Btw, Kessie is a yellow away from suspension. He should try to get one at the end of the Parma game so we don't risk him for the Sassuolo game, plus he could rest vs Genoa

Agree in theory ... but do players really go out to try and get a yellow ... and how do you do that without risking a red ...

Mourinho's teams used to do this. If we want to be winners, we have to be ruthless and calculating. He should just commit a yellow worthy foul later on in the game if things are going well.

Diaz and Castillejo to be starting tonight. Saelemaekers not called up (injured I guess), Hauge on the bench.

Must win game

Yes, especially when everyone else won this week.

Let's go. Forza Milan !!!

Lost Gabbia right away. Hope nothing serious. Kalulu in. Could be interesting ...

Looks like Parma's gameplan is to massacre all our players ...

0-1

We're severely lacking in attack.

But man that defending... Ghastly.

Left another player open and almost conceded again

Samu !!!

EDIT: VAR reversed this, still 0-1

offside...

These millimetric offsides are ridiculous.

Rebic and Hakan are having some pretty brainfart moments.

2 posts!!

Two crossbars, back to back. Rotten luck !

Unlucky.

They barely had a shot on target. We got that goal disallowed for instance of millimetres and then three crossbars. Not to mention we've squashed them in their own half.

But we're not being angry enough. Hakan and Rebic have to show some balls. They're being too lenient.

So unlucky tonight. This stinks of games like Roma and Verona...


We need to do better in front of goal. Rebic is once again working hard, but we need a proper striker up there

We need to go for it in the second half!!

F@?"!$?"%$



That post!

Got to be kidding me FFS!

Now we've lost Bennacer as well...


Can't catch a break today

Not gonna win this. It's written.

Can't believe our unbeaten steak is going to end like this FFS

I had a bad feeling before the match, that we would take the win for granted. But we've been unlucky.

However, ever since we scored we've completely shut down. Before we were pushing like crazy.

THEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

What a shitshow of a night

At least no defeat.

This was Roma all again. Parma inexistent, all the luck in the world. But we should have pushed harder. This could have been easily won.

Offside goal by a toe, 4 post hits, 2 attacks 2 goals conceded.

Sometimes it's just not your night. We have Genoa on Wednesday. Let's get back to winning ways. Only 3 points now separating us from Inter...

I'm more worried about the players we lost tonight. Gabbia and Bennacer both had to come off. Leao got hit in his thigh muscle as well and didn't look like he was comfortable afterwards.

This injury crises we're plunging into could ruin our season. Winter break cannot come soon enough for us

So frustrating. All 6 points we've dropped so far were completely avoidable. Let's see if they come back to haunt us


At least this team shows that they never give up. This unbeaten run is not going to be relinquished that easily

Big one point. We learn a LOT from this game.

Of course, I won't mention the bad luck we had during the whole game. Parma hurt us on two counterattacks that we would normally not conceded. But, oh well, I think missing our Kjaer in this defense is essential.

In addition, Parma tried to injure all of our players. For Bennacer, I thought it would have been better that he fell than absorb that tension on his muscles.

Theo, what a beast. I can't say enough about how much I love this guy. He stepped up big time during the game tonight and was a true leader.

Leao and Hauge added nothing to our game. Hauge, I understand. He's still pretty new to our team, and sometimes doesn't find his place. But, Leao is totally useless on that wing. He adds nothing to the game. He should be moved to CF position. Rebic as much as he's trying, should be always be played on the left. He even said it himself. So, Pioli should play him in this manner. It made no sense to play Rebic in CF and Leao on the wing. Nkalulu again put in a GOOD performance, my hopes for this guy are growing exponentially.

Anyway, 2 points lost which is a shame, but this was bound to happen. No drama, I'm just hoping Pioli learns better. We need to interpret these games with more maturity.

I agree man...but this is football, I guess.

Leao and Hauge were pretty bad, I agree. I'm reading very good votes for Hakan but I personally thought he wasn't that great. Yes, he hit 3 crossbars, but his game overall was subpar. Many lost balls and no real sparks in creativity. He's plunging into a backwards spiral with every game. Rebic also lost way too many balls tonight.

The real thing that puzzled me tonight though was that in the second half, even after they scored the second, we kept pushing like crazy, up until we scored the 1-2 goal. From then we sort of released our foot on the gas, and started taking it way too slowly. No idea what happened. Maybe they didn't feel more in a hurry, when in reality it should have been the opposite. Very weird.

Good news is I think against Genoa we'll have both Kjaer and Ibra back, but looks like we've lost Bennacer for a long time. I'm reading muscle sprain even, which could mean months.

You remember when teams used to park the bus? That is what Parma did and it was hard to break. That said, a draw is a good result given the alternative, at least the team can keep their unbeaten title in Serie A going. But as for the Serie A title, I am not expecting the Scudetto, as Maldini said yesterday the goal of the club is to finish above 5th place.

I am not that disappointed with this team, they have over achieved all expectations so far and a finish above 5th place for me is also over achieving. As I rank this team in the EL and not CL.

So with that said, I manage my own expectations since Serie A is a 38 match competition and teams are at only 10 or 11. There is a long stretch to go, Juve, inter, Napoli, Atlanta and Roma are still contenders for CL.

