Milan Derby Dud
Maybe it has become too common place around Vein of Form lately to diss the Italian football league, but even if that is the case, tonight will not be the time to buck that trend. Given that the previous Milan Derby was a 7 goal thriller, this version was certainly a let down. Having been knocked out of the Champions League earlier in the week, we expected Inter to be ferocious for 90 minutes and display a desire to put AC Milan in their place. Essentially, prove to the continent the wrong Milan team advanced, and Inter are truly a team for the ages. Instead, Inter came out flat and showed they had no early plan to slow down Kaka.
The Brazlian ran up and down the pitch in the first half and set up a nice play that saw Ronaldo score on his former side - his celebration dared the Inter fans to continue with their whistling everytime he touched the ball. This didn't seem to light any fire in the gut of the Inter players. They plodded through the first half, and Milan despite getting the lead, failed to go for the kill. This was the glaring mistake. At this point in the season Milan can ill afford to settle for a point - or as would be the case - zero points from the derby.
They have no reason to believe Champions League football is a lock for next year, and if you are unable to show the ability to punish your biggest rivals in the most important match of your season to date, how can one expect you to show anything against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals. The very much in form German powerhouse have to be thrilled to see how toothless (Ronaldo aside - pun totally intended) Milan looked on the day.
Inter slowly began to assert themselves and came back to win 2-1. The match lacked the frantic pace we would expect from such rivals. Inter are well on their way to a scudetto and are no doubt hearing the calls of it lacking the luster a major Euro domestic title should bring. They looked distant. They lacked focus. Shouldn't they have been going for a decisive win?
That being said, why were AC Milan so quick to fold in the second half? They thoroughly dominated the first half. Kaka was brilliant. Gattuso was a machine. Pirlo looked dangerous from the free kicks. Having seen a complete collapse in the second half, VoF predicts AC Milan will look to be the worst team remaining in the Champions League and have a lot of work to do if they wish to compete in that competition next year.
In other news, Chelsea battled back twice today against rival Tottenham to send that FA Cup tie to a replay, having earned a 3-3 draw at The Bridge. Message to John Terry: Your club misses you more than anyone could have imagined.
The Brazlian ran up and down the pitch in the first half and set up a nice play that saw Ronaldo score on his former side - his celebration dared the Inter fans to continue with their whistling everytime he touched the ball. This didn't seem to light any fire in the gut of the Inter players. They plodded through the first half, and Milan despite getting the lead, failed to go for the kill. This was the glaring mistake. At this point in the season Milan can ill afford to settle for a point - or as would be the case - zero points from the derby.
They have no reason to believe Champions League football is a lock for next year, and if you are unable to show the ability to punish your biggest rivals in the most important match of your season to date, how can one expect you to show anything against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals. The very much in form German powerhouse have to be thrilled to see how toothless (Ronaldo aside - pun totally intended) Milan looked on the day.
Inter slowly began to assert themselves and came back to win 2-1. The match lacked the frantic pace we would expect from such rivals. Inter are well on their way to a scudetto and are no doubt hearing the calls of it lacking the luster a major Euro domestic title should bring. They looked distant. They lacked focus. Shouldn't they have been going for a decisive win?
That being said, why were AC Milan so quick to fold in the second half? They thoroughly dominated the first half. Kaka was brilliant. Gattuso was a machine. Pirlo looked dangerous from the free kicks. Having seen a complete collapse in the second half, VoF predicts AC Milan will look to be the worst team remaining in the Champions League and have a lot of work to do if they wish to compete in that competition next year.
In other news, Chelsea battled back twice today against rival Tottenham to send that FA Cup tie to a replay, having earned a 3-3 draw at The Bridge. Message to John Terry: Your club misses you more than anyone could have imagined.
posted by Anonymous at 9:18 PM
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