No Longer The Magic Number

By: cathal | February 1st, 2009

In a post earlier this season, Sal referred to three as being the magic number. Well our luck with the number three firmly ran out today as we succumbed to our third defeat in a row in our third encounter with Milan this season. The pessimists and cynics are already out searching for their scapegoat.

The first thing that struck me, before the game had even started was Rossi’s formation. I truly believe he made a conscious decision to pack out the midfield and hope that would prevent the Milan midfielders from setting up the attack or protecting their rather fragile backline. He definitely risked Brocchi and Meghni. A few of you noted in the comments section that Delio may have been foolish to replace Mourad with Simone but I would safely say Meghni didn’t have the fitness to last the distance. It’s impossible to tell whether Delio’s risked paid off or not but I personally thought Mourad excelled today. Cristian was a risk and it was no surprise for me to see Dabo take his place in the second half. Matuzalem is also lacking in match practice so I’m very confused as to why Rossi left out Mauri. Strange decisions but considering the midfield functioned well on the whole today, I’ll let the boss away with it.

From my perspective, we were more than a match for Milan in the opening half. We had the better of the chances, the defence looked fairly solid but unfortunately for us, Pato guided the ball into the back of the net. Perhaps critically it was right before half-time and I will be taking a closer look at the goal when highlights are available; there was a big shout for offside.

Lazio were dealt a double blow when Ambrosini put them two clear. The difference between the two sides then became apparent; Milan had all the confidence and belief in the world and we had none. We fought and we fought but the actual belief in making a comeback wasn’t there and Delio was quick to concede this after the game ended. To make things worse, Kaka added a third as the game came to a close and once again, the scoreline looks rough. Nevertheless, I did feel there were some standout performances.

I mentioned already that Meghni and Matuzalem were very decent today but the unluckiest man on the pitch was the one that picked the ball out of his net on three occasions. I thought Muslera was excellent today. He had the balls to command and direct a defence much older and more experienced than him and he was incredibly aware, rushing out of his goal to stop the danger. Unfortunately that’s where JP is losing out to Nestor at the minute; when Carrizo rushes off his line, he appears to be creating danger. Again, another good decision by Rossi as far as I’m concerned.

I can’t criticise Rossi really. Yes, this side is faltering but what we need now, more than anything is a win. It’s the players that have the problem. They are not doing much wrong but they have no faith in themselves at present. Some will argue that it’s Rossi’s job to focus the players on getting that win but I’m not sure if any coach can pick up players whose morale is this low. We have a great bunch who look a bit wayward at the minute and all we need is to regroup, prepare for the match ahead and hope we get the ultimate confidence booster; a few points.

Highlights: