Week 1: Milan vs Lazio August 31 2014 18:00CET

[Aficio]

Menez

El Shaarawy.

Pippo

[WCmilan]

Amazing game.. Alex impressed me, he really throws himself at opponents and in front of the ball to defend the net, I like that work rate.
Diego Lopez was no surprise, everyone should expect him to be a great keeper. Menez played really well, but for me..

MOM, ELS hands down - he was ripping LAzio apart.

Do any of you think Van Ginkel will be good enough to jump in our starting lineup? Our midfield is a bit meh.

[ZvonimirBoban]

Van Ginkel can compete with Poli...

What else could Cristante do to earn starting berth? :confused:

[LebRN]

Likes:
SeS: god how we missed him! Can't but love this kid
Diego Lopez: already showed everything that Abbiati couldn't do...i.e. confident, keeps cool, saves a penalty, and can launch a counter with an excellent long pass
Menez: not bad for a free player
De Jong: sure hope we don't sell to United
Abate: useful cross!!!

Dislikes:
Bonera: liability as always
Muntari: scoring a tap in doesn't erase all the bad passes he's made that puts the pressure back on the team instantly
Pippo's subs: why Essien not Cristante or Saponara? That's not a good sign for blending in the youth when u r 3-1 up
Defensively: last 20 mins we were awful... Playing like we were 10-0 up

All in all, definitely more than any of us expected for the start of this campaign

[Mystik]

Definitely an important win against a direct competitor for the EL spots (staying realistic here..). Our counter attacking was definitely impressive but Lazio still controlled the majority of the game and with better finishing, we would have been in serious trouble. All in all though, good 3 points to start and hopefully we can improve from there!

[Jokka]

Sorry but wasn't impressed by this performance. Lazio controlled the game in the second half and created a number of chances. If they'd been more clinical in front of goal and scored the penalty we could've easily lost. Having said that we defended well in numbers and were successful on the counter attack. I think we're going to struggle this season because our midfield simply isn't good enough. Poli, Muntari and De Jong is all brawn with no brain and zero creativity. I can however see Lazio having a surprisingly decent campaign.

[ACMILAN1983]

Good and bad to take from this performance. Firstly I think Pippo will be extremely happy to get a good result to start, because that immediately takes immense pressure off his shoulders and keeps the hope and good vibes started from the TIM cup.

About the match, I think it's fair to say we were very dominant for about 60-65 minutes, but then switched off. This isn't Pippo's fault, this is a hangover from the Allegri days and we are going to take time to resolve this. Fundamentally to me this is a psychological problem that is in the mindset of the players.

In the first half we were very dominant, mainly on the counter, but we also gave nothing to Lazio, who I don't think had a proper chance in the half. On the other hand, whenever we went forward we caused real issues with the pace we had up front, as Lazio weren't exactly pacey at the back. Ultimately, the 1-0 scoreline at halftime was a fair reflection, but it could have been more.

The second half was much more mixed. Intially it was pretty similar to the first half. While Lazio tried to increase the tempo further up, they became even more vulnerable on the counter, which we used to greater effect with particularly Abate given more license to push forward. However, after Menez scored, we conceded too easily and doubts set into the players. I also think it's extremely noticeable that at the point Lazio started dominating, De Jong had disappeared from the game (lack of match sharpness?), while Muntari was covering less than normal (which isn't much) and SES was tracking back less (in the first half he often covered ground for Muntari). This gave Candreva the space he craved to really cause real problems, which added with the impetus Anderson and Mauri gave, meant we struggled to deal with the threat. We held out though and that is a positive sign.

As for Pippo's first game in charge, I think he deserves credit. He didn't have a complex gameplan, but he recognised De Vrij especially lacks pace and clearly told SES to try to get in behind. With Lazio pushing high, the quick counters worked well. I think he also recognised the limitations of the midfield, so they were clearly under simple instructions to get the ball out to the front 3 to hurt Lazio. Towards the end, he also did well to manage the weaknesses against Candreva. He brought on Essien (who in all honesty added nothing), but Armero meant we shifted to a back 5 and it was interesting that he moved Zapata to the left, meaning Bonera's lack of pace couldn't be exploited. A decent start for his coaching career.

