Ajax - AC Milan - [R] 10/1/13 - CL Group H (Game 2/6)

El Shaarawy will miss the matches against Ajax and Juventus (+ most likely a few more matches).

Galliani: "It's a pity that El Shaarawy sustained an injury today. I found out when I was on my way here to the airport."

Unbelievable. We're cursed....wtf is going on during the training sessions?? Everyone keeps getting hurt in training.

 

maybe pato was right? we couldn't get kaka healthy. couldn't get pato healthy. is el sha the next player milan ruins?

 

A draw would be a decent result for sure.

 

SES is looking like another player in a long list of Milan players that couldn't get consistently healthy.

He doesn't have the physique to withstand hard hits and is basically too "lightweight" to play in the Italian league.

Had we sold him for that crazy (alleged) 40 mill fee we could of bought a new defense while also throwing Honda in.

 

i'm not gonna jump on the SES is injury prone train just yet. he was healthy all of last year wasn't he? unless i'm forgetting something. besides, when everyone else is getting injured, i feel like it has more to do with the environment their in that the actual individuals.

 

I'm not on any bandwagon - I just think it was a missed opportunity with the evaluation we were getting for him but it was ultimately SES who squashed the trade cause he wanted to stay so there wasn't much Galliani could do at the time.

 

Forza Milan!

 

2-1 milan. i'm feeling good about this one.

 

Would prefer Urby or Poli ahead of Muntari.

At least Matri isn't starting!

 

There's no way Monto is fit for this game...

 

Same match as against PSV. Balo and Robinho on an island. With so many injuries, Milan have so few players that are comfortable in possession and can link up play. Monto not fit clearly and playing too high...he needs to remain deep and control the tempo next to De Jong. Let Muntari and Poli do the running further up.

Mex and Zap look shaky as usual. On the bright side, Abate looks up for it and Constant is doing his best. Milan will need a moment of brilliance from Balo to do better than a draw.

 

We're playing like cowards.

 

Set pieces again. Unmarked header for a center defender.

Just as I type, Balotelli! Great finish.

 

Do we ever practice defending set pieces????

We should of won this match. We dominated that 2nd half..

 

The matches we "should" win we end up scraping through and the ones we deserve to lose we scrape through some more...

I get no joy watching this team. The build-up play is so incredibly laborious combined with such nitwit defending and useless crosses into the box from the wings...I could go on and on but bottom line is this team is a mid-table team right now.

We might get lucky against Barca at home and scrape a point but its going to be a shit-show at the Nou Camp (I could see us losing by more than 4 goals over there).

 

we had some good chances to go ahead in the second, but again we didn't capitalize. i just don't understand what's going on with the set-piece defending, or the defending overall. so many nervous passes in the back. i could tell the were going to score in the end, because they had like 3 clear cut chances in a row....so frustrating.

also, i'm gonna be that guy, but that wasn't a penalty. we should have lost this game.

 

that PK call was weak and shame on Balo for theatrics. I know it's football, but he's better than that

 

Milan obviously played slow and tired Ajax out in first half. In the second half they actually moved the ball nicely and created a lot of chances. Montolivo did not look rdy to play full 90mins. I don't know if its Allegri who trusts players to play and doesn't see them as match fit OR expects too much from mediocre players like Muntari/Matri.

I heard Allegri say something about being bad at set pieces because they don't concentrate enough. I doubt it's Allegri's fault we are poor at the defending and doesn't bother "practicing" defending them. It's literally just the players on the field man marking and paying attention. It must be the personnel that lacks good aerial coverage.

I like Poli, I love De Jong. I like Montolivo when healthy. Muntari is hit or miss for me. I know we all laugh at Matri BUT when he's in the game it allows Balo to roam around and create or take shots from outside rather than be "target" guy. SO perhaps sometimes Matri is soley in the game as the "decoy" to allow Balo to roam. When Matri in game, Balo gets to roam, while when Balo is target man, we need runners/creators like Birsa/Robinho to distribute.

Either way, we are fighting for 2nd place in the group. We aren't beating Barca now, we aren't healthy nor peaking style wise. Maybe in 2nd round/quarters we have a shot but right now the goal is to qualify. Ajax/Celtic are tough competitors BUT shouldn't be a problem for us. Another tie/win vs Celtic/Ajax should be enough to qualify. We can lose 6-0 vs Barca both legs and still qualify for next round so if it happens, don't worry. '

1-1 was a fair result. Ajax played for draw in 2nd half. Milan played for draw in 1st. Great last minute header by Ajax. Balo PK goal was legit. There was 2 other PK's that could have been given that weren't. Balo was pulled down on a cross, so I have no problem with last minute PK. (Tho I would love to have wrapped up the game with more goals earlier)

 

i didn't watch the match, but i'll take the away point. we need to beat ajax at san siro and at least draw celtic at parkhead, and we will advance. if we get a point or two or three from the barca matches, it's a bonus.

 

well, i don't understand it either. but on that corner, both abate and urby were standing 12 yards from the goal with their hands on their hips. denswil goes in unmarked. i don't know if muntari was supposed to be marking him or someone else, but he beat muntari to the ball.

 

Looks like Milan play a "zone" of set pieces. And it doesn't seem to work because we stand in an area, while opposition make runs in front of us. Muntari absolutely got beat. Either way, he didn't go to ball.