By DAN KARELL
Two of Italy’s giants meet for the first time this season as AC Milan host unbeaten AS Roma (2:45pm, beIN Sport USA).
AC Milan is mired in the bottom half of the table as they’ve struggled to establish themselves in Serie A, although they did make it out of the UEFA Champions League group stage. Meanwhile, though they’ve slowed down, AS Roma were the hottest team in Italy, winning their first ten matches and remaining unbeaten through 15 games. The two clubs tied the last time they met at the San Siro, though Roma had the better of Milan last December when the two faced off at the Stadio Olimpico as Roma stormed off to a 4-2 victory.
American midfielder Michael Bradley starts today for Roma while captain Francesco Totti makes his second straight appearance on the bench since he suffered a thigh injury in early October. Mario Balotelli, Kaka, and Ricardo Montolivo all start for the Rossoneri today.
If you will be watching today’s action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action.
All in all a decent first full game back for Bradley. It is apparent his timing is still a little off,
Tough angle, but a slightly better struck ball would have gotten that thing over the line. A precision strike would have given him less lob, more drive, same angle. The header was not on frame, and a few shots went errand or were not taken. He kept his motor going and was involved. A true box to box mid. This is why I feel most comments are correct in both assumptions, Bradley is good and vital going forward, and he is necessary in defending in the back.
Had a revelation seeing him, it reminded me a little bit of Claude Makelele.
Something I thought Edu could develop into if he put his mind to it.
However MB has begun to master that role and style of play and Bradley is a true asset to the USMNT. Still Scratching my head about Aston Villa, They just must of had some bias or just did not see what everybody else see’s and knows. However Sunderland made a 10 million bid for MB and was rejected by Roma. Forza AS Roma!
Why are people on this site so stupid now?
I thought Bradley had a solid game. Only downside was not finishing his chances but he made several great runs (including the one that set him up for the missed header), won lots of tackles/interceptions, and was tidy passing the ball until the last 5 or so minutes.
Strootman was the standout though. What a player. I can see why Bradley can’t get a game when they’re at full strength (Pjanic, Strootman, De Rossi). MB should start again next week though with both De Rossi and Strootman suspended.
Granted he was playing for Pjanic, which means he was playing much further up the pitch and attacking than usual, but his lack of quality in the final third cost Roma the game. I don’t know what game people here are watching. Bradley was the place Roma’s scoring chances went to die.
This is ridiculous. Bradley is a midfielder who played well. He made numerous excellent passes and played good defense. If anyone cost Roma the 3 points, it was Gervinho, who is paid to score goals, who had several excellent chances which he failed to convert. One in particular was when he was in on goal and had a clear shot, hesitated, and allowed a defender to close down and then block his delayed shot. He often looked threatening, but mostly showed why Arsenal gave up on him.
Looks like Bradley is getting killed on Twitter by fans…
Yeah I saw, a lot of harsh criticism/ hate for him, I thought he had a decent game
fans always overreact to missed sitters. coaches know better.
Didn’t get a chance to watch, but the commentary here seemed positive. I’m assuming people just think it’s fun to hammer players and get snarky via tweet.
He looked slow in chasing the ball the last 5 minutes and gave the ball away everytime at the end. Overall he had a decent game as everyone looked tired at the end. It looked like a heavyweight fight. Bradley did send a dangerous ball over the top on the play where Emmanuelson got knocked out by his own goalie. C+ rating.
Commentators say bradley was slow in distributing the ball in the second half
Perhaps at the very end
overall they said he had a great game though (beIN Sport commentators). which he did. almost drew a PK, drew a few free kicks, had a goal-bound shot from an impossible angle saved off the line, distributed well, etc. of course he did miss that header which he should have done better on and he did drop off a bit in the 2nd half until the last 10 minutes or so.
I agree, he looked tired near the end of the match
Bradley has to take advantage of at leas one of his chances.
Muntari with the equalizer, 2-2 78th. Bradley still looking strong but did miss a header he could have buried.
IMHO AS Roma’s goalkeeper is too blame on that goal. A goalkeeper should always get those near post shots. Too slow for me.
he could have, but that was a rocket. Balotelli made a nice pass, Muntari with a great touch to beat the defender, and then he smashed the ball hard and low.
Balotelli made the play for sure. All grit. Still, a goalkeeper should get those. I bet Timmy would have. haha 😀
1 – 2 Roma…73rd minute
Glad Bradley missed both his chances
I would like to point out how beautiful those AS Roma jerseys are.
I would love to buy one but at 150 dollars plus shipping…well, that’s a little too much.
Hmm I noticed with roma Bradley doesn’t go into the attack much, even on the break his teammates will rush up and he doesn’t force himself up. Different from what a lot of us fans want from him when playing for the USA, as I hear a lot of fans saying they want jones defending and Bradley attacking. Overall good decent game by him by the way, but just missed a clear header unmarked
You make a great point. I am one of those who want him more in the attack but I hear what you are saying. Definitely something to think about…
Yeah maybe we’ve been thinking about it wrong, if jones attacks that might equal less yellow cards and fouls, or maybe Geoff Cameron can be his partner and we all know Geoff is perfectly capable of playing in the attack
Whether I think about that pass that MB90 made to F. Johnson for that goal against Brazil two years ago, I think, “He really needs to be in the attack with those passing skills.”.
I am totally against Jones and Bradley together. That pairing doesn’t play out as it should, ever. It simply doesn’t work.
