The Spalletti effect, their squad is basically the same as last year with a couple of minor improvements. No doubt he's a very good coach but generally tends to fluff his lines a bit considering he's has much better teams than this Inter side while at Roma

Inter and Roma are going to be difficult top shake off if we want a CL spot that's for sure


True, but they haven't had a coach like Spalletti in a while. I think they'll be good this year.

Fiorentina are obviously going to struggle a lot this season, no two ways about it. But I think Inter will be good this season, the fact that everyone has dismissed them also makes me wary of them


Agreed about Conti. He didn't defend because there's wasn't much of anything to defend against, when Crotone managed to get the ball they went up the other side, I mostly like his overlapping runs and the way he connected with Kessie and Suso. That right side is really impressive


Also, am I the only one who liked Hakan? I thought he was good, maybe not as noticeable as Kessie, but the fact that he moves the ball so efficiently and has that eye for a great pass really made an impact on how our midfield functions.

I don't think the midfield 3 is ideal from him, I think he needs to be playing slightly higher up the pitch and more centrally to be more effective, but I really like his contributions to our overall game

Btw, I read a lot over the summer about he was a bit lazy and didn't really get involved, but every time I've seen him so far his work rate has been impeccable, he won 3 tackles yesterday, more than any other player


Agreed

Although Roma are a bigger question mark for me than Inter are. They've sold important players and have failed to replace them

They also lost Totti from the dressing room and De Rossi isn't getting any younger either



She should watch out, the new management won't tolerate such BS like Galliani used to do. I don't understand Italian but I watched the clip and you could see as soon as she said that how Di Marzio and the others reacted. They looked really uncomfortable

Big numbers they recorded last night in Crotone, the Rossoneri team and the singles. As reported by the Gazzetta dello Sport at the newsstand, Leonardo Bonucci played 95 balls. Real squad director, waiting for Biglia. Calhanoglu has created 4 occasions and has collected 72 positive passages. [gds]

Hakan looks out of shape. I'm sure at his best he can be much, much better. That being said, he was involved in two of our three goals.

Suso was on first last night, especially in the first half. He was unstoppable.

Agreed about Hakan, he looked like he was about to pass out at the 80th minute.

He definitely needs to regain match fitness again after being out for so long, but i was one of his biggest doubters and even while not being that sharp atm, he definitely has quality on the ball, I really like what I've seen from him so far, and I do think we'd benefit more from him in a more attacking role (just not on the wing)

Hakan definitely looked tired toward the end but I've been impressed by the effort he has put in, especially defensively. I expected high effort going forward due to his reputation as an attacking player but he has shown willingness to track back and harass ball carriers. I don't think he's particularly talented defensively but the effort to harry opponents slows them down for a Locatelli or Rodriguez to get into position. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do when he's at full fitness and has someone a bit more talented than Borini to connect with on that left wing.

Hm, interesting. Now we disagree Danny.

For me it would be like this:

Donnarumma: 6.5 - True, he made 2 good saves but also just like vs Shkendija, he left us very vulnerable when he left his goal just to remove a ball with his chest, a ball which Musacchio could have handeled. But I get it, he got bored just standing there in the goal not having any action.

Conti: 6 - Same amount of work out, looks that he is very tired yet again - 3rd game in a row. Yet he made some better crosses than in the game vs Shkendija. It's clear that he is more gifted in the attack, but if so he needs to run more.

Musacchio: 7 - A clear improvement over last years defence, made the most passes in the game and was very concrete. Not troubled very much, but got another clean sheet and he has some part in it.

Bonucci: 6.5 - Same assesment like the Musacchios but in fact Leo struggled a little. The captains armband shouldnt be so heavy for him. Also he tried some long passes and not all of them hit. Its only normal till the players are get used to each other.

Rodriguez: 6.5 - Nothing impressive, but also not a single error from him. Did his job, maybe we expect more crosses from him and be more concrete. Better work rate than Conti though.

Kessie: 7.5 - Was very good, did great in all the games till now. Had a very good game in the 1st half, but wasnt flawless in the second half we must admit that. Yet I liked how confiedent he looked when he took that penalty. Also, as someone here said, I like that we have midfieleders now that are confident with the ball on their foot. Made very good passes, better than we used to see from our registras in previous years.

Locatelli: 6.5 - Competent in his role as a playmaker, I agree that he could do better. But he compensates his worth in the defense, I dont know if you guys see it, but the way he stops the opposite sides attacks is very good to see. He just puts his long legs in front of them and the ball cant pass him. If he learns to pass better - not that he is awful, I wouldn't mind him getting some time in this season too and see how good he becomes. I would defenitely choose him if we were to play 3-1-4-1 and play the Busques role, but I cant see this happening.

Calhanoglu: 6.5 - Most of the people didnt notice, but he made 2nd most passes in the game, was confident and with vision but very very limited to the position he is playing on. I will never rate him under 6.5 how ever bad he plays as long as he is not played in his preferred role as AM. Serie A defenses maybe dont give much space to the AM's but I'd like to see him play there. It is clear as water to me that he is not a midfielder and not a winger. He can play there, but if we want his best Montella has to "invent" the AM role for him.

