"Gyorgy Garics got it in stoppages, totally unmarked to volley in a Mannini cross from the left, as Milan had stopped playing some time ago."
That sentence alone truly sums up the way I feel about the game on Sunday. What is there to say when your team goes out and chokes it up in a game it has to win? To make matters worse they took fourth place out of their own hands and now have to rely on help from other teams to make fourth place a possibility.
I understand that Pirlo was suspended but this no longer an excuse. One of the comments said that this team is not AC Pirlo, and there are ten other players in the starting eleven and more on the bench that need to really pick this up and push in these situations. If the team was young like Arsenal then it would be easy for me to say that they were unable to get themselves up for the a pressure, but with all these veterans it is an impossible place to put blame. All of these players, save Pato, no exactly what it’s like to have your back to the wall and instead of fighting out of it they rolled over. Take nothing away from Napoli, this is a team that is a bear to beat at home, and after getting embarrassed at the San Siro in the second half of the last game one would expect them to play their hearts out, and they did. For a team to play that strongly with nothing to play for really leaves admiring and wishing for the same results.
Carletto just seems incapable at this point and time to get this team in gear for a big game. He opened cautiously and seemed to pay the price, and what made matters worse was his inclusion of Pato into a Seedorf role alongside Kaka. He needed offense but instead chose to hold back and counter. There is no shame in playing two or even three strikers when your team needs a win, at least when you lose there is no question about what could have been. When you lose you lose with everything on the pitch…
Next week is really going to be a photo finish. Milan welcomes Udinese, while Torini plays the Viola. Torino can role over here and still be safe, and quite frankly that scares me. Udinese is talented team who will play and strong despite their lack of form lately. It is hard for me to remain optimistic with this forecast, but as a fan you hope and hope some more. Their season was in the palm of their hands and they let it slip away.