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UCL | QF (First leg)| AC Milan vs FC Barcelona

7.8K views 132 replies 41 participants last post by  Kiyan  
#1 ·
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AC Milan vs FC Barcelona
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San Siro | Wed, Mar 28 | 20:45 CET


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We head to San Siro to play Milan again but in the quarter finals of the CL. The Rossoneri have never lost the home lef of a CL QF and this is the first time since 2007 they have reached the last eight of the competition. We have won the last five quarter-finals in a row and haven't lost a QF away leg since 2002.

Milan sneaked into the last 8 with a tough win against Arsenal. Having won 4-0 at home, the Rossoneri headed to the Emirates where the home team slotted 3 quick goals and piled the pressure, only for the Italian team to eventually win the tie. Milan will be without Thiago Silva (thigh injury) and expected to miss both legs, Abate (muscle injury) and Van Bommel (suspension). Robinho is doubtful while Seedorf and Prince Boateng are back.

For Barca, we will be without Adriano, Abidal, Villa and Afellay. With Messi in excellent form, we should look for a tight game. Getting a win or a tie (with away goals) will help us be better positioned for the return game.

Possible Milan line up:
Abbiati
Zambrota-Mexes-Nesta-Mesbah
Seedorf-Ambrosini-Nocerino
El Shaarway-Boateng-Zlatan


Possible Barca line up:
Valdes
Alves-Pique-Mascherano-Puyol
Xavi-Busquets-Iniesta
Alexis-Messi-Fabregas

FORÇA BARÇA!
 
#2 ·
Milan away is tough, San Siro is a formidable ground but looking at Barca team and their team I believe a win is absolutely possible, the only concer will be how will Barca defense perform as if Milan adopt the Mou-football ad wait for quick breaks, I fear Barca's defense is not strong enough to hold it, but than football is not about keeping cleansheets but about scoring more than your opponent!
Forza Messi!!
 
#3 ·
Watching Milan-Roma, I feel that they're going to use the same approach against us: attack with long, direct ball to Zlatan. Our defense better bring their A game for this one.
Also, Mesbah lacks pace which hopefully will be exploited by Alexis.
 
#7 ·
Come on, don't start "A-team", "B-team", "C-team" bullshit again. I remember ManU fans used to repeat that if Fletcher played, things would have been different.

I, for one, am really disappointed that teams cannot play their best 11 against each other every time. In this particular case, I am really disappointed that Thiago Silva isn't going to play. I really am. I was hoping that he will get exposed again.

Villa is out injured. Alexis just came back from injury and had 2 very average games. Iniesta is in and out. Pedro has been poor after injury. Abidal is out with liver problems. Do not make it sound as if Barca don't have problems with injuries.

PS BTW, If Barca beats Milan comprehensively in the first match, I predict that Ibra will find a way not to play in the second match. He will be "carded", or "injured".
 
#11 ·
We have no LB, we don't even have a 7th best forward. We started with 5. Looking at the numbers you posted, you seem to have incredible squad depth. We have a squad of 19 players and 5 of them are injured. Most likely to travel to San Siro with four youth team players. A DM playing at CB, a CB playing at RB. A midfielder playing on the wings etc etc. A scoring draw would be a great result.
 
#20 ·
Forget it, just to have an excuse lined up, they will always count even the likes of Gattuso and Flaimini as first team players. If you look at the injured players listed, you ask yourself "so how many of these would play if they were fit?". Obviously, not many.

The same excuse style is ever-present for explaining why Serie A teams are bad in Europe. Apparently, they always play B or C team (even if 1-2 out of 11 are in fact reserve players). It's a fecking joke, really.

May the best team win! I wanted to see clash of the best possible teams, but no luck, both teams have some casualties to injuries. The fact that when we play Cuenca, Tello and Pedro, it is never considered that these are reserve players any more - a testament of quality of these youngsters. Let the game begin!
 
#13 ·
Lol, having a George Costanza. Nobody beats him at being miserable.
 
#17 ·
I have a feeling about it being a 3-6-1 or a 3-5-2 depending in how you interpret it.

VV

Pique - Mascherano - Puyol

Busi

Dani - Xavi - Cesc - Iniesta

Messi

Alexis​
 
#18 ·
Milan will be without Thiago Silva (thigh injury) and expected to miss both legs, Abate (muscle injury) and Van Bommel (suspension). Robinho is doubtful while Seedorf and Prince Boateng are back.

For Barca, we will be without Adriano, Abidal, Villa and Afellay. With Messi in excellent form, we should look for a tight game. Getting a win or a tie (with away goals) will help us be better positioned for the return game.
You forgot about Pato, Cassano, Inzaghi, Flamini, Gattuso, and more that are very questionable for this match, such as Maxi Lopez, Nesta, Antonini, etc.
 
#19 ·
The fact that we played them already and that we're such big favourites doesn't sit well with me, I don't like these situations, like against Inter. Everyone already sees us through, and we still have to play the tie against a strong team.
It's great that we get to see a historic encounter, though.

