Pirlo to the left

Andrea Pirlo

Bologna 0 Milan 3

Their players might not have been paid but the Rossoblu know how to put up a fight at home. Their is a distinct sense of pride in the players even if their wages are five months too late. Bologna last lost at home in April this year to current high-fliers Lazio. Since then, they have held fort admirably.

The confidence was also visible in this game. They were solid at the back and looked exciting going forwards, i.e. in the early stages. Zlatan is known to be a party pooper and he did poop Bologna's party. A delightful cross from the giant Swede was met with the boot of Boatang to open the scoring. A standard highlight throughout this game was the performance of Andrea Pirlo. Allegri has asked him to play on the left of the midfield three. This leaves Ambrosini to shield the defense and Pirlo to concentrate on his creativity. However, the elegant bloke from Brescia was also working hard, rushing into tackles and winning the loose balls. He ripped Bologna apart with his creativity peaking in this game. There was a restrain in the form of Gabi Mudingayi. The bullish midfield bossed around in the first half and was making life difficult for the middle men of Milan. The Diavoli were at the destructive best up front and grabbed the second. Robinho applied the finish while Boatang bagged the assist. A hallmark of this game was Milan's passing. Though rudimentary at times, there were sparks of absolute genius which was utterly delightful to watch.

Pirlo took more shots in this game than I have watched him take in the last 6 years. His passing was superb and accurate, almost lethal at times. Gattuso limped off with an injury and Rodney Strasser replaced him in the second half. As expected Bologna saw more of the ball in the second half. Abbiati had a comfortable evening except for one particular situation where he almost made a mess of a simple clearance. The situation goes to prove that he is a clown of enormous proportions. His shot stopping might be close to world-class but his decision making is hilarious at times. 56', Antonini replaced Zambrotta on the right. Three minutes later, Pirlo picks Zlatan with a quick, fantastic pass and Ibrahimovic scores the third goal of the afternoon. Just when everything was going well, a recently introduced Seedorf pulls a horrendous challenge in the box to concede a penalty. Di Vaio stepped up before being adamantly denied by Abbiati with a diving save. The players on the park knew that there was some serious repair that needed attending to after the shambolic night against Ajax. Therefore, the players worked very hard even after the third goal, also creating the rare openings.

Milan successfully ended Bologna's run at home. They also infused some much needed confidence ahead of the big evening this Saturday against the Romans. I have dished Pirlo in my previous article and I might be praising him here. But I still hold onto my reservations about the Italian cutting it against the bigger, tougher teams. His positioning on the left seems like a expert move. Much will be expected of him against Roma.

Milan - Boatang 9', Robinho 36', Ibrahimovic 59'
Bologna - /