Sometimes the result does not tell the entire story of a
match. This was one of those matches. Milan had 60% possession, 24 shots and 9
on target, but still didn’t score. They played much better than they had in
some losses, or even some wins, but still only got a point. Which opened up a
lot of new questions, including many about whether or not Montella is fit for
the job and how much longer they will give him. It also left everyone looking
for answers.
 |
| A picture is worth so many missed chances |
Most of the time, a 0-0 draw is boring and painful. Well,
this one was painful, but it wasn’t boring. It was filled with tackles, fouls,
and shots. Lots of shots. Statistically, it seems impossible that none of our
shots went in. Well one did, in the 7 th. A fantastic bicycle kick
from Cutrone went in, but was called back for offside. Funny, if it had stood,
that is what people would have been talking about. But it didn’t, and so his
heroics are forgotten.
Another one that almost went in was at the other end, when
Christodoulopoulos, or Lazaros, to be able to fit it on the jersey, sent one in
near the post, and it came in on the wrong side of Donnarumma, who also nearly
deflected it in for an own goal, but luckily it continued just across the face
of goal and did not go in. Donnarumma’s counterpart, Anestis, had the game of
his life, with eight saves. And some of those saves were amazing, like the one
on Cutrone in the 69 th. So many moments, actually, with a
breathtaking Musacchio stop in the 52 nd, for example. But with AEK
playing basically a ten man back line, Milan weren’t going to score.
 |
| Cutrone was brilliant again, but still not enough |
There was one satisfying event, however. Marco Livaja, notoriously
ex-Inter, had been talking ahead of the match about how badly he wanted to
score against Milan because he was ex-Inter, how much he still loved Inter,
etc. So when he left the pitch, he was whistled excessively by the mere 17,000
Milan fans in attendance. Apparently he reacted to that, and so three minutes
later, got a yellow card… on the bench. That is a special skill. And also so
Inter.
While the team played a much improved game, every match that
is not a win is going to raise the intensity and number of questions. This game
was interesting, though, because in Montella’s prematch press conference, he
compared the team to a new wardrobe, and said he still had to find which pants
and which trousers go together. Which is the closest to culpability you will
find from him, even though I don’t think he intended to tell us “I don’t know
what I’m doing.” Mirabelli also had some comments ahead of the match, saying
Montella needed to find Milan’s “shape,” and talking about how time is running
out for everyone, he and Montella included.
 |
| Mirabelli was unable to take the call for my interview because he was looking for a new coach... allegedly |
While I have been very critical of Montella and his tactics,
or lack thereof, he showed some hope in the second half of the Inter match, by
making tactical subs which actually impacted the game, even if the result still
didn’t happen. This match, he went with the 3-5-2 again, which everyone but him
can see is not working, And they almost made it work, too. But it still wasn’t
our ideal, and it’s impossible not to wonder how many of our poor results would
have been positive instead had he just used a proper formation.
Despite the grinta shown, the improved determination and
play, the result is what matters most. Will the result see Montella still on
the bench when we go to Athens in a couple of weeks? Is there another coach out
there who is available and willing to take on this project? Or will the
improvements shown lately finally be enough to get the results? These and so
many other questions are being asked by the fans, and likely the Milan
management, too. With three more Serie A matches in the next eight days, I’m
sure more and more questions will be asked, too. And so fans and management
alike will all be looking for answers.
This post inspired by them music of
They Might Be Giants “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”
Our next match is
Serie A Week 9
Milan vs. Genoa
Sunday, October 22
• 15:00 CEST (9am EDT)
-->