I wouldnt say were not ready for this stage. I say we were unfortunate - to draw bayer in the playoffs - to lose our captain Biglia right before a tough away match and our vice captain Klose - to not get penalty shots awarded for us with legit appeals in both legs - to not have gone up a man in the first game when we should have - to have de vrij screw up which is very rare All these added up to an eventual lose. As soon as Biglia went down vs Bologna I had a cold sweat. It felt like Chanpions League was over right then but I ignored that gut feeling. As a result, it was a pathetic display in Leverkusen and we couldnt control any tempo or muster any motivation to go forward. This is what Biglia does for us, and Bayer really poured it on us. Europa League it is. I really hope Lotito ponders about his transfer market he just did, signing 20 year olds and adding no depth worthy of champions. Looks like being stingy didnt work this time.
The only way we are going to be ready is playing here and gaining experience in it. We could have avoided this altogether if we finished second or if we had a higher coefficient but that is irrelevent now. The match was pretty horrid to watch. Lots of fouls like I expected and some really awful defending from us. We gifted them two goals when we should be making them work to get those goals. Very disspointing but it is a learning process. We got to make a real go of the Europa League so that we do not be unseeded again.
The draw wasn't the best nor the worst. Man U and Valencia were to be avoided, still BL were beatable. The loss of Biglia was massive, he's the one player we could ill afford to lose especially with the 4-3-3. The 3-4-3 worked against Napoli last season but still we were fortunate in many aspects that match, we had Napoli chasing us the whole match. It worked for the first 40 mins here but De Vrij's error really set us back. Had we held on, you know around the 65th there would be great counter attacks for Candreva, Keita and FA to feast on. The non call on the handball by Tah would have basically sealed the tie, but it was difficult to see, though the linesman you would think had to have seen it. Still we made mistakes and while they didn't cost us in several matches last year it did here.
The mercato ends with the grand climax of us getting Matri on loan. I've actually always rated Matri, though he can appear to be slow and lazy at times, he does know how to finish and has a knack for scoring important goals. It's a loan with no purchase guarantee, his salary is high unfortunately, but we can move on after this season. The international break comes at the perfect time, the morale must be at an all time low under Pioli, 4-0 to Chievo, honestly..... We need to find solutions without Biglia, it can't be stressed enough how important he is. Perhaps weather the storm a little, play a 4-5-1, though we lack any link up play with this formation. We will see what the squad is made of in the next month.
I saw the match against Chievo and we were on top until they scored. Then everyones head dropped as if they were resigned to defeat. Never seen a team so emasculated before. Players need to get a backbone. I would say only Parolo kept on going. The others looked devoid of motivation. What a gutless and weak mentality. You can not simply give up after going a goal behind. Embaressing.
Definately, but he wanted to leave. We replaced him with a youngster, Milinkovic-Savic who we got for €9 million. A lot of money for a young player. Not enough experienced players in the squad anymore and Biglia keeps getting injured is not a help either. For once I am glad the International break has come round.
Great to see the crowd in Frosinone vs Roma. Forsinone are playing quite well, this would be a great time for their first Serie A win. Forza la Ciocciaria!
Good win against Udinese. Matri applying the cutting edge that we have been missing since the start of the season. Awful conditions the game was played in but we were on top throughout the whole match. Hopefully the team can produce the results that we know they are capable of and gain some confidence back.
Agreed, Matri does give us that poaching ability. Everywhere he was given a fair chance with regular playing time he has produced. Nice to see Felipe make a great play assisting on Matri's goal. We know Felipe needs to get his confidence back. We play Dnipro on Thursday. Not sure which lineup Pioli will go with, especially with an eye on Napoli Sunday. If we can get a draw we here we should be fine as this probably our toughest match against last year's finalists. However they no longer have Konopylanka.
We started our Europa League campaign with an away draw to Dnipro. They equalised in the final minute of injury time and from a corner. We should be better than that. Still, it was arguably our toughest match of the group and we should have won the game. We also rotated the squad a bit so we can have fresher players for the diffcult match against Napoli.
Theres was a lot of good to take away from that game. Its such a shame how that ended. 3 guys unmarked on the left is inexcusable. We should have won by more than 1 goal and we tied a very easy game. We really had Dnipro to reduced chances. They didnt have the quality to play with us, even as a rotated squad and they got what they were desperate for. A lot of regret after that result.
We really should have beaten Dnipro, they aren't as good as last year with Konopylanka leaving for Sevilla. We really shouldn't have shown up at the San Paolo, oh wait we didn't. An embarrassing performance, but injuries to our most important players is leaving us extremely vulnerable. Injuries are out of their control but Lotito and Tare should have had a plan B if guys like De Vrij and especially Biglia got hurt. If we had an adequate replacement for Biglia perhaps we would be in the CL. De Vrij despite a rough start to the season is the glue of the backline. Hoedt simply isn't ready to handle a player of Higuain's caliber, nor is he ready to handle Serie A in general. Keita could have put us up early, he needs to finish his chances if he's going to take the next step. Still we were totally outclassed and if not for Marchetti it could have been 7-0 easily. Let's finally beat Genoa for goodness sake.
