Archive for the ‘Roma’ Category

And I’m not talking about Milan’s third kit which is an affront to common decency. Sulley Muntari was shown a red card in the 41st minute for antics that can only be described as foolish. Muntari was trying to prevent the referee from giving Mario Balotelli a card. Holding the ref’s arm, losing his mind etc. obviously didn’t help things. Balotelli has been the target of racist taunts from Roma fans, chants so glaring the public address announcer has told them to stop or risk having the game suspended. It’s 0-0 at halftime.

Update

Milan-Roma has been suspended due to racist chants from Roma fans. Francesco Totti sent over to speak to fans.#Milan #Roma

— Paolo Bandini (@Paolo_Bandini) May 12, 2013

The game ended in a draw, but the stench of stupidity remains.

Allegri on racial abuses:”Tonight game should have been definitely called off. Otherwise we’ll be the country of ‘would like,but can’t’ ”

— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) May 12, 2013

Video via James Dart

Game in a sentence

Though the scoreline indicated otherwise, Roma thoroughly outclassed Milan in every facet of the game in a lopsided contest at Stadio Olimpico.

Observations

• Admittedly last Saturday’s match of the day wasn’t a thriller. Miroslav Klose’s late winner was the saving grace in an otherwise dour affair. Roma and Milan would not follow the same path — not in the least.
• However, one team carried the play in a half of entertainers versus spectators. Daniele De Rossi and Michael Bradley had their way with the Milan midfield, making Massimo Ambrosini look way older than 35. It was ugly. Ambrosini’s partners in the midfield didn’t help him out. Nocerino and Montolivo were non-factors.
• Milan did have some chances early. The Little Pharaoh — aka Stephan El Shaarawy was the visitors most threatening player.
• Their chances were not taken, leaving the door open for Roma. An excellent curling strike from Pablo Osvaldo was parried off by Marco Amelia for a corner. On the ensuing kick defender Nicolas Burdisso skied over the Milan defence, heading the ball past Amelia. Milan’s shambolic set piece defending would be on full display as the game wore on.
• Mario Yepes drew a yellow card in the 15th minute. Massimiliano Allegri’s sqaud may have been better off if it was a straight red. Yepes was terrible. The 36-year old Colombian defender is on his way out of the Serie A. He’s not leaving in a cloud of glory.
• Osvaldo would make it 2-0 in the 23rd minute off of — you guessed it — a corner. Yepes should be applauded for at least making a passing effort and beating Osvaldo in the air. Well he shouldn’t be actually. It was another case of awful set piece defending, a problem that has plagued the Rossoneri this season.
• Seven minutes  later it was 3-0, Erik Lamela the finisher after accepting a superb pass from De Rossi. DDR looked off Yepes before making the pass, making the already befuddled look senile. The time is up for a pair of aging Milan players. The exodus in the Summer was a harbinger of things to come for a club that will need to restock. They have a boatload of talented youth, now they need to surround them with capable veterans who can still play at the highest levels. Yepes and Ambrosini cannot.
• The second half didn’t provide a momentum shift. Francesco Totti just missed the far post in the opening minutes. Totti was simply good on this day, not needing to dawn the superhero cape that he has used to propel Roma to victory.
• Allegri may want to rethink his ‘Boateng as a false nine strategy.’ The Prince was absent on this day, to be frank he has been missing for the last few weeks.
• Roma made it 4-0 in the 61st. Lamela, again. Off a corner, again. The former River Plate youth abused another alum of the Los Millonarios system — Yepes, again. — and Kevin Constant. Game over.
• Milan made the scoreline somewhat presentable late. Pazzini’s penalty and Bojan’s rebound — the product of an out of this world right footed, outside of the boot cross from El Shaarawy  — made it 4-2. Too little too late.

Three stars

1.Daniele De Rossi

2.Erik Lamela

3.Francesco Totti