Ronnie delivers as we march on

Fantastic! This side of ours continues to amaze and defy expectations. It was not even our best performance of the year yet we cruised to victory following a nervy start to the game. As for Juve, they were simply terrible. They rarely threatened our goal let alone look like they could win the game. Their defending was terrible especially from set pieces where we scored out first two goals.

For us, the win places us eight points behind Inter with a game in hand. The Milan derby in two weeks has taken on a greater significance now as we can consider ourselves credible title challengers. Who would of thought? At the beginning of the season, so much was wrong at our club and the outlook particularly glum. But as of today we find ourselves edging closer to Inter in the title race with a team that is improving all the time.

Ronaldinho continues his renaissance and he really is not too far of his best. Though he will never have the same change of pace that he once did, he nonetheless is fast becoming our new talisman. His first goal had a slice of good fortune about it but his second was expertly taken in the midst of smoke and all. He was simply our match winner today in one of the biggest games of the season. Dunga take note.

What was most impressive about our side today was the consistency in performances across the pitch. Abate has improved immensely since his first few experiences at right back and despite being at fault for one goal last week against Genoa, he has started the new year in fine form. On the form he his displaying, he may just become our solution at full back.

The same can be said of Antonini who, I think, is fast becoming the revelation of the season. An unsung hero to say the least, Antonini has put in solid performances since be given a chance by Leo and is improving all the time. He has formed a wonderful understanding with Ronaldinho on the left. Today was no different for the Milan number 77.

I could go on about the performance of most if not all of our players for the whole team, from an individual perspective, played well. Borriello may not have scored, but he had some good touches and held the ball up well. Perhaps should have got into more dangerous situations, however, he deserves credit for his workrate. Becham was not at his best, however, he was still effective if only for periods in the match and he collected one assist in the dying minutes when he set up Ronaldinho.

It may not have been the prettiest match to watch though as Juve did well to stop us from playing our all-out attacking game. Yet, it was a professsional performance as we capitalised on the opportunities we did create and held out any threat presented by the Juve attack, as little as that may have been.

We were exceptional at the back. Nesta and Thiago again proving that their partnership is one of the best in Serie A. Thiago Silva was arguably the man of the match. He may not have scored, though he did come close with wonder effort in the first half. The Brazilian was comfortable on the ball and along with Nesta completely nullified any potential threat from either Diego and Amauri.

This win, together with the win against Genoa, has shown that playing a defensive midfielder instead of Seedorf and allowing Pirlo more freedom to roam and venture forward is perhaps a better formation. This is the real lesson from the last two games for me. The extra cover provided by Gattuso alleviates much of pressure and responsibility off Ambrosini who, along with Pirlo, has greatly benefitted from having Gattuso in the side. His man of the match performance against Genoa and another solid performance against Juve is testament.

Remember, against Palermo and Zurich last December, we were completely over run in midfield when playing with Seedorf, Pirlo and Ambrosini. But this year, even though his performances have not been great, Gattuso has provided much more security in midfield and by doing so has allowed Pirlo to do what he does best. This is why the Gattuso-Pirlo partnership has worked so well this past decade. Leo will do well to notice this and make the necessary changes. Two great wins in a row must surely be reason enough.

I have to admit that this team just continues to defy my expectations. I was confident of a win against Juve, but I did not expect us to win so comfortably in the end. Playing keep ball at the end of the match, where we just teased Juve and further frustrated their supporters, was something we have not seen from our side against Juve in a long time. But what a delight to see it again.

With our team improving all time along with the form of Ronaldinho, Inter better watch out, the Rossoneri are coming.