Cesena-AC Milan: Rossoneri Awful, But 2-0 Loss Not the End of the World

It could not have been any worse. In the week leading up to this match, Milan were being billed as "favourites" for the Scudetto following the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho. The acquisition of these two players also sparked a wave of optimism amongst the Milan tifosi as to Milan's chances for success this season.

However, such hype was comprehensively extinguished as Milan were humbled by lowly Cesena, a team that was playing its first home match in the Serie A for 19 years.

Why Milan and its new stars failed to deliver is not a simple question, and there is no simple answer.

Certainly, new coach Max Allegri needs to accept some of the blame. Allegri's opposite number, Massimo Ficcadenti, set out his team with a sound tactical plan that Allegri had no answer for. Ficcadenti's team sat deep and allowed Milan to retain possession, whilst they were exceptional in not allowing Ronaldinho, Pato, and Ibrahimovic any space in dangerous areas.

What this match against Cesena also showed was that whilst Milan have one of the best attacking lineups in Europe, on paper at least, the team is still lacking in other areas of the pitch.

The entire Milan defence was a shambles. Luca Antonini, so often a bright spark for Milan at the back, was continually tormented by Cesena's Ezequiel Schelotto, whilst he failed to offer anything in attack. Daniele Bonera once again showed that he can not offer anything playing as a full back, and even in central defence he seems to be more of a liability than anything else.

But, worst of all for Milan at the back, was the performance of both central defenders, Sokratis and Thiago Silva. Thiago Silva has a habit of not playing well when Alessandro Nesta is absent. Against Cesena on Saturday night, this was no different.

Most concerning of all for Milan in defence was the hopeless performance of Sokratis. Still only 22 years of age, Sokratis is a highly rated young defender. But, his display against Cesena was nothing short of shambolic as he was guilty of being badly positioned for both of Cesena's goals.

It is all well and good to sign players like Robinho and Ibrahimovic. They are the kind of players that Milan needed and they will come good eventually. However, in being preoccupied about building a world-class attack full of players that will sell Milan shirts, the defence has been neglected and on Saturday night Milan paid for this and it will not be the last time.

Without Alessandro Nesta, Milan are a different team. Worryingly for Milan is that Nesta, as with every season, will miss a number of games as age continues to catch up with him. Without Nesta, another result like that seen on Saturday night is a near-certainty.

It is the same story with the midfield. Sure, Clarence Seedorf, Mathieu Flamini and Prince may have not been available to play and with their presence things could and probably would have been different. Nonetheless, it is the midfield that is still the greatest weakness of this current Milan side.

Ideally, a new midfielder should have arrived in the summer, as the club simply cannot afford to rely on the likes of Gennaro Gattuso and, at times, Clarence Seedorf, to keep delivering for the club. Mathieu Flamini's capacity to deliver is also questionable given his so far unspectacular spell at the San Siro.

Injuries are part and parcel of the game and it will not be the last time that Allegri is forced to field a midfield comprised of Pirlo, Ambrosini, and Gattuso.

The main issue with this midfield trio on the weekend was that Pirlo is the only ball-playing midfielder. Both Gattuso and Ambrosini are only useful performing defensive duties, though the former struggles with even this task these days.

Unfortunately, the defensive and midfield issues presented here cannot be resolved any time soon, not least until the January transfer market.

But, one issue that was clearly present on the weekend and that needs to be solved sooner rather than later is that of getting Ronaldinho, Pato, and Ibrahimovic to form an understanding that will make them the most feared attacks in the world.

All teams have deficiencies, even the great ones. But, it is also crucial that whatever strengths a team has that the team plays in order to make the most of them. For Milan, it is the job of Allegri to achieve this with Ronaldinho, Ibrahimovic, and Pato with Robinho also being included too. Not an easy job given the strong personalities of Ronaldinho and Ibrahimovic in particular.

But, if Milan are to have any chances of success this season, this is the one issue that is possible to fix now and after the weekend's calamity, Allegri surely must know this.