Cerci won't start this one.

Abate will, Rami will partner Alex and De Jong comes in for Essien. That aside, same XI as v Sassuolo.

Diego Lopez; Abate, Rami, Alex, Armero; Muntari, De Jong, Montolivo; Bonaventura, Menez, El Shaarawy

Great, the last thing we needed right now was Muntari. The picture is complete.

Mexes in for Alex now. And both SES & MDS may be benched. Armero looking like starting.

Pippo's mismanagement of the defence is actually hysterical. Only ONE match has seen the same back four as the previous, and that was the one v Palermo at San Siro where Alex went off injured on two minutes.

So, literally, we haven't started the same defence twice this entire season. Atleti's success was built around a consistent back four. Same with Chelsea. We can't put the same defence out even ONCE?!

I'm lost for words by this.

-------------Diego Lopez
---Abate - Rami - Mexes - Armero ---
-------Poli - De Jong - Montolivo
-----Niang - Menez - Bonaventura

According to GdS

Don't get me wrong, changes after the last match are acceptable, but under this regime they're every match rather than necessary.

I also get the nagging, and rather disappointing feeling, that unless he's injured, Alex is being made the scapegoat for the terrible defensive display, rather than the ghastly fullbacks who were the real sinners in that one.

I also don't totally object to Niang starting, but it all just feels so random, unstructured, and conceived by a man who really is making this sh*t up as he goes along.

Where did Niang suddenly come from?? Are we that desperate?

And why bring in Cerci if you're not going to use him?

Bonaventura in the attacking trio as a f@cking winger just screams coward. It's what Allegri used to do with Boateng and Urby

+1

Official:

Lopez, MDS, Mexes, Rami, Armero, De Jong, Monto, Muntari, Niang, Menez, Bona.

I refer you all to the above image.

Official line up: Diego Lopez; De Sciglio, Mexes, Rami, Armero; Montolivo, De Jong, Muntari; Niang, Menez, Bonaventura.

Bench: Abbiati, Agazzi, Alex, Abate, Zaccardo, Zapata, Poli, Essien, Saponara, Cerci, El Shaarawy, Pazzini

That's like a mesh up he dreamed up of while on a trip

We all know this line-up will mean we'll be wasting all 3 subs trying to fix this mess Pippo started with, just a matter of how long it will take him to realise and make the subs

Penalty! Nice one Menez...

MENEZ!!!

Now let's see how long it takes us to fall asleep...

Was it a penalty? I missed it.

Soft, but technically speaking yes, since Menez's shirt was pulled (he dived as soon as he felt it)

Twice already Lopez saving our @ss now.

We have no midfield

We're so bad...

My God!! What a complete and total mess we are complete shambles

It feels like we're playing with a man less, we're leaving so much space for them

DS...

Why is he playing on the right again since Abate is fit?

How are we not 2 or 3 goals down???

We look awful. Such lazy laid back defending. We can't defend like this and expect to win. **** tackle by De Sciglio. Lucky to only get post off the free kick. We should be down a couple goals at this point.

Almost a moment of genius from Niang. He looks a bit better today than last year.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Again, why did he play DS on the right?? Just absolutely makes no sense!!

I see Abate coming on, looks like he COULD have started

That's what you get for playing DS.

Second yellow to De Sciglio. What a stupid tackle. What the hell was he thinking??

Bona is completely MIA on that left side.

He's not a winger! Why are we playing a 4-3-3 without a single pure winger FFS??

HT

We're winning, but I simply cannot understand how that's the case right now. Torino deserve to be 2 or 3 up at the least.

This f@cked up formation Pippo dreamed up will surely bite us in the @ss in the 2nd. Can't see us making it through the 90 like this, we've already ridden our luck one too many times and now with a man down...

How we are winning this I have no idea. Lopez to thank in particular.

Defence all over the place - sooner Milan fans wake up and realise MDS and Rami are pitifully poor the better - because they were disgusting in that first half.

Mexes, like Alex last week, struggled to organise the shambles around him and it dragged him down like it did Alex. Armero, amazingly, was probably our best defender.

De Jong looked like a player with his heart elsewhere now, and while Niang gave it what he had, his lack of development is striking. Just isn't progressing at all, seems stuck, even if occasionally he shows glimpses. His mentality is better but as a player he just hasn't gone forward.

Bona looked better as it went on, but penalty aside that was Menez at his shitty selfish crappy FIFA self.

Also Monto just isn't a Regista at all. He also doesn't seem to have the heart for the working side that enforcing in the DM role needs.

What a horrid first half. Pippo, you're an absolute joke of a manager.

Let's rotate EVERY FUCKING MATCH!

At this point I'm finding it hard to blame the players.

It's just a complete and tactical failure in all departments.

We're so disjointed, the midfield is simply not helping the defenders. DS's first was stupid and unnecessary, the second was last ditch because Darmian was clean through with acres of space to run into, and that has been the case all game.

Danny, Monto is not playing as a regista. De Jong is occupying the holding mid position. Monto is being played more like a box-to-box guy atm and it's obviously not working. The midfield was just as disjointed against Sassuolo, I really don't understand what Pippo is trying to do. Before the break we had a more solid and compact shape. Now it's like everything is thrown out of the window, every man for himself, do whatever the hell you like.

The attack is just not working, and it's hasn't worked in quite some time. Menez as a 9 is simply ridiculous. Playing a midfielder as a forward/winger in a 4-3-3 is ridiculous. Suddenly remembering that Niang is part of the squad after not giving him a single minute in the entire season and starting him out of the blue when you have Cerci on the bench, a player you specifically requested is ridiculous!!

The mistakes here are too much to count.

DS on the right is another catastrophic decision that I simply cannot understand. This while you have Abate fit and ready to start available.

Dropping Alex to play Rami... Alex and Mexes could form a seriously strong duo, yet he's rarely ever used them together, just ridiculous!

Muntari now yellowed...

His sliding tackles are epic failures

The players don't care, plain and simple.

Muntari, what a complete and total tool! What did you expect after that performance? Idiot!

Muntari being a petulant child on the bech after getting subbed. Maybe he should have used that energy on the pitch.

Piece of sh*t...

I'd like to see Cerci in for Menez or maybe Bonnaventura at 65.

Pazzo seems to be warming up. But I agree with you, either Cerci or SES should be brought on. At least they can run at people with the ball if we manage to get it off them. Pazzo will only hold it up and lay it off

Exactly. Cerci would be able to play on the counter and give us a chance to pick up a second goal. If we get scored on we are screwed.

At this point I don't know how that hasn't happened yet

Me either

Probably one of the worst performances I've seen in a long while. Probably since Allegri's last few months

Diego Lopez is why we're up still.

Cerci warming up now too.

Just... How??

It's like they're trying to play some twisted form of football Russion Roulette. Trying to test how sh!t they can be without conceding

Alex in for Menez. Cowardly substitution.