Sunday's clash between Milan and Juventus illustrated that Serie A's "top clubs not only lack the intensity of their English Premier League counterparts, but they also have gaping holes in their starting XIs that need filling," writes Goal.com's Carlo Garganes. Garganes suggests the match was "so limp" that "it was like watching a training match."
Garganes points out the most glaring weaknesses in both team's lineups. "Ten or so years ago, Juve had the best triangle in world football in [Zinedine] Zidane, [Didier] Deschamps and [Edgar] Davids, now they have a provincial-standard duo in [Cristiano] Zanetti and [Christian] Poulsen," he says. The center of Milan's defense, meanwhile, has a combined age of 78. At 41, Paolo Maldini has been stellar. But he is retiring at the end of the year.
While [Claudio] Ranieri proclaimed Juventus "back" after the match, he should consider that Juventus hasn't won a game for almost two months. In its last six league games, its has tied five and lost won, failing to beat three of the bottom five teams. Though Milan has plenty of offensive firepower, it consistently puts out aging lineups that lack cutting edge. "This has been a Milan problem for a couple of years now – their family values are so strong that they are almost detrimental to the cause," Garganes says.