Milan were held to 1-1 draw against PSV in their CL qualifier as the Dutch side , coming into the encounter with five competitive games under their belts—all of which they won and any preseason doubts about how they'd fair without top-scorer Dries Mertens, now of Napoli, and with Phillip Cocu on the bench were quickly dispelled as they showed why they are termed as scout's paradise.
Milan had history with PSV and the Philips Stadion, too. In 2005, the Rossoneri lost there, but they progressed thanks to a win at home, and in 2006 they were bested by the Dutch side in the group phase of the competition.
The Eredivisie runners-up haven't featured in the Champions League group stages since 2009, but they have pedigree, including 12 appearances between 1997 and 2008. In that context, coming away with a 1-1 draw might be seen as a positive. Stephan El Shaarawy's early header means that Milan have the away-goal advantage, even though they'll be disappointed to have drawn the game thanks to Tim Matavž's exploitation of a Christian Abbiati error. PSV were the more impressive side on the night against Milan, even with El Shaarawy's goal.
The home side had twice as many shots on target, and were missing star-man Zakaria Bakkali, a 17-year-old who's scored four goals already this season. Assuming he's fit, they'll be a better side in Milan and more dangerous for having learned from their mistakes in the first leg. PSV hammered Napoli 3-0 in Eindhoven and then won 3-1 in Naples in last season's Europa League.
Since Silvio Berlusconi vowed to tighten the purse strings at Milanello a couple of seasons ago, the focus has been on youth development and long-term planning. With PSV, the benefits of such an approach are easy to see.
They've sold Mertens toNapoli, the influential midfielder Kevin Strootman to Roma, and Mark van Bommel' has retired. Yet they still look solid. The seven-times winners not only see elite European competition as the least to be expected of a club of their stature, the tournament now has a financial imperative. Milan are desperate not only to balance the books, but also to invest money into the squad, something that will be nigh on impossible without the big cheque from UEFA. From a footballing standpoint, losing out to the Dutch would have disastrous consequences for Milan and for Max Allegri.
Berlusconi isn't the coach's biggest fan, and though the pair now have something of an entente cordiale, there are few who believe the peace would withstand failure to qualify. Progression will get Allegri's side off to the right start. Failure will almost surely result in the manager losing his job and the side being thrown into turmoil.
A new manager will be hard to find and he'll have little to spend. It should be too early to even think this, but Milan's season hangs in the balance.
Milan had history with PSV and the Philips Stadion, too. In 2005, the Rossoneri lost there, but they progressed thanks to a win at home, and in 2006 they were bested by the Dutch side in the group phase of the competition.
The Eredivisie runners-up haven't featured in the Champions League group stages since 2009, but they have pedigree, including 12 appearances between 1997 and 2008. In that context, coming away with a 1-1 draw might be seen as a positive. Stephan El Shaarawy's early header means that Milan have the away-goal advantage, even though they'll be disappointed to have drawn the game thanks to Tim Matavž's exploitation of a Christian Abbiati error. PSV were the more impressive side on the night against Milan, even with El Shaarawy's goal.
The home side had twice as many shots on target, and were missing star-man Zakaria Bakkali, a 17-year-old who's scored four goals already this season. Assuming he's fit, they'll be a better side in Milan and more dangerous for having learned from their mistakes in the first leg. PSV hammered Napoli 3-0 in Eindhoven and then won 3-1 in Naples in last season's Europa League.
Since Silvio Berlusconi vowed to tighten the purse strings at Milanello a couple of seasons ago, the focus has been on youth development and long-term planning. With PSV, the benefits of such an approach are easy to see.
They've sold Mertens toNapoli, the influential midfielder Kevin Strootman to Roma, and Mark van Bommel' has retired. Yet they still look solid. The seven-times winners not only see elite European competition as the least to be expected of a club of their stature, the tournament now has a financial imperative. Milan are desperate not only to balance the books, but also to invest money into the squad, something that will be nigh on impossible without the big cheque from UEFA. From a footballing standpoint, losing out to the Dutch would have disastrous consequences for Milan and for Max Allegri.
Berlusconi isn't the coach's biggest fan, and though the pair now have something of an entente cordiale, there are few who believe the peace would withstand failure to qualify. Progression will get Allegri's side off to the right start. Failure will almost surely result in the manager losing his job and the side being thrown into turmoil.
A new manager will be hard to find and he'll have little to spend. It should be too early to even think this, but Milan's season hangs in the balance.
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