1. The surprisingly impressive defending
The defense did a good job in keeping Madrid's attack led by Ronaldo, Benzerma and Bale under control. They managed to limit Madrid to only 14 shots on goal in which only 3 was on target. The first combination between Ely and Alex looks solid and more surprisingly, the Mexes and Palleta pair which were full of shambles last season played quite well and difficult to break through. Even Zapata, looks good. Maybe Sinisa's training is bearing fruit. Having said that, it does not hide from the fact we still need reinforcement in this department cause consistency with the players available is still unproven (last season proves that)
2. The attack is not the finish article but showed a lot of promise
Niang was threathening as usual, but scoring goals is still his main problem. Carlos Bacca is the most promising of them all, his positioning and movement was brilliant. That's why he was so successful in La Liga. There will be more from him to come. His combination with Adriano hasn't click yet but there were glimps of success. Bacca almost won us the game at the end when he beat two defenders in a quick break and slam a shot that was saved by Casilla. Adriano were the one who created the chance for him. Hopefully, we will see more of that this season.
3. The team looks more resolute under Mihajlovic
It's nice to see how this Milan team works hard and putting pressure on their opponent. It's been a long time since we seen this.They defended well and were excellent in counter attack. Even players such as Mexes and Paletta showed plenty of motivation in putting their bodies on the line. A rare sight from last season. Plus, attacking players such as Mauri and Honda played their part in going back and tracking down to help the defense to win back possesion.
These three are the positives that I can identify from today's game. Now, bearing in mind we did beat them 4-2 in last season's friendly, and we should not get too over excited, but it really does look promising. The probable addition of Ibra and Romagnoli or even Witsel will do us no harm either. Thinking about those arrivals (if it happens), really gets me excited.
The negatives: Montolivo really needs to raise his game, he's the captain and he need to prove himself to be in the first team. He needs to find his form. Last but no least, we need to score goals, dominating games, great movements and ability to create opportunities will mean nothing if we can't score goals. These however does not deter the fact that based on today's game, we will have something to look forward to this coming season.
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