I'm not saying he shouldn't have started, but it was obvious he would be the first subbed off. I didn't know if Osi was hurt, and that's why I asked if Mertens was the only option.
Elmas needs to be given the benefit of the doubt. He never starts and when he gets subbed in he goes from central mid to winger to even center forward. He needs to nail down a role
Well, of course some are, just like the official channel posted it was a penalty. But the ones who think know better, though it is questionable how many of those there are... On the Czech forum, they all agreed that there should be one more member at the Grammy Awards tonight, but no penalty...
He was looking for any touch, and fell like he was shot. It was actually good to see a ref in Serie A be able to discern what it was. Baka is still a moron either way, as he had no reason to even give him a chance to dive.
lmao I shit on Hysaj and he decides to have one of his best games in a Napoli shirt. Ruiz-Demme-Zielu is a great midfield but we're still missing an enforcer, teams are able to slice through our midfield way too easily. Bakayoko is one of the worst Napoli players I've ever seen. He makes Gargano and Behrami look like Xavi in comparison
he is worse for his team when he plays his preferred role, too weak defensively, which make us vulnerable. Imo he is a luxury player who isn't very good... yet. Maybe a loan spell could benefit both him and Napoli
Big controversies today in Italy about the refereeing from the weekend. The Italian press has fixated on the non-given pk to Theo Hernandez but no talk about his brutal tackle on Osimhen. No one is admitting that the asshole was diving.
I guess it depends on where you're looking. La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote it’s ‘surprising’ Pasqua didn’t award Milan a penalty kick after a VAR check, but Tuttosport suggested Theo Hernandez should have seen red.
LOSERS... Fienga furious over Juve-Napoli change By Football Italia staff Roma's CEO Guido Fienga insists the decision to postpone the Juventus vs. Napoli fixture is ridiculous. 'The real reasons can't be revealed.' Juventus-Napoli had been rescheduled for March 17, but the Lega Serie A decided a new date for the game last week, sparking controversy. Roma protested with a formal letter to the Lega Serie A, questioning the decision to change the Juventus-Napoli fixture less than a week from the planned kick-off. Lega Serie A replied saying, "all the decisions were taken following the rules." "The letter was clear. I would not want to add anything," Fienga told reporters after attending the appeal hearing against the 3-0 defeat by default handed to Roma in the Verona fixture on matchday 1. "I don't want to comment on the Lega Serie A response because it's more ridiculous than the decision itself," the Roma director added. "The reasons were not there. They say the decision does not need an explanation, but the real reasons can't be revealed."
Had Zlatan played, it would have been a different game. With that said, Zlatan's presence was still felt. He has made Milan a dirty, more physical team these days. That striker who took his place put his cleats into Ospina very early in the game. He made no effort to avoid "accidentally" hurting the keeper. That Hernandez dived is also a reflection of these cheap tactics Milan now resort to. Politano deserves his plaudits. He scuffed the shot, but he did well to shape his body to place it beyond the keeper. No luck needed, it was all in the technique. Napoli played the ball really well when it came to short passes that switched across the pitch, but the longer passes they tried to switch across looked almost as if they were intended for a Milan player. Milan like to defend very narrow and I think Gattuso deserves some credit here for getting his team to spread the play across the width of the pitch. That was no doubt a result of his instruction. Bravo to Gattuso for pulling one on his former team, now let's see if he can make it happen against Roma in a game that I think will have more goals in it. Should be fun.
Milan will have a great team in 2-3 seasons if they can keep this core together and add some better offensive players If we can get a result in Rome, it will be immense
Thank God somebody said it. Politano's shot was not the best one, but the technique was good enough to account for other deficiencies. Gattuso did well, but that's what a coach is supposed to do. This team can still play better, but it needs confidence. Osimhen showed that he can be dangerous even with 1 measly first-touch shot from behind the box. We need to supply him with passes and I think we can rely on him. I hope.
@indestructible Agreed. Milan are putting themselves together again with players like Kessie and Tonali impressing me the most, but the way they are playing now could see them drop out of the top four this season. Series A is looking much more competitive now than it has in the past few years. I like the way Napoli are shaping up for these crunch matches. Gattuso has everyone fit, motivated, and pulling together. Things are coming together at just the right moment.
I feel the same way, but the situation will be complicated now, as games are unpredictable and sometimes even the best performances fail to produce results. We'll need a bit of luck as well as other things.
We have to continue pushing them! It's for the taking. Lozano and Osimhen should be introduced to run in behind with the extra space Roma have to allow. Edit: have never seen Roma this bad