I think they are the two best players for that position we have. But the saying goes “the best teams wins, not the best players”. So yeah I think they are the best but the pairing isn’t always the best. So are you pushing for a Bradley Cameron partnership?
Honestly, I think Cameron is the new RB.
I would love to see more of Mix. I think he is great. If not him, than Sacha.
The thing is on paper it’s great; in reality it is 9 out of 10 times either terrible or a disaster.
Jones should be a sub in my opinion. His abilities have dropped off greatly this last year or so.
According to our World Cup group I would not put much confidence with mix, I agree with atx_collin that for our group, jones intensity might be best, but maybe if chandler comes back and Cameron is in reall good form and jones form drops, I wouldn’t mind Timmy at rb and a Geoff Bradley partnership
I would say that at this point in his career, Mix doesn’t deal with physicality very well, which presents a problem if he’s paired with anyone who can’t compensate for that (basically, the only Mix-based pairings that make sense are Jones-Mix or Bradley-Mix). Even if he’s paired with Bradley, I’m not sure that what he adds to the attack surpasses what Bradley would contribute in a more attacking role, and I think that shifting Bradley back into a more defensive role actually constitutes a drop-off from what Jones offers in that same role (even if Jones does wonder forward more often than many posters here would prefer).
I think the debate over replacing Jones is really a case of the grass always looking greener on the other side of the fence. Cameron, Sacha, and Mix are good players with valuable strengths. However, Jones is a better 2-way player than any of them, and if you swapped 1 of them in for Jones, the negative effect of removing his versatility on the midfield pairing would become apparent pretty quickly.
(Keep in mind, this is not are argument against Klinnsman trying out other midfield pairings, just my prediction of the most likely results of such an experiment)
I understand the shortcoiming MB90 &Jones have as a partnership, and while many of those shortcoming fall on Jones, I still like the bite and intensity the pairing brings to the table. With the group we are in I feel Jones and Bradley is a must.
Mix gets pushed off the ball to easily thats his only weakness
he’s actually been playing pretty forward today. more of a #8 than a #6. the first half especially. but he has dropped back a little in the 2nd. but de Rossi got an early yellow, so that could be playing into it.
Oh ok sorry I didn’t see the first half, but in the second he has definitely been more reserved
agreed. he picks his opportunities to move forward well. all game he sits in the mid just cutting off lanes, then he pops up in the box for a header.
exactly. that was the praise the commentator had for him today. said he is one of the best midfielders in the world, his words, at getting into great positions. he mentioned that on Bradley’s header. he said that then noted that Bradley should have done better. and he was right.
I would prefer Bradley stayed back more for USA. Problem with Bradley going forward so much for the USA is the limitations on who he could be pared with. He can’t be pared with Diskerud, Corona, Torres and not that well with Jones. Some are saying Bradley and Cameron in the middle but thats too defensive.
Michael Bradley was probably more involved in the attack more today than any other match for Roma. He made multiple runs into the box prompting the the announcer to say that “He is one of the best midfielders in the world at making runs into space”. What game were you watching noob?
He just missed a sitter. Unbelievable.
It looked like a timing issue where the ball got there a little bit late (probably Bradley’s fault), and Bradley wasn’t able to reach his neck back far enough to get anything decent on it. The header wasn’t as easy as the announcers claim.
Sounds like MB having a decent game, bring on more details, bored minds at the job would love to know.
+1
I just came into this at the beginning of the second half.
AS Roma is the real deal this season. AC Milan is a serious let-down. With all those names and famous faces one would expect more.
Bradley is playing well. His usual role of breaking up attacks, passing the ball with pinpoint accuracy and moving the ball up-field. He is clearly the best US player ever produced. He is all class.
Nope, I am.
….nope, I am!
Playing well, picking off balls, getting forward, distributing well, putting himself in great spots but not taking his chances. He could easily have a couple goals.
+1
That sums it up well.
For future reference: http://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/bradley-ac-milan-vs-roma-12-16.1998173/
One of the reasons Bradley so important to us. Quick first touches to start the counter
Bradley, take the shot!!
According to the Pundits Kaka is allowed to push people in the Back. They specifically say the Back is okay…. right….
Gervinho so fast, but so slow to make decisions with the ball.
Yep same as when he was in the EPL
Bradley so close!!!!! replay shows a TINY portion of the ball did not cross the line. so a great call. but that is too bad for Bradley! that would have been right after Milan’s equalizer (Munatri assist). 1-1 33rd minute
Bradley JUST missing a goal which spun off the line as well as drawing a penalty which probably should have been called.
MB almost with a goal, but the replay confirms it didnt go all the way over. Could have done better, but involved at least.
Could have done better?? It’s amazing he got it that close. ZERO angle
Couldn’t really do much better. No angle so would have had to have a ton of English on the bounce.
Could have used his a$$, scored it Chicharito style? I kid, I kid.
Wow, That angle!
Bradley has a goal cleared off the line! Nice effort
Bradley playing pretty good at attacking mid so far. Needs to be a little more assertive.
de jong almost giving up a PK to Bradley. Bradley looks lively and playing well. and with de Rossi’s yellow card, he is out the next game, essentially ensuring Bradley starts next weekend.
as i type this, Bradley with another fantastic interception in Roma’s attacking half that leads to a chance.
great goal, 1-0 Roma.
Bradley and Muntari lining up against each other.