AC Milan see off Craiova to progress in Europa League

It was an electrifying atmosphere today at the San Siro as 60,000+ fans watched as Milan made their home return to Europe, and it couldn't have gone much better. Milan went up 1-0 early in the 9' after a corner bounced out to Bonaventura who put it in the corner for the Rossoneri. Moments before, a ball bounced out to Kessie about 23 yards out and he hit a beauty, but unfortunately Cutrone, who had taken the original shot that was deflected out to Kessie, was offsides. Donnarumma was called into action when a through ball found an open man for the Romanian side 1-on-1 with Gigio, but a superb save saw it out. I

It was early in the second half when Cutrone was able to score his first competitive goal with the Rossoneri when a set piece found its way off a Craiova player and into the young Italian's path some 4-5 yards from the goal. Milan, while giving way to one or two chances to the Romanian side, was ultimately the better team today (expect to hear that significantly more than last year).

Niang, Suso, Cutrone, Bonaventura, Rodriguez, you name a player and he probably had a chance parried by the keeper at some point. Milan were constantly on attack and all credit to Conti and Rodriguez for consistently making themselves a part of the attack, though the former had a glaring miss in front of the goal after Suso's shot was parried away. Suso and Conti gave us a glimpse of the problem they'll be for opposing defenses this season. Locatelli was a nice step up from the drab performance we saw from Montolivo last week. Overall, while there a few things to work on, Milan deserved this victory. The Rossoneri return to action on the 21st, against Crotone.

Player Ratings:

Donnarumma - 7

Rodriguez - 6.5

Musacchio - 6.5

Zapata - 5.5

Conti - 6.5

Bonaventura - 7 (MOTM)

Locatelli - 6.5

Kessie - 7

Niang - 5.5

Cutrone - 6.5

Suso - 6.5

Subs:

Andre Silva - 6

Calhanoglu - 5.5

Borini - Wasn't on pitch long enough