Giampaolo’s first match in charge of Milan went well enough.
There were few surprises, good or bad, and the result wasn’t a surprise,
either. Bayern showed why they have won seven German titles consecutively and
have also participated in the Champions League for ten straight years, too.
Milan weren’t terrible, but they have a lot of work to transition from Gattuso’s
defensive 4-3-3 to Giampaolo’s style and 4-3-1-2 formation. Basically,
everything in this game was pretty much as expected.
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| Giampaolo used a more compact formation... and not just for the pic |
There were a few surprises in the starting lineup. Gabbia
was paired with Strinic as our starting center backs. The role of trequartista
wasn’t given to Calhanoglu or Suso, but rather to Daniel Maldini, who had one
of the best chances for Milan in the 23rd minute. Hernandez was incredibly
refreshing, my man of the match for Milan. However he was injured just before
the end of the first half and had to be stretchered off. It is reported that he
immediately went to the hospital to check if his ankle was more than just
sprained. Let’s hope it’s just the sprain.
Plenty of things were not surprising. Borini taking wild
shots, going to ground easily, and putting in crosses to no one. Or the fact
that he even earned a starting spot. Not surprising. He bewitches all the
coaches with his work ethic so they don’t realize how poor he really is. Calhanoglu
got a yellow and faced some swift wrath from Coman after a nasty foul, but
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| He did well in his own right, even with the weight of the Maldini name on his shoulders |
Despite switching formations and having a young, quick
Calabria and the lightning fast Hernandez on the sides and a talented and
tenacious young Maldini behind the strikers, Piatek was still starving for
service, and I think Castillejo was out shopping for more shiny shoes, I’m not
sure. This piece of the 4-3-1-2 is what makes the beautiful football and the
pretty goals, but after being so offensively constipated by Gattuso’s tactics,
I guess it’s just going to take more time before it happens for us. Also, we
are still missing some key players, so there is hope.
Bayern dominated this game for large portions, and made
Milan look like schoolchildren more times than I’d like. Which is really fair,
because some of them are literally still schoolchildren. Their quality and
depth were undeniable, but what was impressive was Milan’s determination. It was
through sheer willpower that they stayed in the game and didn’t give up more
goals. Well, okay, there were the other two Bayern goals called off for a hand
ball and for offside, but Milan’s hard work allowed them to take control
whenever Bayern took their foot off the pedal, and it looked at times that we
could have at least equalized.
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| Not a terrible start for Giampaolo |
Milan are a work in progress, and Bayern are perpetual
champions. That showed tonight, I’m not gonna lie. But the fact that we didn’t
completely embarrass ourselves against such champions made me really happy and
gave me hope that maybe change is coming. We played against the big boys, and
we held our own. And soon, maybe we’ll be the big boys again, too. But until
then, we can expect to play as expected.
This post inspired by the music of Stone
Temple Pilot’s “Big Empty”
Our next match is
a Friendly
International Champions Cup
AC Milan vs. Benfica
Sunday, July 28 • 3pm
EDT