Is This The Real Life? Is This Just Fantasy?
Hard to tell really. Yesterday’s game was such a bizarre mash-up of highs and lows it’s still tough to tell what we have and where we are going. I’d like to think we are building something but is what I’m seeing real?
Let’s look back and then you can look forward.
We were THIS CLOSE to starting off the game the game with quick 1-0 lead. I was dissappointed that Bacca decided to lay it off to Adriano instead of taking the shot. It seemed the perfect chance to let one rip with Adriano’s run just enough to distract Hando. But alas, we came up empty. So close to starting the Derby with a bang. After that, it was a lot of back and forth. there were some nice runs but also some nifty defending to shut things down. Both keepers made some superb saves, honestly Lopez and Hando put on a clinic, while an alarming number of shots went JUST wide. Sadly, in a similar situation to Bacca’s early misstep, Guarin capitalized later on. With the defense giving him just enough space, instead of waiting Guarin decided to let one rip and found the corner. Not much Lopez could do on that one.
After that things got a little weird as Bacca was subbed off for Mario 2.0. Miha explained this by saying he didn’t want 3 strikers but then later brought on Cerci for Honda. Anyone else find that a little odd? Poli was brought on for Kucka, but that was a pretty simple like for like switch as Kucka had already earned a yellow and was VERY lucky that he didn’t see red moments later.
Mario was Mario. Set pieces improved, a few long shots were taken but it was like a flashback to 2 years ago. There was a little more movement on his part, but it wasn’t much different than Mario 1.0. lot’s of head shaking and chirping at the ref. If he’s involved, he tries. If he isn’t, he doesn’t. On one particular play in the 78th minute Adriano let a through ball go by thinking Mario was cutting in. to his surprise, he won’t be surprised again I’m sure, mario was still outside the 18 and had hardly budged. Adriano just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Lesson learned meu amigo brasileiro.
Ratings and sentence on each:
Lopez -8- rock solid in my opinion. the defense sagged just enough on the Guarin goal to reveal the opeining. Not his fault. made some fantastic saves. Very active.
DeSciglio - 6- A nice matchup with Santon. Played very well and did a nice job helping out the CBs.
Romagnoli -6.5- other than one instance erased Icardi. Love this guy. Getting more confident carrying the ball which is great to see.
Zapata -7- giving him a 7 because not only did he play well, but he repeatedly had to cover Abate’s backside. A nice pairing is taking shape.
Abate -4- the speed has vanished and therefore so should he. Too many times the whole back line had to slide over to compensate for his failings.
Kucka/Poli-6.5- did a great job slowing down Kondogbia and winning balls. very happy there
Monty- 6 - Was ok but didn’t really effect the match either way. Looked exhausted at the end
Jack - 5- STOP TAKING SHOTS FROM DISTANCE AND LAUNCHING THEM INTO THE 40TH ROW!!!!!!!!!!!! WE HAVE AT LEAST 10 GUYS ON THE TEAM THAT CAN SHOOT BETTER THAN YOU! Honestly, i’m getting sick of him fast.
Adriano -6- good movement, good work rate... but will he be the odd man out if Balotelli 2.0 starts? Stay tuned.
Bacca -5.5 -Dissappointed by his early decision but not bad after. really want to see him up top. looked to be playing too deep
Honda -6- Seems he’s getting blasted by a few different pundits out there but I like the way he played. there did seem to be some confusion in positioning from time to time but I think that was more due to Mha’s setup and no fault of the players.
Cerci-2- i don’t want to ever see him on the pitch again. too fat to outrun a 1 legged donkey at this point. I’d rather see Menez get 10 minutes. that’s right... I said Menez.
Balotelli 2.0 -INCOMPLETE- I’m gonna watch those last 30 minutes again and probably write a whole column on him for Wednesday.
Lots and lots more to discuss on this match. Quick question though..... who starts up front next week???? Balo? Bacca? Adriano? Honda? Jack? Suso? NOT CERCI!
With Balo in the mix everything has changed...
Cheers,
Lisi