Milan 1 Torino 0

It is amazing the stupidity you see on Twitter during a match. The pitchforks were sharpened, and the Couch Coaches were just as eager to celebrate a point lost as they were anticipating a win. Those who believed and shouldered on were rewarded with a classic late season hard fought win. The sort of result that puts a W on the stat sheet, but doesn't always tell the story. It was ugly, ugly to the point of frustration, but a win is a win is a win, and to those ready to skewer Max, maybe you should try rooting for three points instead of a dropped points. Waiting to say I told you so is sad, and comparing Max to a weatherman when you are the one who is more often wrong is sad.

So for those who believed and hung in there, it was Super Mario who rewarded us yet again. I like many was hoping for a Pazzo and Balo dou up front, and a bit of rest for El Sharaawy, but it would seem Max did not forget the last time he rested El Sharaawy and the reaction from those with the benefit of hindsight. The lineup was a struggle from the start, without Monty, there was a very clear disconnect from defense to attack. Muntari was chosen to fill in and his passing stats on the day were actually quite good, but the range was lacking. Connecting 39 passes in the first half was a Monty-esque number, but getting the ball forward was a struggle. Boateng picked the wrong day to have a rough outing, he was energetic, but often wasteful. He did well to come back and collect the ball as did El Sharaawy but any semblance of attacking phases for Milan were foiled by Torino's nine man defensive effort. Two such defenders were Darmian and Ogbonna, one a former Milan youth product, the other a Milan target. Both proved effective on this day and many can see why Sir Alex is ready to swoop for Angelo Ogbonna, which means Uncle Fester better get cracking.

Defensively Milan struggled, but it seemed at times to be more a product of pace and poor recovery when Torino won the ball. It needs to be said that the player's disappointed today as their lack of execution and urgency was evident, this will probably fall on the shoulders of Max Allegri who clearly failed to do push the button in the locker room that reminds the players how important a game is!? Like all late season Milan matches the team sometimes fails to execute in turn making things interesting, Torino certainly did enough to earn a draw, but Balotelli made it certain Milan took a win.

Three points is three points, and despite an average to below average performance two straight wins and a bit of a wiggle room in the standings was a relief today. So before you commence writing the eulogy of a team, Coach, or performance remember football matches are ninety minutes long and sometimes the result you hope for and the result you get are not the same. I will take the win each and every time.