By Petar Todorovski
Milan keep losing the advantage that have built all over the last few months. Rossonerri lost the latest match played in Sicily against Palermo with 1-0. The team that seemed to be the hottest favorite for the Scudetto now struggles to find a way to break opposition’s defense. Of course, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic is out of play.
The Swede stupidly earned a red card that meant three-match suspension on the previous game and the problems were already on the rise for Allegri’s men. Veteran Clarence Seedorf took his place in the starting team, but the Dutchman despite the load of experience and quality lacks the class of Ibracadabra. He made a few good passes, had one dangerous shot and that was all. This was one of the worst Milan matches so far, which now questions the team’s ability to handle the piling pressure of title rivals Inter.
New Palermo coach Serse Cosmi was still looking for the first victory at the new club, and he could smell it early in the game, in 10th minute when Dorin Goian’s volley ended into the net of Christian Abbiati.
It was up to Milan to respond, but they were lucky to keep the score sheet 1-0. Luca Antonini made a successful effort to clear up after Mauricio Pinilla’s attempt, while Josip Ilicic and Javier Pastore had some opportunities after comfortable play in front of Rossonerri’s goal.
Massimiliano Allegri wasn’t satisfied at all with the display of his team and made some changes on the break, including temperament Kevin-Prince Boateng instead of Mark van Bommel. However, the Ghanian was one of the greatest flops on this match, as Palermo was the team that still dominated the game. Incredible Slovenian international Josip Ilicic and Matteo Darmian had opportunities to double the lead, but their efforts didn’t get result.
Then Milan suffered another blow. In 64th minute had to go out, as Robinho took his place. The Brazilian tried to make an impact, but as the team played bad he was not able to produce nothing good. Palermo still had the chances to secure calm finish, but their attempts were unsuccessful, with Fabrizio Miccoli having the best opportunity.
Now Inter has a golden chance to get closer to Milan in face of the city derby on April 2nd. Should they beat Lecce on Sunday, the gap will be only two points, which is reachable with the victory on the derby. Massimiliano Allegri feels the pressure, but he stated that he still believes in the team and he would consolidate them during the international break that follows next weekend. “It would have been better to avoid this defeat to Palermo but I still have confidence in this team,” he said. “Now there is a break and hopefully we can come up with some fresh ideas. Let’s see what Inter and Napoli do,” stated the Rossonerri boss, expressing his hope for rivals flop.
