UCL QF 2nd Leg: Bayern Munich-AC Milan

well, my 1-1 prediction was all wrong. OH well....

criticizing Gila is useless, btw Hitmann, becoz Inzaghi was offside (while Gila was onside). In other words, they did what strikers did. Scored.

And then the ref decided to give a yellow for Gila (funny yesterday same thing happened to Joe Cole and no yellow card was shown).

Originally Posted by BMWTaylor

*looking for someone to hug*

<--- closest smiley I could find to a hug

Solid performance on the whole tonight. We didn't play particularly nice football, but we managed to do our job.

The first half was good on the whole, a nervous start but after that we controlled the play well and have Seedorf to thank more than anyone for going up 2-0, effectively making the game more simple.

Second half was fairly tentative the whole time, as we simply let Bayern come at us. However, having said that, I never felt too nervous about Bayern. Maldini and Nesta were superb and really Bayern were often looking to take long shots, all of which were either poor or Dida had well covered.

Tactically, I think Carlo made good substitutions, though I do feel he could have timed them better (they came quite late). He had us well setup for a good counterattacking game at the end, where we probably should have ended the game 3-0.

Player rundowns

Dida - Good game today, made a couple of excellent saves and seemed very solid.
Oddo - Can't say he had his usual attacking game going, but defensively he was ok, and saved us conceding.
Janku - Pretty good game today, defensively solid and got forward pretty well, and even managed to produce a couple of dangerous crosses
Nesta - Excellent game, very solid and not a single mistake.
Maldini - Same as Nesta
Pirlo - A good game. There was a little period in the second half where Bayern's aggressive and physical approach caused him trouble.
Rino - Aggressive and worked hard
Ambro - Worked hard, important from a physical perspective
Kaka - a pretty decent game. He was involved in most of our attacking play. However, Lucio deserves credit, as again he was able to stop Kaka overall. I think this is due to Lucio's natural strength and speed.
Seedorf - Was superb during the first half, disappeared in the second.
Pippo - Worked hard, good goal, glad to see his return
Serginho - Added a lot to our counterattacking play, though clearly still not match fit.
Gourcuff - Was a good outlet at the end, holding the all well and really easing the pressure
Cafu - NR

We deserved to win overall, and even moreso in the whole tie. I'm particularly happy as the arrogance Bayern and the German press have shown was sickening. Now we look ahead to Man U, a tough prospect but one I can see us winning if we are well setup and concentrated.

FORZA MILAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by BRN Scozia

Classic post Warro!

All bow to the mighty powers of Inzaghi and Seedorf. To them we owe a great debt of thanks!

Forza the mighty Milan! Bring on Old Trafford. If any team can stop the rampant reds, its the red and blacks of Milan. Forza Rossonere!

Quite so BRN!! Quite so...I am currently eating this, and several other posts, with a mild curry sauce...in a roti wrap.

Kudos to Nesta, he is back to his best.
And Kudos to Kaka, seriously we need to find someone like him.
Milan always put their gear up in CL. 3rd consecutive semifinal.
.

Nice too see some Inter fans are taking this politely, haha

Exactly, Milan strength is in controlling the pace of the game. The last time milan met Man U, they can't even score a goal or dare i say not even any meaningful chances was created. Milan didn't roll over Man U but after the games, most man U fans were convinced Milan is superior than Man U.

As long as Oddo play a good defensive game, we can keep Man U at bay while doing our business up front. We beat Man U previously due to our superior MF and i hope Gourcuff can convince ancelotti to play him cos with him beside Pirlo and gatusso, we can easily take control of the MF.

well Giggsy hit the post so i guess that counts as a meaningful chance

It will be a similar tie to last time though now Carrick is in to bolster midfield for Utd which will be interesting, he may have scored 2 crackers yesterday but his real contributions are positional and with tempo, a lot like Pirlo. Ronaldo and Rooney arent teenagers anymore either and wont be so easy to contain..

The real key will be Kaka breaking from midfield though, neither Scholes nor Carrick is blessed with pace and if Utd attack (which they will at home) then it will be the perfect set up for Kaka to break into space behind midfield, if Milan snatch an away goal then the tie will be over as they do know how to close a tie down, as Bayern found tonight

Okay, I think I'll hit the road for now. I'm still kinda blah from eating myself full and tired from the craziness of the match. Catch you guys later and FORZA...well, you know.

Kidnap crespo

What about this hugging smiley dev? ... don't think you can get more 'huggy' than that!

I think it's way too early to start talking about players doing this and that, form players can suffer from dips ... dipped players could rise in confidence and then there's the random injury factor. Lets just enjoy tonight, enjoy giving the German press something to choke on and be happy we are in yet another semi final

Suprisingly, Gourcuff is quite slow for his age.

Originally Posted by lana

Suprisingly, Gourcuff is quite slow for his age.

I noticed that too... He had a long ball to run for shortly after he came on with fresh legs, and he had no chance against the german defenders. Well, he's got great vision and skills though.

Originally Posted by Arildonardo

I noticed that too... He had a long ball to run for shortly after he came on with fresh legs, and he had no chance against the german defenders. Well, he's got great vision and skills though.

He is our next Rui Costa...

Excellent analysis Dev!! Spot on on all counts.

I will freely admit that I was pessimistic on the outcome for us, based on several points I have alluded to in prior posts, but I was incorrect (thankfully) on most, if not all counts.

As a man, I have no probs in admitting to errors, be they in judgement, or otherwise.

So, FORZA MIIIIIIIIIILAN!!

I look forward to our meeting with Man U with less trepidation than this game, in the knowledge that we have, player for player, better quality, and more experience.

They may have the marginally better coach, but injuries permitting, we should win vs Man U and proceed to the final, where I hope we face Liverpool.

Some clips are online here http://championsleaguegoals.blogspot.com/

Thanks Warro.

Originally Posted by Jim_UK

What about this hugging smiley dev? ... don't think you can get more 'huggy' than that!

I think it's way too early to start talking about players doing this and that, form players can suffer from dips ... dipped players could rise in confidence and then there's the random injury factor. Lets just enjoy tonight, enjoy giving the German press something to choke on and be happy we are in yet another semi final

lol, missed that one, but BMW didn't acknowledge my last attempt to hug

you're right, it is too early to tell what the players have to do, though I do have some thoughts on how to stop United. But anyway, that can wait for another day

Originally Posted by lana

Suprisingly, Gourcuff is quite slow for his age.

Pirlo was NEVER a fast player but it doesn't make him any less great.