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| Possession doesn't win matches. Goals do. |
AC Milan: Abbiati, Abate, Nesta, Silva, Zambrotta, Van Bommel, Boateng, Seedorf, Nocerino, Cassano, Pato (Ambrosini, Emanuelson, Aquilani)
This match saw FC Barcelona and AC Milan, one of the most celebrated teams in European football history go head to head at Camp Nou in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League 2011.
The game begun with a shocking 23” second goal by ex-wonder-kid Alexandre Pato. The fifth fastest goal in Champions League history. Pato saw Barcelona’s two centre-backs coming in to activate an offside trap and ran for a through ball which he finished with great style and coolness. Barcelona weren’t too quick to absorb the shock. They weren’t being able to dominate possession as Milan were trying to capitalize on their early goal. Pato was threatening in the early stages of the game as Barcelona’s defense just couldn’t co-ordinate as well as it would’ve liked to. The Barcelona players were being bullied by Milan and got a couple of free kicks but couldn’t capitalize on them. Messi’s unending persistence paid off in the 36th minute and he pulled off a move, only a handful of players can, cutting the whole defense and crossing the ball into the box which left an open goal finish for Pedro. Milan had almost two defensive lines by the end of the first half but they looked a better team than they were last season against Tottenham.
At half-time we still had a contest at hand but Barcelona were certainly looking like favorites. They had 80% of possession but Milan also had their fare share of shots on goal. The start of the second half saw pure Barcelona domination. Barcelona were awarded a free kick when Busquets was pushed by Cassano. David Villa stood up to the task and scored from about twenty five yards outs. The free kick was taken with great technique and precision and was truly unstoppable. But FC Barcelona wouldn’t stop at a one goal lead. They continued to dominate possession and push harder for a third goal. The Barcelona players made great runs but Alessandro Nesta was like a wall in the defense. He would put any thirty five year old centre-back to shame with his performance in this game. Barcelona continued to push forward and dominate possession to no avail. In the 90’+2’ minute, AC Milan were awarded a corner and equalized. Thiago Silva was the goal scorer at the death and the goal not only meant a draw for Barcelona but also a new high in frustration.
Verdict
Barcelona enjoyed (not really) 75% of the possession in this tie but possession does not win matches, goals do. First of all, Guardiola shouldn’t have played Busquets as centre-back. Abidal does a great job at that and could’ve played Maxwell or Adriano as left back. Milan defended well and took their chances up front, sure they were the second best team in the match but it’s the result that counts and as far as the result is concerned, they were as good as Barcelona. For Milan, the result was great and they can only get better. But for Guardiola, this match should act as a wake-up call whose morale would be on a season low.
Guys...
ReplyDeleteNice article. Couple of things I wld like to add here. Milan played mature- Compact organization in defence but the trick I felt was that their mid fielders were not chasing the ball. They played the waiting game- quietly waiting for Barca to cm at them. The renouned Roman discipline was fascinating to watch. Despite being a Barca fan, I was on a high watching these guys defend, constantly forcing Barca to play from the flanks which they r not too good at. Also the counter-attacking was fast, precise.
But the whole thing was the tenor, the concentration- for the first time I saw defence being elevated to "high art"
Ankur