We drew Red star in the Europa League

They could be a tricky opponent.

I do not believe top 4 is over-achieving for this team, given what we have accomplished post-COVID plus the situation with other clubs in Serie A (Juve very strong but inconsistent plus has the "Pirlo factor"; Inter is very strong on paper but has serious problems and is a step away from implosion; Napoli + Atalanta + Roma + Sassuolo also are strong but they have shown they can be beaten; Lazio is struggling). Yesterday's game was played with a number of starters missing (or injured early on), and 2 goals down in recent years would have been a sure defeat. Having to switch Gabbia with someone with less experience cost as at least one of the two goals, and Zlatan can make a big difference with teams that are parking the bus.

Scudetto is a dream, as is winning EL. But I am a fan, so I have to hope and even believe. I also know from personal experience that you have to aim high if you want to achieve anything at all, and I am sure someone like Zlatan is pushing the team to aim high.

Only if we show up with 5 players and field Pioli himself.

They're a modest European team in a pretty weak nation for football. Their Europa League group was ridiculously easy and they still only won three of the matches.

If Milan have Ibra back (and it will be February so we should) this is a stroll.

Without him any match is a bit unpredictable with this team. Even the statistic have the odds at 30/70 Red Star/Milan.

As for last night, some bad luck, but winners make their own luck.

Offside call... tbh I don't even understand the new ruling.

Looks like I spoke too soon as both Ibra and Kjaer shouldn't be available, so we're royally f*cked.



C'mon, it should be a walk in the park.



Totally agreed. How can 4th place be considered over-achieving at this point? Some people, I'll never understand.

Zlatan believes we should be aiming for scudetto (source)

Says the guy who the other day wanted to avoid everyone apart from Crashinthedoor

By all means friend, as a fan you can always believe and I do hope with all my heart that Milan finally gets crowned Serie A champion, win the EL and the cup. However, from personal experiences I like to manage my own expectations.

Serie A just completed match day 11 i.e. 29% of the matches played with 27 to go. It's a long battle, with lots of complexities, hence my caution here.

EL can cause a strain on the squad with bench options thin at current. Hence jeaporadising both Serie A and EL aspirations. The sensible thing is just to get out of EL and focus on Serie A, but there is sponsorship money tied to it, which is something Milan is in desperate need of at the moment.

In closing, 71% of games left to be played in Serie A, I am gonna manage my own expectations here until the final stretch arrives.

Yes, I totally agree. I think X-Off is saying that CL should be a goal, a realistic one, given the squad we have and the form we had coming out of next year. Does he mean that we are expected to qualify to CL no matter what? I don't think so. It is just a realistic goal to set. For sure, at the moment we are probably overachieving in Serie A. But, who knows it might be that we have the right combination of players and coach that is clicking perfectly. Last year's run with Pioli is evidence of that, we had the most points coming after winter break I believe. So, it isn't exactly a surprise that we are performing so well. This is just a continuation of Pioli, Ibra, and the squad's excellent. Again, this does not mean that anything is guaranteed by any means. Our run of injuries ( I could think of a million other factors) could theoretically hinder our achievement of CL status. Let's see, as a fan, I'm just super happy to see the squad and how we've advanced. What I really like about the management is that they are not putting set objectives or high pressure. "CL or Pioli is out". They seem to be clearly aware that this year is a tough year with the COVID, as well as this being a medium to a long-term project. This calm work environment is working really well, and I do believe that if we don't qualify for the CL, it won't be the biggest drama. It will just hinder our capacity to invest in big players for one more year. However, I do think we'll be able to conserve the current crop of young players who are showing signs of maturity each and every day. And, if we keep on this trend, it's a matter of consistency that we will be back in the CL this year or the next one. Anyway, I don't want to see us going back to the CL just to get demolished or finish bottom of the group (Hint hint: Look at Inter). I want us to reach Champion's league as an even more complete and competitive team.

With that regard, I think to see us competing in the Champion's league, we are lacking key signings still, especially with Ibra's imminent retirement. What's good is that we have a very very solid foundation to build on. We have one of the world's best keeper, two fullbacks and midfielders (Kessie, Bennacer) with world-class potential, and a solid attacking line that can be improved (Same goes for the centerback positions).

Anyway, I'll stop my blabbing now.

I agree Scudetto or EL are unlikely. I do believe qualifying for CL is quite possible, even likely. (And, yes, of course, anything can happen.)

I agree that once we get to CL we need to strengthen the squad.

Looks like we're going to be missing Theo tonight as well due to muscle fatigue

FFS!

The early games are coming back to bite us in the behind now with all these muscle injuries. At this point it will be a miracle if we manage to go into Christmas as the league leaders

Talking about Scudetto at this point is premature. But I do believe that we should be aiming higher than scraping into a CL place considering what we can achieve.

Everyone underestimates this team. All while we have managed to take control of Serie A while not once being able to field our best 11 due to injury and Covid

Juve drew. Inter have Napoli

Let's just hope we're able to get all 3 points, even with half the squad out

Man, Leao is so stupid.

Also, why the hell isn't Theo playing???