The Ultras chased Berlusconi away from the game that ended up being a scrappy three points for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side.
The President was scheduled to make an appearance but stayed away after the Curva announced they would be protesting his right hand man, our beloved Uncle Fester.
In the end it was probably for the best, as he was unlikely to have been much enthused with the football on display. But we battled to the win and at this point any sort of three points is welcome.
Bacca and Luiz Adriano were both on target, showing a small glimpse of what a determined front pairing can do for a side; something we sorely lacked the past two seasons. What has not changed is a lethargic midfield, a terrible way of handling leads, and a porous defence.
Ricardo Saponara had a good game on his return to the San Siro. His performance made me wonder how anyone can look good playing against Milan but turn rubbish when put into our jersey. We had a couple exhibits of that phenomena in our own shirt tonight.
THE GAME
The game was nothing to write home about. Empoli looked the fitter, hungrier, and more skilful side all night long. We got a good opener, Adriano setting up Bacca who run half the pitch to score. Bonaventura’s great corner found Adriano’s header for the second, with a little helping from the lost at seas Empoli goalie.
Milan once again looked disjointed and out of sorts, and a large part of that was due to the workmanlike midfield with little creativity. That wasn’t helped by Mihajlovic’s inexplicable decision to start Nocerino.
Luckily he remedied that quickly, and had already brought on Kucka and Bonaventura for Suso and Noce before the 60th minute. This is at least one point we can be glad Allegri isn’t our manager anymore.
Jack in particular changed the game, injecting speed and purpose into the attack. I already see him starting as playmaker for the derby.
This was far from our best game, but it is commendable that we came away with the points. Some will say struggling against Empoli at San Siro spells doom, I disagree. Too many times over the past couple of seasons we have seen this team lose such games against the so-called provincial sides. Winning is everything in this case.
There is a long season ahead and at this point I could care less about the performance. Any team takes a while to gel, and especially considering our crap midfield this team would need a longer gestation period than most. In the meantime I would take the ugly wins all day long.
We have 48 hours for the window to close. Galliani better work as hell to show the ultras he’s not that bad.
THE PLAYERS
Lopez (6.5): Dependable as usual. Made a couple saves from long range shots and was helpless for the goal. There can be no question we are secured in goal.
De Sciglio (5.5): Was average, nothing too special. His crossing, which used to be his strongest suit seems to have vanished completely. With competition from Abate, needs to step up
Zapata (6.5): Has played well for a game and a half now. Looks quick and purposeful. He’s just like a new signing, as someone would say.
Romagnoli (6): Our expensive CB has looked ordinary so far, but at least there was no catastrophe this week. It would take time to build a formidable defence and I’m willing to give him that time.
Antonelli (6.5): One of the best on the pitch, once again. Moves forward well, tracks back just as well, and does not lose the ball willy nilly as most of our players are wont to do.
Bertolacci (4): Easily the flop of the match. If Romagnoli has not sparked yet, Bertolacci is yet to arrive for the race. Takes heavy touches, loses the ball at every opportunity. At the moment he looks like an expensive flop.
De Jong (5): Complicit in the first goal. De Jong remains as bullish as ever but his technical limitations are all too glaring. We need to get some creative types beside him.
Nocerino (4.5): Did not do much, got substituted at half time. He looked solid when he entered against Fiorentina, probably why Sinisa started him. This time, he showed why he’s Nocerino.
Suso (5): Suso was not as too bad, though I saw many slating him online. He held on to possession well, tried a couple incisive passes. Wasn’t particularly effective, and is a little too eager to shoot, but there’s no denying his potential, which we just need to unlock.
Bacca (7): Was unplayable for the first goal, after latching onto Adriano’s pass from the halfway line. Bacca is a little too eager to take on his man the moment he gets the ball which makes him lose it sometimes. But his pace, skill, and killer instinct would be a problem for defenders all across the country this year. I also saw him make many good runs, but none of our un-creative players could pick him with a pass.
Luiz Adriano (7.5): Man of the match. Adriano released Bacca for the opener, and then headed in to give us the much needed win. In between, he run a lot and got into a lot of scrapes. With these two, we just need to fix the middle and we know we’re guaranteed goals.
SUBS
Kucka (5.5): Took Nocerino’s place on the left of midfield. Combative, covered a lot of ground. At the moment he looks better than most of what we have.
Bonaventura (6.5): His introduction changed the game. He kept possession well and always drove forward with the ball. Caused Empoli a lot of problems. And the corner for the goal was fantastic.
Poli: N/A
Nii Smiley Byte
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