the draw was held this morning, and we drew PSV. on paper, we should be through, but i know we will make it more difficult than it should be. my guess is we draw 2-2 at PSV and win 2-0 at san siro to advance. here's espn's analysis of the match-up: PSV Eindhoven v AC Milan Perhaps the tie of the round between two former competition winners, it’s hard to imagine that Europe’s eyes won’t be glued to this one. Not least because it recalls the thrilling 2005 semi-final between the two, when Guus Hiddink’s side came to the brink of a stunning comeback against Carlo Ancelotti’s men, notably with a brace by new PSV coach Philip Cocu. Many thought the Eredivisie side might struggle in their current phase of reconstruction, with names such as Kevin Strootman, Jeremain Lens and Dries Mertens having left, but they were simply imperious in dismissing Belgium’s Zulte Waregem from the competition in the third qualifying round. Netherlands Under-21 star Memphis opened the floodgates against Zulte with a wonderful strike but playmaker Adam Maher, signed from AZ, promises to provide the main danger. It has been a far calmer ‘mercato’ at the San Siro, so one senses Milan’s best bet is get after PSV’s newly-assembled defence, with the hugely promising partnership of Stephan El Shaarawy and Mario Balotelli having the quality to cause the Dutch side big problems. The excellent Riccardo Montolivo and his midfield colleagues must be ready for PSV’s aggressive, high-pressing game.
I'm a closet Eindhoven supporter. They have ********ing great fans and they represent the south with a ton of pride. I really wished we didn't draw them, I would of much rather had Fernerbache.
i'm only concerned because it's so early in the season. i feel like as a team, we are pretty slow starters (not even talking about last season). but i feel like we usually lose/tie some very winnable games early in the season due to fitness/chemistry problems. if this game were a midseason tie, i would not be worried. since its right after our season opener, i hope allegri has got the team running sprints already
psv have already played real games and should have their legs under themselves already. that concerns me. this is one of the biggest match-ups milan have played in years from a financial stand point. if we get into the CL group, that's basically a 30M guaranteed payday. if we get dumped into the EL, it's more like 6 or 7M in all likelihood.
The stakes are high, that's for sure. With one of the biggest payrolls in Italy and Europe, if we crash out it would be an unmitigated disaster.
From the general thread: The odds heavily favor Milan, but PSV seems to have improved rather than regressed. The key change is at CB with Bruma and Rekik. They are both comfortable in possession and are not afraid to move up, unlike stoppers like Marcello and Deryck. This allows Cocu to field a typical Dutch 4-3-3 (basically 4-1-2-3) which allows PSV to press and play a possession game instead of sitting deep waiting to break. Willems kept Pieters out of the starting line up, Hutchinson and Lens were squad players who only played a lot last season due to injuries and gaps the right flank. Mertens is a decent winger, but Depay is more talented. Strootman is a real loss but a midfield of Maher-Wijnaldum-Schaars is more balanced than Toivonen-Van Bommel-Strootman.