In Rome on Saturday night, Milan had a great chance to make up ground on the Nerazzurri if they could beat Roma. The clash between the two sides was meant to decide who was going to be Inter’s main challenge for the title.

While the scoreline does not reveal much about which team is more capable of taking the title away from Inter, the contrasting performances of the two sides does.

Milan absolutely dominated the match, apart from the opening exchanges. It was a performance more than worthy of three points. It was a performance that should have sent shock waves rippling through Manchester and the blue half of Milan.

But, unfortunately it did not because of the simple fact that Milan failed to score. And how they failed to score is a mystery!

Ronaldinho, Huntelaar and Flamini all missed great chances to score but the main culprit of the night was of course Marco Borriello.

Recently, after a number of impressive displays and a good tally of goals, I was forced to change my position on the rejuvenated Marco Borriello as I came to accept his position as our number one striker.

However, this was done somewhat reluctantly for although he had earned the right to be our number one choice up front, it was his quality that always remained in doubt. Borriello’s wastefulness in Rome was a reminder of this lack of quality.

If Milan end up trophy-less this season, Borriello may well look back to this game and ponder what might have been along with the rest of the squad. In what should have been a night that showed the world that Milan are still very much a force to be reckoned, it instead highlighted Milan’s main problem. That is, the lack of a truly world class striker.

But Borriello is not solely to blame. For the most glaring miss of the night was when Huntelaar, late in the second half skied his header over the bar from the six yard area after Pirlo did ever so well to pick him out. It would have been easier to hit the target than miss it altogether.

Despite Milan’s failure to score, there are a number of positives to draw from this match. In fact, there are many.

Above all, Milan’s play was of the highest level. It was dominating and stylish. Leo has made Milan one of the most attractive sides to watch in Europe.

The performance of Mathieu Flamini was also a major positive. The Frenchman showed his relentless persistence for a starting role. And after such a performance, he more than deserves a starting role for the United game in a couple of days.

It was also good to see Antonini get a good run. It was another stellar performance by the much travelled Italian and his return from injury is a welcome development in time for the United game.

Another real positive to draw upon was the nice linking up between Huntelaar and Borriello. It is comforting to know that even with Pato out and Mancini unavailable, which meant a slight altering to the shape of the front line, Milan were still able to put in a dominant show as their attacking play hardly seemed affected by the changes.

Whilst there were numerous positives to draw from the match, Milan’s wastefulness in front of goal may come back to haunt them.

It was a relief to watch the Grifoni hold Inter to a nil all draw at home. This keeps the distance between Milan and Inter at just four points. Though this can be seen as a relief, it is very much a disappointment also.

With Inter dropping yet more points, it was a great chance to up the pressure on the Nerazzurri and close the gap.

Milan’s failure to score and take the game in Rome may have consequences later on if Milan fail to catch Inter. But, with Inter only managing a draw there is hope still. The 2009-10 Serie A title is still within Milan’s grasp.