As for the team, we need to manage the game better and have more consistent pressing and quality. I like Pippo's desire for quick transitions from defence to attack (a feature I think was evident in the World cup), we just aren't great at implementing it yet. I've not supported the Torres deal, but I have to admit that this sort of football should at least fit him. For me the key is we're lacking in midfield more than anywhere. Montolivo will add quality and more bite in the midfield when compared to the likes of Poli, but certainly it's not a midfield that scares opponents.

Players:

Diego Lopez: One very good save and a great save on the penalty. More than that, I liked his calming presence and leadership.
Abate: Possibly his best game in a while, he was solid defensively and good going forward. Maybe Silvio teaching him how to cross has actually sunk in
Alex: Until the end when he appeared to have a little strain, he was a dominant presence. Really liked how he was first to anything in the air, especially given he was against Klose.
Zapata: Like Alex actually did very well, covering in behind well and his pace was handy.
Bonera: The weak point of the defence, I think this was on mistake of Pippo's. Luckily, others helped him cope with Candreva for the most part.
Poli: Solid game, nothing really outstanding.
De Jong: Totally dominant for two thirds of the match, but then went missing. I suspect he's not fully fit/sharp yet so struggled to cope for the whole match.
Muntari: Actually did pretty well on the whole and scored a nice goal, but it's the usual story with discipline, often needing cover from others and made a couple of reckless challenges.
Honda: Scored a great goal and he appears to be growing a lot under Pippo which is really impressive. He didn't play as well as last week, but made some decisive moves.
Menez: Did well as the false 9 and won and scored the penalty. He'll be very useful this year.
SES: My man of the match for sure, he destroyed Lazio. Made at least 3-4 good through balls, assisted the opener and helped defensively as usual.
Essien: Added very little in the side. It was odd, as surely the reason he was brought on was to add more solidity in midfield, but then played too high up the pitch.
Niang: Proved a real nuisance for Lazio, but maybe could have done more to kill time at the end (i.e. when taking the ball to the corner flags).
Armero: Did pretty well at the end to help contain Candreva a little and provided an outlet for the counter.

[nefremo]

Good post Dev. I agree with everything you said.

A couple additions, I think Hinda did good in some decisive moments like you said, but I still think that this team will benefit more from him if he plays as a mezzala. Mostly because we simply don't have one. There was a couple of moments when had we had a faster player on the right, we would've been more dangerous, while similarly almost the entire game is a proof that had we had a better passer and technician in the CM we were going to do much better.

I was so glad to see SES play the way he did. He may not be Messi or Ronaldo, but there isn't too many coaches out there that wouldn't welcome the work that he does and the positions that he puts himself in. My man of the match too, but followed closely by Lopez and even Alex/Zapata.

The one difference I saw tonight was the grit among the group and the togetherness. The willingness to work for the greater good of the team and the colors of the jersey. Even the people at San Siro were happy you could tell. I think people realize that this may not be a squad that will have the ball 65% of the time and play the game in the opponents half the entire time, even against a team like Lazio let alone a Roma or Juventus. But the people appreciate when the players kill themselves on the field and do whatever needs to be done to ensure that the game ends in the best possible way. It's been a while since I heard applause from the San Siro for a blocked shot, for giving away a corner, for simply working. People can sense that, and I am one of those people. I fully understand what this team is capable of and what it's not capable of. I fully understand that we will have to GRIND out points many times over the season, and I fuking love it. I fully agree with Pippo. I know that we are not going to win every game, but now I'm a believer that the players will do everything in their power and spend every ounce of their energy to protect the team colors.

We'll done Pippo. I'm really happy.

Oh, and I correctly guessed the score in the prediction league!

[Acmir]

Finally a change from the dull and boring matches of last season. We can see the hunger and determination that Pippo instilled in the players, but lets not get too excited there is still a lot of work to be done. The defense is shaky and we still lack that creative player in midfield that can dictate the game. Maybe Van Ginkel can be that player, but I haven't seen him play (except youtube videos), so I'm hoping for the best.

[Vegeta365]

So how is Torres going to fit into this 11?

The front 3 are all playing well, our midfield is nothing special.