Lazio v Milan - Feb 1st - 19:30 hrs

Originally Posted by Carlo_Ancelotti

the key word is CAN... Van Basten let the players on the field, but then it was up to the players to change the game rhythm!
Milan has always struggled while being put under pressure lately, and it means the players can't handle it, partially because our defense is IN MAJOR crisis at the moment. When we have Nesta back, and Thiago Silva at our disposal, we may not need 9 players behind the ball to save our butts. But at the moment - that's the only solution.

The players improved for Holland as they had outlets to pass forward to when under pressure. These "outlets" also happen to be very quick direct players that can be a huge threat on the counter. It is up to the players, but the coach is the one who is supposed to direct play.

Against Genoa we only had Kaka as an outlet after Pato came off, and he was swamped by defenders. Add to that the fact that Kaka wasn't having his best night that match we had little to no threat and Genoa were given the chance to maintain a huge amount of pressure on us.

As for our defence, it's hardly world class but certainly it's no joke either. Maldini is still performing and Favalli has done well in the center. In fact, Carlo's decision to bring on Senderos in that Genoa match meant we lost balance and organisation in the defence. Prior to that sub, while we were struggling we were coping much better.