped in.
Nocerino - Not his best game by any means, but solid and unlucky not to score.
Seedorf - Was doing pretty well in the first half and unlucky to see his goal ruled out. However, he disappeared in the second half.
Robinho - A mixed game, as his movement off the ball was pretty good as he worked the wide channels, but his overall performance lacked spark and he didn't get close enough to goal.
Ibra - Played a very good game, but with his tendency to drop deep to create (a vital aspect to our game) and Robinho not looking to run in behind, we lacked a little presence in the box until Pato came on.
Urby - Almost score, little else of note
Pato - A good return as he immediately raised the tempo of our game and looked sharp in front of goal. Desperately unlucky not to score, but if he maintains the intensity he showed (or ideally improve on it), he will come good in the coming weeks.
(11-19-2011, 10:57 PM)Nalx Wrote: Well, it speaks volume about the officials' decisions tonight when even Dev uses such strong language
I was and still am furious at the ref from last night's match. We played a good game, should have won comfortably but were so screwed over by the officiating it just highlights how corrupt Italian football is. Either that or these referees are nothing more than incompetent fools who should have nothing to do with football and should sit at home staring at a blank wall so that they can't propagate their idiocy on the human race.
(11-20-2011, 02:58 AM)will4li Wrote: Our players' mind kind of drifted to midweek game already,they visibly didn't exhibit full energy level.and luck is not on our side too.
That's fairly normal as it's extremely difficult to maintain a high level intensity every match. It's also important not to risk burnout, so it's only valuable to try and do the minimum to get a win in these matches.