By Petar Todorovski
Bari is the next challenge for AC Milan in their way to winning the Scudetto. This is the game that would give us an answer of the question how will Rossoneri pick up from the midweek disappointment in Champions League, when Real Madrid equalized late in the game.
The Spanish side tried hard from the start to meet expectations for another victory. Angel di Maria unbelievably missed chances before Higuain scored late in the first half, showing off vulnerability of the Milan defense. When it seemed that the victory is on the rise Filippo Inzaghi (photo) came off the bench and scored two goals to turn result in Milan’s favor. Eternal Pippo first reacted well when Pepe and Iker Casillas reacted awful before he scored his second goal from clear offside. However, Mourinho’s team never gave up and scored equalizer in additional time.
Massimiliano Allegri was disappointed but he grudgingly admitted that result was fair having in mind the chances both teams created. Also he claimed that it was important result for the team and he was happy with what they did.
Nevertheless, it still remains unclear how AC Milan go further with the campaign. Although Onyewu, Oddo and Bonera are all injured and Kevin-Prince Boateng is suspended they have enough quality to edge out Bari, team that will have to cope without injured Raggi, Ghezzal, Slavatore Massielo and Romero. But there’s another problem that arise on the horizon: lack of team chemistry.
After the last Champions League game some of the players gave statements that claim the atmosphere at San Siro is not ideal. Impressed by Inzaghi’s performance, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was daring enough to publicly admit that he prefers playing with the foxy striker as a partner in attack, instead of the other three Brazilian forwards. He said that when Alexandre Pato, Ronaldinho and Robinho are on the pitch he has to play more in the box, but he enjoyed to move and play with the ball as much as possible.
Ronaldinho opened his soul to another medium. He was disappointed with the Swede’s performance stating: “We can not play like this.” He explained that Ibrahimovic played on his own against four defenders, forgetting that he has played on his own against eleven players.
Probably in AC Milan there’s no enough space for two superstars who play on their own, what means that Massimiliano Allegri still has work to do. Things became even more complicated after the fight between Oguchi Onyewu and, you guess, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Officially things are resolved now but it’s hard to believe that the dark cloud of bad atmosphere above San Siro has lifted yet.
Last who publicly criticized his team mates was Gennaro Gattuso, who said that there are players in the club who “don’t give their souls” and “struggle to give 100%” on the games. He claimed further that Pippo Inzaghi commitment has to be taken as example.
AC Milan managed to oppose well to mighty Real Madrid last Wednesday but we have to wait until the Sunday game to see if they can maintain the good form. Rossoneri won two out of four away games so far, scoring four and conceded four as well. Bari is currently on the bottom of the table but they are not as bad as it seems. Galleti collected 8 points in nine games so far, only three points less than 10th placed Palermo. They are a tough side on their own turf, where they secured the only two victories this season, but they have scored only three goals. Draw seems most likely result, but AC Milan is still a slight favorite for victory, because, as Gattuso said in the previous mentioned statement, “they are Milan and they had to win because they were built to do so.”
