Manchester United v Milan match thread [R] Champions League Semi-Final Leg 1

Inzaghi is questionable too. But I doubt he wont' play after Bayern.

 

I think cause it is the first leg and away at OT, that ancelotti will play a 4-5-1. it will be ambrosini gattuso pirlo in front of the back 4 and seedorf and kaka behind gila as the lone man up front.
If oliveira was in better form and ancelotti had more confidence in him, then he would maybe go with the 4-4-2 to take advantage of the very serious health problems that united has at the back. If ronaldo wasn't cup-tied, almost for sure he would go 4-4-2 and try to get 1 or 2 all important away goals, but alas, he isn't, and oliveira is off form, so 4-5-1 it will be I believe. We'll try to keep it tight, compact, organized. keep the possession, so that their powerful attack can't get going as well, and try to steal a goal or two, possibly off a mistake or maybe even on a set piece, especially with the aerial specialist ambrosini in there versus a makeshift back 4. that is what I expect, and I hope for an away goal and no worse than a draw. obviously, a win would be fantastic, but it will be very difficult.

 

Man United has been a pain in the ass for Italian teams lately!
I'll never forget win the won 3-2 against Juve in Torino!
please A.C.Milan kick their inglish A$$es

 

You guys just got a lucky break, Ferdinand look to have picked up an injury that will see him out of the two man u fixtures. You guys have too much luck sometimes.

 

We had a nice game today and rested the whole back line. Kaka' got a deserved rest, and gilardino should be 100% since he didn't play at all today. We will probably go with the exact line up we had for the first leg against Bayern. 4-5-1 will be the formation and Seedorf will line up next to Kaka' with Gila up top. Midfield will have Pirlo, Gattuso and Ambro. Back, of course will have Oddo, Nesta, Maldini, and Jankulovski. Kalac will probably be our goalie. I hope we play as well as we play the first half in the first leg against Bayern. We tied the game at the end but that first half was near perfect. Controlling the tempo will be priority because of the speed of the Man U players (Ronaldo, Rooney). Let's go for another CL final.

Like was said before, I hope the Gods of football have a nice surprise for Il CAPITANO up there sleeves.

FORZA MILAN!!!

 

Goodluck Italians.

 

Man U are going through their worst injury crisis in years.

Its time for Milan to realize their destiny and win this thing.

They have to do it for Maldini, but more importantly they have to do it for themselves.

 

The Italian media is going to put a lot of pressure on Milan to save face of Italian football in the CL. I hope it doesn't effect them.

 

ManUnited are having an injury crisis of massive proportions. Among other things, the four starting defenders are out due to injury.

Milan's defense may be up there in years, but as a team playing in the Champions League, there's no team I fear more than Milan precisely because of their experience.

I hope I'm wrong, but Milan seem to have the upper hand to advance to Athens.

 

i say we the 4321 formation will be good...we have our back four...oddo/nesta/ maldini/ janks than pirlo gattuso n eitha ambro or brocchi or maybe brocchi for ambro in second half sub....they can win the ball back n play defensivly..than have kaka n seedorf lil pushed up more offensivly..n gila up top...from what i hear people sayin man u's defense is shaken up so maybe an offensive style would benefit us? well if we play possesion get a goal or 2 at old trafford we will be good for the return leg...but who knos looks like it'll be a great game...we must contain c.ronaldo...im sure ancellotti has a plan to stop him...god i hope he does

 

Injuries or no injuries I fancy us to beat you. With Vidic, Rio and Neville it'd be no contest but as it is Brown is a good defender, Heinze plays as CB for Argentina, Evra should be back and Fletcher can do a job at RB.

If you doubt our attacking threat I suggest you have a talk to Chivu, Mexes, Panucci and De Rossi and see what they think.

odessit19 - Rio is, at the moment, the best CB in the world, he used to be prone to the odd lapse but this season I have seen 2 mistakes in over 50 matches...

 

a few things that worry me about this one...

