5-1 to Milan

Saw Milan pummel Udinese tonight. 5-1, with Pato and Kaka doing doubles. Remarkably pretty, but a bit disturbing. It was 3-1 after eighteen minutes. There was no defence to speak of. There was expansive passing, incisive moves and attacking formations. It wasn't the Serie A as I remember from the TV. 

What's the deal with Italian football now? What's with all these goals?

Mind you, I'm not really complaining. No team with Pato, Kaka and Ronaldinho leading the line can play anything other than beautiful football. Kaka is mesmerising. Pato is clinical. And Ronaldinho is Ronaldinho. He's a circus act in the middle of a football field. He does the flicks and step-overs that lesser Brazilians would baulk at. Once, instead of kicking the ball out to touch, he flicked it up, swished it behind him and back-heeled it over the line. Yes, he's unfit and lazy and he's not the player he once was, but he's still Ronaldinho. 

And the San Siro is so beautiful at night. I've only ever been to functional stadiums here in Europe, such as the athletic track/football stadiums of Roma and Napoli, or the soullessly corporate Emirates in London. In contrast, the San Siro is beautiful, from the winding stairwells that line the perimeter and the roof that's suspended above the stands, to the sight-lines within the stadium and... I don't know, it's just a perfect football stadium. 

And the Arsenal drew 1-1 against Liverpool. I was somewhere between Genoa and Milan at the time, so I've no idea what happened. A quick glance at the table shows that we're 5th, about 3 points behind Aston Villa. Wenger had better start acting like a proper manager soon, because it's starting to look scary.