Our away performances have been embaressing. We have conceded 9 and scored none. We have the worst defence in the League. Hoedt is not ready to play in big matches away from home. He should get Coppa Italia matches or late cameos in home matches when we have sewn up the result. I do not think I can blame injuries for the result. 5-0 is inexcusble especially to Napoli. They are garbage defensively. We should be scoring against them and limiting their chances like last season. We had a good away record last season, I do not understand how we are so broken now. If we do not beat Genoa the fickle fans are going to start making an uproar. The players have to help themsleves and spine up.
We got to start to be more clinical in front of goal. We were doing the ground work but Genoa were catching us on the counter. Once we actually scored Genoa were not threatening at all. We were in control of the game. Good goal from Anderson. Hopefully he can find some form because we are a much better team when we are in front. We need to gain confidence and then we can get a run of good results going like we did last season.
Didn't see the match but saw both goals. Great ball from Lulic and finish by Djordevic, Felipe's goal was reminder of what he is capable of and he definitely blows hot and cold with his confidence. You could tell how much it meant to him. Still despite being embarrassed twice, we've taken 9 points out of 15, oddly enough a much better start then we had last season.
We won at Verona since 1991. Still awful in front of goal though. We were completely dominant. Marchetti had nothing to do all game and it is criminal that Verona scored on their only shot on goal. Djordevic was guilty of misssing two golden chances. I hope at least one of our strikers can hit some form. Our finishing is extremey poor and is making matches where we are on top much more difficult.
It was a positive performance away from the olimpico and that is what Pioli wanted most. Getting the win very late in the game was even better. I always said Parolo always has 1 golden chance every game, but this season he hadn't had anything going for him until Biglia came back. Biglia back has improved this team so much. Adds security to a very shaky D without de vrij, and adds avenues for our players to advance towards goal. Too bad Felipe wasnt sharp this game. He could of had a couple of beauties with a bit more precision.
Since the debacle at the San Paolo we've won 4 straight. The return of Biglia is massive, with him back Parolo can roam all over the midfield knowing he won't get caught by a poor pass or be left out to dry as Biglia is excellent at covering up for other player's runs. With regards to the last match vs Frosinone, it wasn't easy. This match meant a lot to Frosinone and their fans most of whom are probably Lazio fans. Great finish by Keita was enough including some timely saves from Berisha, he saved Hoedt on one occasion, De Vrij can't come back soon enough. 4 straight win is nice but we haven't had the toughest opposition to deal with. The next 3 matches are a little more difficult but we can win them all (@Sassuolo, vs Torino and vs Milan), I'd be happy with 7 pts from these 3 matches. After that we got the derby.
Frosinone made it difficult because they camped behind the ball and tried to play on the counter attack. We eventually broke through though. Biglia has the exerience and is the most level headed player we have. We missed him breaking play down, screening in front of the defence and playing out from the back. Hoedt is good on dead ball situations because of his height but he is lacking experience at this level. The international break should help us get the missing players back so t has come for us at a good time. Even the easiest teams can pose problems such Carpi held Napoli and Frosinone held Juventus. Our attack is strong enough to break them down. We just have to improve in the big matches against the more quality teams.
Good result against Frosinone. I was really getting worried until Keita broke through. Gotta love this guy. His contributions this season has been so clutch. International break couldnt have come at a better time. We hope to have Candreva and hopefully 1 of Klose or De Vrij back. Our core is slowly coming back as is Felipe Anderson's confidence. We are in a good position in the table despite what people may consider a poor start. Imagine where we could be once we start heating up. Pioli has to keep pushing up the quality of play.
Two very different performances in a row vs Rosenborg and Torino. Felipe I regaining his form, Matri gives us an excellent option to Klose, Marchetti has been very good as well. Tough game midweek in Bergamo.
Nice 2-0 win in Rosenborg. We fielded mostly a B team, but nice to see Djordevic net a brace. Kishna ran the whole 90 mins and played quite well a did Konko, they dominated the right side in the second half. So we're on 10 pts 3 ahead of Saint Etienne and 6 on Dnipro. A draw sees us through but 1st in the group would help us avoid some land mines in the KO round. Derby this Sunday. Think we go back to 4-3-3 after the 4-5-1 didn't work too well vs Milan. Marchetti Basta - Gentiletti - Mauricio - Lulic MS - Biglia - Onazi Candreva - Klose - FA I'd go with Mauricio over Hoedt, I shutter at the site of Hoedt trying to defend Dzeko and Salah. Pjanic isn't there and without him they struggle to create.
Oh and De Vrij is out for the season basically. Unfortunately the injury happened with the Dutch NT. However it was a recurring knee issue that finally needed surgery. Well good news is he will be with us next season unless a ransom is paid.