This game reminded me of our first match against Napoli. Quickly down 0-2, then equalized quickly. I fear that a red card or another freak goal would kill us, but thankfully it didn't repeat. Perhaps our best chance to win the game was through Suso's fast break, but he wasn't able to make the best out of our number advantage.
Too bad we now have to deal with Napoli without two main players, but I regret more the two points lost today.
If Montella is trying to prove a point by subbing Niang in for Jack, then he needs to do it fast..
because obviously, it is costing us points and, ironically, players!
Montella needs to take the blame on this loss, his choices were not good tonight starting from the decision to open the match with Romangoli, to his late and somewhat clueless subs.
Unfortunately didn't see the game due to work but judging by the highlights, would it be fair to say that we should be happy to have come out with a point? I say so because if Ljajic takes a proper penalty then it's 3-0 and practically game over..
Siamo a posto cosi.
Only watched the 2nd half. We were superior in the first ten minutes or so but somehow eased off the gas after 2-2. After that it was a balanced game. We had at least two decent chances to win the game from Pasalic (a good dummy but skied his shot from inside the box) and Suso who went for glory himself when we launched counter attack. That said, Torino were dangerous too throughout most of the second half so all in all a draw is a fair result.
per l'amaro e il dolce
The problems last night were not tactical but of mental nature.
The two biggest problems facing us are switching off during the defensive phase (with a lot of ball watching) and our inability to score goals or even take shots.
The first goal is a great example of how NOT to defend like a team. Can you imagine if a Conte team did this? He would tear them some new holes.
Montella is to be blamed for his substitutions. First of all he subs too late and who in their right mind would put in Niang when Lapadula has been getting those late winners for us. Is he trying to prove some point to Niang?
A very disappointing result esp since we played well. Had things been tighter at the back and swifter up front, this would've been a different result. Donnarumma once again was the best player on the pitch for me as his action saved a point.
01-17-2017, 05:51 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-17-2017, 05:57 AM by nefremo.)
On the whole we didn't play well. Having said that, there were times (moments really, as the only extended time we played well was for about 15 minutes in the 2nd half) when we actually could have won the game and scored more goals.
There was a big break up in team defending multiple times. In all honesty, this was probably the worst defensive display of the season. Individually players made a ton of mistakes, while as a unit we looked all over the place. In many ways, this reminded me of Inzaghi's Milan....and let's just say that's not a good thing.
I am also very annoyed with Niang as many others are too. He looked like a player that doesn't want to be there and doesn't want to play. Maybe there really are offers for him and the fact that he has become dispensable is getting in his head.
I know Deulofeu has mostly been used as a RW and all that, but I am sure he can also be very good on the left. I am saying this because we desperately need a LW so that we can move Bonaventura back in the middle. Bertolacci was again very disappointing for me. Maybe I am just expecting too much from him because of the price tag or because I was such a big fan of his while he was at Genoa.....but the fact of the matter is that he is not cutting it. There are flashes....but simply....not good enough imo. Pasalic wasn't terrible today even though he made a mistake on the goal. Still, I can't believe I am going to say this.....but the best possible midfield 3 that we can put out is Locatelli, Bonaventura, and KUCKA. I just think that even though Kucka frustrates me like hell and doesn't have a lot of quality on the ball.....he gives that midfield the balance that's needed.
Vangioni must really be terrible if Calabria, a 20 yr old RB that's been injured for months, is starting ahead of him as a LB. Calabria by the way was absolutely atrocious. Not going to blame him though. He hasn't played in months and is simply not a LB. Just because you are a fullback, doesn't mean that you can play on both sides. Yes, the movements and positioning is very similar on both sides.......but making use of the ball and combining with teammates is not. He was very bad on the ball and he normally is very good if he is on the right. I hope he learned a thing or two from this game.
Romagnoli and Paletta were absolutely awful! They committed individual and team mistakes throughout the game. I could not believe how bad our CB pairing was made to look in this game because they've been very good all year so far. It was a comedy show back there at times when you add Abate to this unit too. It's not often one can say this after a game....but really, the worst players on the field today were the 4 defenders. They really had a shocker! All 4 of them with at least 1-2 huge individual mistakes. As a matter of fact, they were so bad that if it wasn't for that very tight marginal offside...both of our CBs could have ended up with red cards.
I was obviously disappointed with the result as I always want 3 points. But all in all, as bad as we were in the back, to actually come back and scrape a point away is not too terrible. We all know that Torino is a very tough customer this year so getting a tie away to them is not a terrible result. They will take many points away from the top teams this spring, I am sure of that. Still, the regret remains as if we were just a bit more compact and defended better.....we could have easily won this game.