Could've been better, but we will definitely improve as the season goes on. Abate is more confident on the ball than usual, Nocerino - perfect replacement for Gattuso, Cassano is getting fitter and more agile and mobile ... I'm starting to worry about Pato to be honest, at this rate he might be behind Cassano and Robinho ...

True that!!! forget about that

Starting that midfield contributed to it. Once VB was on, we had it completely in our hands. Rino was atrocious, while Ambro was invisable all game. I mean is Allegri seriously thinking about starting him against Barca? We'd get creamed.

Antonini was also a huge issue, Aquilani is still not up to speed, he didn't cover Aquilani, and once Lazio went up our left side, it was a sure chance for them.

BTW abate is quite good and important for us

He was good offensively, but he forgets to track back and help Antonini ot too passive in it.

Abate goota learn to cross better.

This post has been edited by Jack Bauer: Sep 9 2011, 09:53 PM

We drew against them last season when we were in much better shape, Lazio is no soft team. My main problem was the decisions that were taken which contributed to the loss of points

He might have been not fit enough to play 90 minutes. He hasn't played a lot lately.

will be intersting to see what allegri will do if rino is out for long and when seedorf and robinho are available

It's his first game, I think that part of his game will need to get drilled into him, but imo, if we switch him with Boateng, he'll have the potential to get double figures in assists as well as have more opportunities to score.

Boateng will track back better. However, the blame imo, mostly goes down on Antonini, midfielder tracking back or not, he should do better, the pass and cross that contributed to the goals should have been prevented. Say whatever you like About Zambro, he's a smart FB, slow or not, he won't make those kinds of mistakes, we missed him and VB today in the first half

+1

I liked Nocerino (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Aquilani behind the strikers is definitely a better idea.With Boateng and Nocerino on each sides of the midfield,we'd have a more stable midfield.

Although,we could have won this match,it's really the start of the season,and Lazio look pretty impressive imo.

This post has been edited by William405: Sep 9 2011, 10:00 PM

We needed him on, 15 more minutes wouldn't have killed him and might have proved the difference for us.

Not even near, but yes, he was solid. He'll be a nice team player.

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As expected, a hard match. Here are my ratings:

Abbiati - 5.5 - some bad moments in this match, didn't look as confident as last season. Not the first time.

Antonini - 5 - both goals came from his side, his covering and marking is very problematic; wasn't bad upfront.
Nesta - 6 - not the best match for Sandro, but only one major mistake.
Thiago Silva - 6.5 - solid and strong as usual.
Abate - 7 - effortless and fresh, tried to give some options of the flank, also was very solid in defense.

Gattuso - 5 - tackling his own players, all you need to know (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)
Ambrosini - 6 - solid performance
Aquilani - 6.5 - very good in the offensive/creative department, but covered the left side on numerous occasions with too much nonchalance.
Boateng - 6.5 - he tried much, had some good and bad moments, IMO tended to drift too much to the flanks. Not bad start for him.

Cassano - 7.5 - brilliant match; only missed some luck in the second half, but he showed why he's worth for Milan and what potential he still has.
Ibrahimovic - 7.5 - numerous assists, the easy goal, a nice work rate - everything went fine for him.

van Bommel - 6.5 - not as commanding as usual, but added to the defensive stability of Milan.
Nocerino - 6 - worked hard defensively, but when forward, invisible.
Pato - N/A - didn't play that much, though he had to do better with that one chance.

Allegri - 6 - again, like many times before Milan started the match with the wrong mind-setup, which is partly his fault, partly Barcelona. But, the Ambro-Rino-Aqui midfield should never again be used, at least not against teams like Lazio.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/blush.gif) Oops, I confused my As (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

yup aqualani behind stiker is much better suiited as his definsive work rate is low, where as KPB can play the box to box role, he does cover a lot of ground.... ideally nocerino and vb the other 2 midfielders...