1-0 win against spurs but we will regret missing the chances in the 2nd Half

Man the two headers watching in replays now they were too easy to score

Very frustrating to watch a performance that was rather old-Milan like, frankly, and one in which we deservedly beat a team I fully expected to lose to, given we've been unable to really do that in any other match all season.

This was a MUCH better display at this level than we've produced for many a year. We have given ourselves a chance.

The tactical change was very smart and worked very well.

Management or ownership?

There's a big distinction there imo.

Let us not forget the summer we had when both Paolo and Massara were dangling by a shoe string for most of it. They had moves like Botman and Sanches lined up for months but had to be abandoned because of the change of ownership and waiting so much time on their contract renewals. Not to mention the budget which was terrible low and they couldn't do both even if they wanted to so they switched to a gamble on CDK. Where would things be if we had a player like Botman in that CB position next to Tomori and we could shift Kalulu permanently to RB? Where would we be now if we had 3 quality midfielders instead of 2 and a major drop off if one of them is injured or needs to be rotated?

The management had a good plan laid out for last summer which would have improved on the players we lost (Romagnoli, Kessie -> Botman, Snaches) and maybe add a few other extras that we needed. But all of that was ruined.


I really hope we don't end up ruing those missed chances... Should have been 2-0 at least



Some positive notes.

I really think we're starting to turn a corner here. A win against Monza on the weekend could finally put us on the right path again.

I still do not like this back 3 solution. Leao is wasted there while we still only have 2 mids which is a problem against teams with more numbers in midfield. But at least we're seeing an improvement. That's 2 clean sheets now and after the nightmare of a January we just had, that's a major achievement.

I really hope Pioli can get these guys back behind him. It still feels like there's a rift. I think it most likely started after the Roma game and imo it is partly why we spiraled. If he's going to stay we need harmony again. Winning will aid in pushing things in that direction.

This Spurs side had a lot of important players out injured, and I love how the BT commentators kept going on and on about it and neglecting to mention that we also have 3 key players out. All of which are hugely important to how we play. Thankfully all should be back for the 2nd leg so that makes me feel better about it and the chances we lost.

Considering where we were just 2 weeks ago. The fact that we won this gives me hope going forward. For the players and Pioli as well. He's made the necessary adjustments to stop the hemorrhaging, now we need to start taking steps forward to improve the attacking game, especially if he plans on keeping with this shape, we need to be able to make te midfield and attack click


One final comment. Thiaw! What a player. So composed. For a kid his age who has barely played any ball all season. To come in during such a moment of crises and basically be the one to steady the ship. He's strong, quick, good on the ball, good in the air. Another gem unearthed by Paolo for the defence imo.

Also, Kjaer is past is. I've been holding my tongue about him for these past couple of weeks. But he seems done. He's been making errors in each game. Made a couple today as well and could not deal with Kane in the first half, basically he kept turning him around. It's time for him to step back when Tomori returns imo

I agree, but this mainly applies for CL football. Because in the league we've been pretty good in the big matches for a while now (this nightmare of a month not withstanding that is).

Still think this back 3 formation limits us a lot in the attacking phase. but for now it's doing its job in terms of shoring up that defence.

The fact that we did it without Bennacer in that midfield is also a huge plus becuase he's our most important player next to Mike imo.


So frustrating that we couldn't take one of those chances. If only either could have fallen to Giroud instead of the kids both times.

I generally agree with what you said, but saying Pioli crossed Bakayoko is too funny. The guy is utter shite.

I think this back three formation works pretty well for us right now. I'm not a huge fan of it, but it gives us solidity. And considering we severely lack a quality RW, having Salad or Calabria as RWB is a much better option. I'd push with it for the rest of the season.

Also, totally agreed on Thiaw. What a performance! The kid has it all. Physique, agility, great reading of the game, and he's very elegant on the ball for a defender. A Kalulu-Thiaw-Tomori defense sounds awesome.

Charles especially has been a disastrous signing. At this rate he's becoming worse than Lentini as an all-time flop. Oliveira and Silva levels.

He's been bad, but let's not forget the kid is only 21 and has all the time in the world to get back on track. He has shown his qualities in Belgium and the CL after all.

I just never liked us playing with a back 3. Gives me relegation battling vibes.

It's still essentially a back 4 as Kalulu is pushing wide and high when we're on the attack.

My main worry is the attacking phase. Toda we created some really good chances, true. But we're not able to release Leao like we did before. He's to central right now and we waste his biggest asset when he's not wide and in space.

Thiaw is an absolute unit man. Perfect again today. To think, we were persisting with Gabbia and a one legged Kjaer just a few weeks ago

Still want to see what Vranckx can do as well.


He has time. His confidence is shot to hell. Watch some clips of him last season in the CL. A completely different player.

Pioli has handled him horribly and imo he should be playing on the right and not centrally


Yep. Leao was pretty bad as well in his first season that goal against Fiorentina aside.

I don't like it either, but like I said, we've been compact and solid since we switched to it. Changing back to 4-2-3-1 now would be suicide. And I don't think it has effected Leao's game in any way. Last night he still played pretty wide.

As for Vranckx, well, Pioli preferred freaking Bakayoko to him yesterday. Which is nuts.

As for the game, we created a lot of chances. Like vs Spurs, we should have easily made it a 2-0 win. But we're not cynical at all. Our precision in front of goal is still as bad as it used to be.

Furthermore, we let Monza push and push in the second half. Ball possession was 59%-41% in the end, which is pretty poor considering the opposition. We really can't play good football unfortunately. It's beyond this team's capabilities.

That is true, and it would be good to see him realise his potential, and there's a lot of it. But the Jupiler Pro is considerably below Serie A for difficulty, and technically while Serie A isn't the shining league it was and is about level with France now (France were much stronger last season and only a strong Napoli is making Italy edge that league this season) it's still a big hike to face Juve, Inter, Napoli, Roma etc compared with Anderlecht, Liege and Union Saint.

He's been decent in the UCL for us yes, but unfortunately Milan had a comically easy group with the worst Chelsea we've seen in years (still lost twice to them mind you), and two very modest sides in Zagreb and Salzburg. Compare that with his old club absolutely strolling a much, MUCH harder group than he faced with us. So we can't really measure him too well on the group stage, and he didn't exactly do himself any favours when he came on v Spurs in last 16.

We can put this first season down to growing pains, and hopefully we see a much better player next time round. Because a second season this bad and he clearly doesn't suit us or the league.

Leao is a circus of mistakes.

How many f@cking point blank chances do they want FFS???!!!

We're going to f@ck the 3 points here I can feel it. Too many missed chances