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Milan's 'comeback kids' draw against Lazio
Posted - 2nd March 2008
Milan struggled to equalise with Lazio last night, leaving them at the mercy of Fiorentina for that crucial fourth-place in Serie A. If the Tuscan team win today, it will put them four points ahead of Carlo Ancelotti's comeback kids.
'Comeback kids' or just 'kids' - that's the question the Milan team fielded last night poses. Plagued by injuries and the important up-coming clash with Arsenal, Ancelotti played all of the new talent he could muster last night. Kaka, Nesta, Ambrosini (who, though, came on in the second half) and Pirlo were all absent, and half-way through the first half Clarence Seedorf had to come off, suffering from a pulled muscle (which will probably seem him miss next week's game with Arsenal). This left new names like Pato and Paloschi to lead the attack. Both have been sighted as the answer to all of Milan's problems, but were put in an unenviable position last night unable to rely on the experience of Milan's strong midfield to supply them with decent balls to work with. Both have, prior to last night, had some great moments when brought on by Ancellotti within the framework of the established team. Against Lazio there was to be no glory, though.
There were moments of inspiration - with Pato, in particular, shining through in the first half, but Lazio presumably having learnt a valuable lesson from the recent draws forced on Milan by sides like Catania, decided to hold back and contain Milan for the first half. They created little, launching balls on the counter-attack, but managed to effectively put the pressure on Milan by holding them to 0-0.
With the exit of Seedorf, at half-time Ancelotti further revolutionised his team formation, bringing on Rodrigo Izecson dos Santos Leite for his Serie A debut. The ex-Rimini player (serieB) is better known as Digao, or perhaps better still as Kaka's younger brother. It would be unfair to blame events on his shoulders - but the second half opened with a revitalised Lazio, who changed tack and fell upon the Milan defence with a determination that saw a number of chances opening up. Kalac showed some serious mettle, in particular saving a great blast from Macedonian striker Pandev. He could do little, though, when Rolando Bianchi, the ex-Reggina and Manchester City striker got to toe in a ball from his team-mate Tommaso 'Lazio for Life' Rocchi.
Milan showed spirit in coming back, but spirit without substance in most cases. In the end they received a penalty, when during a corner kick Kakhaber (Kakha) Kaladze had his shirt pulled in the box. Massimo Oddo stepped up to the spot, and put his team back in the game - at least in theory. In practice, though, while Milan dominated the possesion from that point onwards, they failed to capitalise on it. They were unlucky, perhaps, as they came close on a number of occasions to putting in the winner, and Pato's future certainly looks bright (after a dissapointing debut in the Champions League). Things, though, remain in the balance for the club, and for Carlo Ancelotti in particular. He has little time to salvage a pretty disastrous season. A fourth place finish, which remains frustratingly elusive, will be the minimum required surely to keep him in his job. On the other hand, should Milan shine in the Champions League, as they so often do, all may be forgiven. Let's not forget that the team won the World Club championships as well.
Speculation has been rife that Milan are searching for a replacement, with Marcello Lippi being the most recent big name cited. How confident Ancelotti should be in the expressions of support that are coming from the club - vice-president Galliani recently told reporters that Milan would 100% have Carlo Ancelotti on the bench next year - remains to be seen.
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