Milanisti
were commended by coach Pulga on their sporting help to get this match played
on the island. But I wondered, as I started watching the match, which island it
was? Instead of Sardegna, home of Cagliari, it felt like the island from the TV
show “Lost.” However, one sporting gesture deserves another. Astori was kind
enough to earn a red card 10 minutes from time, earning us a penalty to
equalize this match. Galliani, you know what to do. Get that boy a transfer
back to Milan this summer! As for this match, I guess you could say that all is
not lost.
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| Flamini our best midfielder by far this afternoon |
The first half seemed like we were still trying to find our footing after flying to the island. Flamini bodyslamming, Ambrosini with clumsy tackles, and Abate racing back for a great clearance only to crash into Abbiati. Balotelli has a talent for the stealth elbows, it seems, and Muntari has a deathwish, he will dive in front of multiple defenders kicks just to try to score. But Zapata redeemed us somewhat with his speed, and when he wasn’t auditioning for the NFL, Flamini had an excellent game, too. Zapata particularly impressed with a supersonic run and fantastic tackle in the 26th, and Flamini had a sweet backheel pass in the 16th. Niang showed his inexperience a bit in this match, like when he earned a yellow card in the 37th. Flamini also frustrated when he wasn’t dazzling, like in the 42nd, he took a sweet pass from El Shaarawy, then ran into the box pursued by only one defender. But he got a little excited and poked the ball forward a bit too far on what could have been an easy goal.
Our
half ended in heartbreak, though. A clumsy foul on Ibarbo by Mexes made him see
yellow, and gave Cagliari our kryptonite: a free kick. After defending the
speed and wiles of Cagliari for 45 minutes, we conceded on a set piece, of course.
A beautiful header from Ibarbo. 1-0 Cagliari. We seemed a little lost out
there, but I also noticed that Cagliari had a very clear and calculated plan to
shut down our offense. Anytime the ball crossed into their half, exactly seven
Cagliari players snapped into formation, encircling our strikers and very
effectively shutting them down. Their other 3 outfield players were all very
fast and able to counter well, so they controlled the game, despite maintaining
only 38% possession.
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| Zapata was monstrous tonight, his speed our saving grace |
The
second half was more interesting. More fouls, more cards. A total of 17 fouls
from Cagliari, and 15 for Milan, as well as 7 yellow cards and a red in total.
And yet there were more shot attempts, too. Like in the 47th when Balotelli
came close, or at the other end when Conti’s shot went just over the crossbar
in the 51st.
Allegri’s
subs were also interesting. In the 61st, he sent Boateng on for El Shaarawy,
which I questioned at first, but it seemed somewhat effective. However, I still
would have subbed differently. After Ambrosini earned his yellow card and a day off on Friday when we host Parma,
Allegri subbed him off for Bojan. The veteran captain was tired, and we needed
Bojan, but there were others on the pitch that I felt were being less
effective. Things were slowly picking up when Allegri put Robinho on for Niang
in the 80th. Whether it was the fresh legs or the time left on the clock, you
could see the Milan urgency kicking in.
That
urgency seemed to make Cagliari desperate, and that is when Astori showed his
true colors. The former Milan youth player grabbed Balotelli and dragged him
down in the box, resulting in his second yellow and a penalty for Milan.
Cagliari now on 10 men and with no substitutions left, Balotelli stepped up and
converted the penalty like a boss. 1-1 all.
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| The equalizer fully deserved, penalty well taken. |
Surprisingly,
Cagliari were not going down that easy, managing to attack on only 10 men. But
by the 89th, Agazzi would face a barrage of attempts by Balotelli and Bojan. In
the 93rd, Balotelli scored an amazing goal, but it was called off as the
whistle had blown just before his strike. Not a minute later, Agazzi had a
double save against Bojan and then Balotelli. Certainly you could say the game
was played to the death.
But
I want to know where our sense of urgency was for the first 85 minutes? Or how
we couldn’t take advantage of having an extra man? We managed 15 shots, 7 on
goal, which is not bad, but why were most of them in the final 5 minutes of
play? I also question Allegri’s choice of 3 fairly defensive midfielders in
this 4-3-3? It’s like leaving our offense shipwrecked up front, and it’s not
like this is a new problem, it’s been happening all season. But the biggest
question is why our opponents seem to practice set pieces more than we practice
defending them? Why are we incapable of defending set pieces? Is there even a
purpose to practicing anything else in training until we stop conceding every
goal on set pieces?
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| This goal would have given us the whole 3 points, plus would have made a great highlight reel |
It
seems like I wasn’t the only one feeling the Lost analogy. Our boys, and once
again, Allegri, seemed a little lost, too. But luckily, our sporting gesture was
rewarded with a little luck that we got the penalty, so all is not lost. But it
is disconcerting to have such a struggle against Cagliari when we will face
another red and blue team in 10 days in the Champions League that is likely to
give us a little more trouble. Let’s hope this inspires our boys to work even
harder and pull of a solid result on Friday against Parma. We’re 3 points
behind 3rd place, better than could have been expected at the beginning of the
season. So all is definitely not lost.
This post inspired by the music of
Nitzer Ebb
Our next match is
Milan vs. Parma
Friday, February 15 • 20:45 CET (2:45pm EST)