And like always, I'm hoping we just go out looking for away goals.
 
#21 ·
Of course Barca is the favorite but dont just underestimate the injury crises of Milan.

Silva is out.
Nesta hasnt played for more than a month ... But might start the game
Abate is injured for two weeks ... Probably will be checked on the match day
Antonini has a slight injury and didnt play vs Roma

So the whole first team defense is out or just back from injury.

Midfield ... Our best midfield is... Aquilani-V Bommel-Nocerino and Boateng .... Only Nocerino is 100%, V Bommel wont play, Aquilani and Boateng just returned from injury and Aquilani hasnt still found the pace....

Our second best striker has been injured for two weeks ...Robinho.

So we will probably miss 5 starters and 2-3 will start after a long time. And also Ibra is playing the last two games with a back pain.

Hoping for a good game and a Milan win;)
 
#22 ·
I do not understand why people claim of the injuries and absences..
Why are there injuries and absences?
1. Player themselves.
2. Medical team.
3. Training.
4. Competitions
...
You have to pay for what you achieved.
If Milan do not want to get that many injuries, then don't play with risky like the way they played Thiago Silva in their latest fixture. If you want to have Van Bommel in this round, should not play him in Arsenal...
Please move on and have a good tactics, then we will see what make the differences.

Back to the game, I will be happy with a draw with some goals.
 
#25 ·
First of all, the nature of knock-out phase makes it all irrelevant. Bad off-side trap, penalty kick, defensive error... and all prediction goes to hell.

But, if we want to anticipate the epilogue, we should open all aspects. For example, coming to bad position in the terms of injuries is a bad planning for the season, which falls under the resources management. Who's to blame for that? The manager and the board. So, there are no excuses - if injuries stop you from winning, it's all part of your club's ability, i.e. it's your fault, i.e. you're weaker than your opponent. If you have injured players and lose because of that, than everything is normal - you get beaten by the better and healthier team, a team that usually wins. I'm not talking about surprise injuries, but when several players fall in a short period. We had that period and we fell 10 points behind Real.

Again, the nature of knock-out phase makes it all irrelevant. Bad off-side trap, penalty kick, defensive error... and all prediction goes to hell.
 
#26 ·
I agree with you. We are just happy to be on the other side of an argument for a change, I guess. For example, our win against Man UTD in 2007 was underestimated because of the injury crisis in Man UTD. Ironically, the most that underestimated that was intert fans, and now we are pre-underestimating your rape of this poor Milan side> Kind of unfair to you guys, but it's our time to bring injuries into the "equation"

Have mercy on us :angel:

On topic; I look forward to the game, and may the most efficient team win :thumbsup:
 
#31 ·
so lets talk some football then. Barcelona and Milan have already played each other twice. The managers will have accurate notes on where the mismatches happened. They know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Barca have to keep the return leg in mind and probably hold on to possession if they reach a position where they are leading by 2 goals (easier said)

Our defense has been scary. We always seem jittery first 10 minutes in away games. it happened again against mallorca but they didnt capitalize. coincidentally we also conceded an early goal against Milan in the previous tie. But whatever complacency the Barca players had before coming in as european champions is over now.. this is the season run in and they'll be giving it all. I am calmly confident of a good showing but also acknowledge that Milan have some dangerous weapons up front. we need to deny them the ball at all cost.
 
#32 ·
First 10 minutes? Is it me or do the opposing teams seem to have a chance in the first minute more often than not against us. Really, I would be about to sit down when I see the other team reaching our goal already.
100% focus and 100% effort needed while keeping in mind that a second leg is awaiting.

I wouldn't discuss the injuries and suspensions that Milan have as they really tend to over dramatize things. One of my friends (a Milan fan) gave me a long list of reasons how there is zero chance they go though. And reading through some of the posts here and in Milan's forum, I think this is true about the fans.
 
#33 ·
Like we always say that 6 points is still a lot of distance and Madrid are going to win the league.

I guess its fine to ease pressure off their Team.Since they must now all believe they have zero chance they might actually cause us some trouble.

But our team is as smart as them and we should court pragmatism like we always do. Defeat is unlikely, but unlikely is still possible. That is the reason why we aspire for the treble even with a six point deficit.

My personal guess is this game will be decided at San Siro and not at Camp Nou, meaning, we will all have more of the best team/best player of all time reports to read tomorrow.

But I'd be happy with a scored draw(2-2) or a narrow defeat like 3-2. That should suffice.
 
#40 ·
Let us hope the Milan players have the same attitude as their fans do, since they all seem to be either giving up or pretending to give up. Us being "favourites" doesn't really mean anything to me, as European champs Barca are probably expected to win 90% of their games at least. So the players must be used to it. Regardless of anything else, Milan are true European aristocracy and need to be considered extremely dangerous opponents in any game. I hope the players keep their balls on the prize, to quote Tom Tucker. :D