Storari was man of the match

Milan’s woes continued after they failed once again to win against a determined Galletti. Marco Storari was man of the match for Milan making a string of world class saves to deny Bari. For Milan, Ronaldinho was again disappointing as was Huntelaar as the side again looked devoid of ideas. The pressure is really mounting on Leo as Milan drop another two points and once again failed to inspire confidence with their under-par performance.

First Half

Leo once again reshuffled the side in an attempt to change Milan’s fortunes. Abate took the place of Oddo at right back whilst Ronaldinho was given the nod to play up front alongside Huntelaar.

The first half started of in typical fashion with Milan dominating possession but still looking devoid of creativity. Whilst Milan dominated possession, Bari looked particularly dangerous on the break.

The first real decent attacking play came in the 20th minute of the first half. Abate picked out Huntelaar’s run in the box, who in turn played the ball inside to Seedorf however the Milan number 10 was unable to direct his shot.

The best opportunity came in 29 minutes when Rivas made a brilliant run down the left flank leaving Nesta and Kaladze in his wake before shooting wide from just inside the box. The young Argentinean should have at least hit the target with his shot but thankfully for us, he did not.

By this time in the half it was Bari who were creating all the opportunities with Rivas looking particlarly dangerous down the left flank.

Bari almost took the on 35 minutes when Bonucci headed in on goal from practically point blank range however Storari once again made an impressive save to keep match goaless.

In an attempt to make Milan a more of an attacking threat, Pirlo was pushed up to the left hand side of midfield. Milan effectively playing a 4-2-2-2. This improved the Milan attack but only marginally. The first half eventually coming to a close to the sounds of whistles from the Milanese faithful.

Second Half

No changes were made at half time as the second half started off in similar fashion to the first half. The first half chance fell to Ronldinho but his tame effort was easily dealth with by Gillet.

Bari almost again came close to finding the opener. The former Milan player Kutuzov with a cheeky curling effort from inside the box had Storari scrambling but his shot went wide.

On 53 minutes, an Andrea Pirlo free-kick from all of 30 yards out was thumbled by Gillet. Ronaldinho raced in for the follow up but incredibly he failed to hit the target with his header.

On 55 minutes, Seedorf who had a poor game was replaced by Pato as Milan continued to search for the opener.

Bari, again, almost took the lead moments later with a great shot from Rivas, but Storari made another great save. Donati was then given a great chance to score with Storari scrambling to get back into position but the ex-Milan player could not hit the target.

Just before the hour mark, Pato skipped by his man and pulled the ball back to Ronaldinho but his shot was well saved by Gillet.

It was another disappointing performance from Huntelaar and he duly was replaced by Inzaghi on 64 minutes.

Storari was again the hero for Milan with another great save, this time from Masiello. The ball was played to the Bari man well inside the penalty box, but his shot was kept out by the legs of Storari. Storari was single-handedly keeping the scores locked at nil-all.

Massimo Oddo was then brought on for the yet again disappointing Ronaldinho with Abate pushed further up field. As the substitution took place, whistles were heard from the crowd in a show of disapproval from Ronaldinho’s performance.

On 77 minutes, Storari was at it again when he produced yet another fine save this time from Meggiorini. A shot from the Bari substitute from inside the area was held on to by the Milan keeper.

Perhaps the best chance for Milan to snatch a victory came on 78 minutes when the ball fell invitingly for Abate. From about the penalty spot, the young Italian should of put the ball in the back of net however Gillet did well to get down and smother the attempt.

The last notable chance was a shot by Pirlo from an acute angle. As the game was drawn to a close by the referee, the Milan faithful greeted the side’s performance with whistles and jeers. The draw leaves Milan in 11th position.

Post match analysis

It was the same old story again. Milan comfortable retaining the majority of possession yet unable to convert that into goals or even opportunities.

Milan, to their credit, did manage to carve out a few more openings than they did in their lasting outing in Udine. However, Bari are not as strong as Udinese so this was to be expected.

There were oppportunities for Milan which may well have seen them pick up a vital victory. Andrea Pirlo’s freekick was one. From the follow up of Pirlo’s freekick Ronaldinho should have done better with his header. The Brazilian also had a another opportunity minutes later before Abate perhaps should have hit the back of the net with his golden chance on 78 minutes. But, Bari also had their opportunities too and had it not been for the heroics of Storari they may well have scored at least once.

Milan still looked devoid of ideas and movement in the final third. Their play is too slow and predictable. As a result, as an attacking force they simply are not threatening enough, nowhere near enough in fact.

I have said it before and I will say it again. Ronaldinho is finished. He has not even improved from his preseason performances let alone get anywhere near his past best. He is too slow and sluggish. The fact that he is starting for Milan says it all about the club’s current situation.

The performances of Huntelaar are concerning. Though I believe that he is suffering from the teams dismal attacking play, I do believe that his performances could nonetheless be better. His positional sense is completely off as when Milan do create chances or get crosses into the box he is nowhere to be seen.

Though I was behind the decision to play Ronaldinho up front alongside Huntelaar in attack following his performance against Udinese, playing Ronaldinho alongside Huntelaar only made the Milan attack more predictable. Ronaldinho becomes the obvious focal point of the attack whilst Huntelaar the only real option further up. At times Seedorf provides an option but not nearly enough as the Dutchman prefers to create play.

With Zambrotta not getting forward and with Abate still learning his trade at right back, Milan lack options going forward. In addition, both Gattuso and Ambrosini provide virtually no attacking threat whatsoever. Their strengths are performing the necessary defensive duties yet even with this they are struggling.

Considering our lack of attacking options when going forward perhaps we need a more attack minded midfield. Do we really need to play with two defensive midfielders? Given our lack of goals and our lack of ability to create chances, it may be a wise decision to use one of either Gattuso, Flamini or Ambrosini. Pirlo then can be played alongside Seedorf and Ronaldinho in support of two attackers.

Ideas as to how to get this to performing are fast disappearing. Leo has tried every combination possible in attack and nothing really seems to be working. So dare I mention it again, but it is simply due to the lack of quality and youth in the side. It is team full of players well past their prime and on the wrong side of thirty.

On a more positive note, for it is important to highlight the positives in such times, we should be thankful to the rather unlikely hero of the season so far for Milan and that is Marco Storari. No one said much about Storari’s return to Milan over the summer and still not too many are. But the fact is that Marco Storari has had a fantastic start to the season and his performance against Bari is testimony.

If it were not for Storari, Milan may not even have claimed a point as the Milan number one made a string of fine saves to deny the Galletti. His form has been consistent too and surely was the man of the match for Milan.

Still on the positive side it was good to see Abate playing as right back. Though not as effective as we may have all hoped, the young Italian did get forward on occasion which is more than what can be said about Zambrotta.