Cristiano ronaldo is too hot at the moment, and our defense is, well, shocking. Also i think our team has slightly adapted to having R99 upfront, and without him we dont quite have the same fire-power (no disrespect to gila and oliviera, but you boys are not of the same class).

However, if kaka can free himself from Man Utd's man-markers.. and if gattuso can keep C.Ronaldo fearing for his life... and if seedorf can play as he did in the last match... and if our defense doesnt make any terrible mistakes... (and if Gila can score a few of those 'jammy' goals )... I think we might just have a decent chance.

 

lets quit the stereotypes. Only Maldini is very old, the rest of the defence are at their peak age.

On the match, i know Man Utd are missing their first choice defenders, but as p ps sock said, Brown has always been solid, Heinze is in great form, and from what i've seen, Fletcher has been pretty decent at RB - good distribution and hasnt been at fault for any goals.

Milan have to be smart, they cant just go for the juggernaut like Roma did (even if Man Utd are playing with a makeshift defence) because Ronaldo, Rooney et al will kill them on the counter. Man Utd still have their first choice midfield and Alan Smith has proved himself to be a pest for Italian sides. I think him and Rooney could frustrate Pirlo. Milan need to keep things tight with Ambro and Gattuso closing down players immediately. Oddo and Janku should be cautious when pushing forward because Man Utd like to attack down the wings. Gila needs a big performance, he seems to be hitting some form atm and he's been well rested. If he's not performing then Super Pippo will come on in the second half. Big shame Ronaldo is not available.

 

Game plan
Injury Ronaldo, or just play really tight on him and double team. Rooney isn't doing as good as last yr, hes not going to be able to finish all the time. Let Kaka run and break em'

 

Stupid thing to say. Emm, The Roonster is hitting some form right now. Seeing you're an Arsenal fan, where the hell have you been? And he did score in his last two CL games.

About, the injuring Ronaldo part, stupid, absolutely stupid. I generally respect Milan as a team with class. Last time around you were FAR more dominant than the scoreline suggested. Maybe I should quit.

You guys look to have the upper hand what with our entire backline out and all that. We are going through an AWFUL injury crisis at the worst possible time.

You guys have a class midfield but then again so do we. If we had Rio, Nev and Vida, I'd say it would be really tight. But right now, I fear for the worst!

Hope Roon and Ron have a night to remember and I'm proven completely wrong.


Should be a good game.

Up the Reds!

PS: Class goal from Pirlo, saturday and good you guys wont have the one guy who can put the ball in the back of the net to play.

PPS: Who is that poor left back of yours whom Ronny is gonna be running at? Jankulovski(sp?) seems very offensive minded to me!

 

Should be interesting. Jankulovski has been great for Milan this season, and he's been pretty sound defensively. He'll do a better job than Panucci since he has the pace to keep up with Ronaldo and he's not playing out of position.

 

It will be interesting. I still think of Jank as some kinda wingback, we'll see how he copes with the best player in the world. (IMO) The other one is Oddo right?

He doesn't seem that great to me, but sound enough. But with Giggs, Roon and Ron all floating around and exchanging positions, they're going to have to concentrate very firmly on their defensive capabilities. That said, I'm still not confident.

Heinze in the centre, scares me to death. Heard you lot would employ Gattuso to man mark Ronaldo?

And Oddo looks like he has no pace et all to me. But I can't say I've watched him much. Only one leg of your Celtic and Both Bayern ones.

That said, Kaka' could still destroy our makeshift defence. Here's to hoping he has a bad night.

 

Oddo has some pace, but his strength is crossing.

I think Gattuso v. C Ronaldo will be a classic matchup

 

That could be useful.

VDS is very short on confidence dealing with crosses. I personally believe Gila is shit. What's he like right now? Some bit of form?

And is Dida back for this one? I'd love Kalac to play!

 

yeah, he (oddo) is no snail out there, but as cassano said his strength is crosses and set pieces (but with pirlo he only gets to show off his set pieces now for the azzurri)