Suso: 8.5 MOM - Perfect in the 1st half, scored an impressive 1st touch goal, made runs, assists, dribles, passes, everything you would want from him. For me he has the best technique from all our players and he is showing that. For me it's a joy to see him play. Whenever he dribbles, I never know if he is going to cut to the left and shoot or make a short whipped cross, or he is going to pass the player to the right and make an accurate cross just like he did with Cutrone. Sometimes he starts one thing and goes to the other and if we as fans are surpriesed, imagine the opposite players. Very good pair with Kessie, and if Conti improves his game, I would be set for our right wing. Also, I dont doubt he can perform in big games too, cos we saw him vs Inter, Lazio and Juve last season, so I really believe he will be one of the leaders of this team.

Cutrone: 8 - So much debated regarding him, even I dont trust him fully, yet he seems so natural and connected to the rest of the squad. Not only was he included in all the goals - got the penallty, scored a header and got the assist for Suso, but he also seems very good in his positioning. Maybe he should learn more on how to play with his back to the goal but I wouldn't mind to have him as a back up to Silva and Kalinic. Who knows, we maybe will need him if any of them gets banned or injured.

Borini: 6 - As I said earlier, everyone and even himself knows that he is only enjoying time cos we are yet to make another signing in the left win, Bona is injured and Niang is leaving. He could have ran the most from our players, cos its clear that he is trying very much but there is no skill there, none. Tried to shoot, screwed it, tried to pass or assist, not even close to it. The only reason why I would use this guy is if we have a sure win and we dont want our winger to get injured, but we have to play with 11 players, I would give him a go. Otherwise, I will never expect him to create something.

Subs:

Abate: 6.5 - I agree he was better than Conti, at least he looks smarter and more competent. I feel sorry to say this, but in an important game, if Conti continues to play like this, Id choose Abate over him.

Silva: 6.5 - One chance, that impressive header that was saved by Cordaz. I liked him, he didnt have much chances cos the game was over by then, but I like him much more than I did when he played vs Betis. He is better than I initially thought he is, but he isnt as good as others thought he is. But what I think is that he has potential to be very good and is in a good track to achieve it. Especially if we continue to play like this, an open game with much possesion and lots of chances for the strikers.

Mauri: 6 - I was between of not rating him for no time or for rating him a 6 and I chose the latter cos while he came in close to the end and made an arguably good shot, he seemed lost. Really lost. I liked that he had the confiedence to shoot, made a decent one - could have been better, but for the rest of the time he was inexistent.

Montella: 7 - He is getting us results, even if they are vs weaker teams, yet he has Romaginoli, Biglia and Bonaventura injured and also lacking a winger and a striker (cos Niang and Bacca are out) so he is forced to use a Borini. I would rate him a grade higher if he would actually play Calhanoglu in his proper place and be more confiedent with the formation. Maybe he will in the future when he will have a full squad.

Locatelli was the worst performer last night, no doubt. Lost too many balls and wasn't really incisive in any way. He's just not good enough, unlike Cutrone who's shown that even as a Primavera kid he can be decisive (scrap my Paloschi comparison yesterday, I was just irritated with Montella).

As for Suso, the thing that has impressed me the most in the last two games is that he's been using his right foot more often, hence making him more unpredictable. Along with Musacchio, Kessie and Cutrone our most in-form player right now.

Why do you say Conti looks tired? I don't see him as tired tbh, be runs a lot, maybe he's not back to full fitness since he started training late due to the U-21 tournament, but he doesn't look any more tired than the rest.

And disagree about how Abate was better when he came on, Abate barely did much of anything. Look at how Conti supported Suso in the first half. I really like the Conti-Kessie-Suso dynamic we have going on on that right side.

I think you guys are forgetting what Abate brings to the table. Conti is acclimating with the rest of the group, this is only his 3rd game for us, he will need a bit of time, Rodriguez was quite as well so far. The FBs will have to build up that understanding with the other players. But so far I'm really liking Conti and how he helps out in attack, I like that he goes for the smart cross instead of the blind punt like Abate

As for Bonucci, I think he's taken very well to the captaincy, but he is coming out of the Juve bubble, so he'll need a bit of time to adjust in terms of how the team plays and such, especially with his passing

You say we disagree then put up ratings and reviews which mostly agree with me!

So no one seems that impressed with Bonucci.

Conti was definitely tired. It was the 65th minute and after one of his runs he looked out of breath. He definitely lacks stamina, but it's something he can work on with the right training.

Why is that though? What did people expect him to do when there wasn't much of anything to defend?

The entire back 4 was composed of new players all coming from different teams and systems. We can't expect fireworks instantly. They'll need a bit of time. Even Bonucci and Musacchio were playing with each other for the first time

He's up and down that flank for nearly an entire match, he runs a lot, so sure he'll get tired at some point, I watched him closely at the U-21 Euros, and he ran his @ss off in all the games and he never looked like he was running out of gas. I think he just needs to regain full match fitness

He was OK. Didn't have much work to do considering Crotone were almost nonexistent in attack.

Exactly. The true tests will come later as we start playing tougher competition. For now, I'm satisfied with how composed the back line is compared to the Paletta-Zapata combo we dealt with far too often last year. I'm also happy with the nature of his leadership so far.