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Europa League 2020-21

8K views 382 replies 30 participants last post by  Mushfiq 
#1 ·
Our Europa League adventure starts tonight against Shamrock Rovers.

Predicted XI:

Donnarumma
Calabria --- Kjaer --- Gabbia --- Hernandez
Bennacer --- Kessie
Castillejo --- Calhanoglu --- Saelemaekers
Ibrahimovic
On the basis that we qualify for the main competition, we'll likely not see such a starting eleven in future EL games. Rotation will be key. But given the upcoming start of the new Serie A season, this provides something of a tune-up with some competitive football. And in a way it will be competitive.

Even though Shamrock Rovers are considered a few levels below Milan in terms of quality, they will be extremely motivated and up for it. As is often said in professional sports, you cannot replicate in training and friendlies the same intensity as you can in competitive matches. They'll be dreaming of a historic upset, something to tell the grandchildren one day. So we need to match that with the same intensity, and set a standard to be followed for the rest of the season ahead.
 
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#14 ·
This seemed like playing a side newly promoted from Serie B. I say it as a compliment as Shamrock Rovers were competitive and played to the occasion.

What really won it for us was that second half spell where we found our rhythm and had them under sustained pressure where they couldn't do anything. It paid off with a great finish from Hakan, who was man of the match. Sharp and confident performance from him.

Bennacer also had a classy understated performance. Excellent positioning and passing. Calabria also a standout performance, continuing his good form from the latter part of last season. Ibra was Ibra.

Diaz's first touch, dribbling and turn of pace are impressive.
 
#15 ·
An easy win, at times we really played nice football. Some sharpness in the final third is needed though, it was evident that Saelemaeker is a little bit behind the others in terms of talent. Castillejo a bit as well. Rebic and Chiesa will fix that problem though ;)

Would’ve liked some more subs earlier in the game, the Serie A is starting on Monday for us and hopefully nobody got too tired tonight.

Next game against Bodö/Glimt at San Siro in a week.
 
#17 ·
Agreed, there is a chasm between Samu/Alexis and Rebic. Our wingers today worked hard and had some good movement, but not enough quality on the ball. We'll need Rebic's quality against the Norwegians as they're a different level to Shamrock Rovers. But we should also see a sharper Milan in that game, as today would have helped a lot with match fitness/sharpness, plus the Bologna game on Monday will help shake off the rust.
 
#16 ·
Tonali needs time to settle in; Good to see Krunic after sometime. Diaz looked confident with his first touches and through pass to Castellijo was a good one.

Bennacer & Kessie are Solid. Hakan & Ibra not much to mention.

Defense was not tested much; Kjaer is our saviour for many occassions. Theo missed Rebic on the left flank but overall did well.

Second half approach were more organized .
 
#21 ·
Our Europa League adventure continues tonight against Bodø/Glimt.

Predicted XI:

Donnarumma
Calabria --- Kjaer --- Gabbia --- Hernandez
Bennacer --- Kessie
Castillejo --- Calhanoglu --- Saelemaekers
Ibrahimovic​

Our opponents are crushing their league. P18, W16, D2.

Good to hear the usual platitudes from Pioli, not underestimating our opponents and treating the game like a final. Such a fixture will only be a walkover if the team doesn't underestimate them and plays with intensity.

Duarte tested positive for COVID-19 (hope he gets well soon, and thankfully everyone else came back negative) so he is out along with Romagnoli, Musacchio, Rebic, Leao and Conti.
 
#23 ·
At some point we do need to rotate more (if we qualify for the EL group stage). For now, as the stakes are high (if you lose, you're out) then it makes sense to take no chances. Could be that Pioli would prefer to rotate against Crotone and Spezia, which are our next two Serie A fixtures. We shouldn't take either of these teams for granted, but it wouldn't be a disaster if we managed to drop points against them due to rotation. The Serie A season is long.

Out of the subs, Diaz looks the most primed to start a game. But he is very different to Hakan, and one of the strongest points of our attack is the understanding that Zlatan and Hakan have developed. So it would be a bold move to start him.

Tonali is less ready. True that coming on in min 75 is not as effective, but I think it is the accumulation of training sessions that will really get him ready to start (and make Diaz even more of a viable option for Hakan). Look at Krunic, who isn't considered anything special but against Bologna he slotted in to the midfield pretty easily, as he's trained enough under Pioli to know what is needed of him.
 
#24 ·
I spoke too soon regarding the COVID testing. So they had to have another test and now Zlatan is positive. Assuming now it will be Colombo that starts. What an opportunity for him. He looked promising in pre-season matches but this is something else. Also time for the other players to assume responsibility and lead by example.

Hopefully Duarte and Ibra are both well and 'recover' without any issues, and that there are no further positives. Against Crotone we should have Rebic and Leao who can both play in Zlatan's absence.

Tonight's match is 20.30 CET
 
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