Austria Vienna 1-5 AC Milan: Player Ratings

Milan proved to be resilient after the flat-out humiliation at Lazio, and gained back some of their face with a spectacular 1-5 away win, where they without ifs , ands, or buts, put their opponents in the shade. They dominated the game from start to end, were solid in all departments throughout, and gave us an inkling of the great potential this squad has.

Gianluigi Donnarumma - 7.5

As usual, Gigio was solid and reliable between the sticks, and had a couple of good saves - other than that, he wasn’t really put through his paces in an untroubled night at Milan’s goal. There was little he could do to stop Vienna’s goal.

Leonardo Bonucci - 8

After a series of performances that were, in all fairness, not much to speak of, Bonucci put in a commanding performance tonight, closing down spaces and launching long-range passes upfield. It looks like the 3-5-2 formation fits him like a glove.

Romagnoli - 7.5

On the fast-track to full fitness after pulling through a nasty injury, Romagnoli will most certainly bring about a change of formation. He looked good, confident, the Romagnoli we recall from last year. Brings a note of vitality and energy to the defence.

Zapata - 6.5

Like the whole Milan back-line, Zapata looked good, as the team came close to keeping a clean sheet. He had a lapse of concentration, not managing to keep Borkovic in check when the Austria Vienna youngster headed the ball home at the start of the second half.

Abate - 6

Abate did well, without standing out. It is becoming increasingly clear who the starting right-back/wing-back on the right side will be for Milan this season, if it wasn’t already known. He’s lost part of his agility, speed, and the aggressive edge of his past days.

Antonelli - 6.5

Without cutting an impressive figure, he was dutiful defensively, and a presence in attack on occasion.

Lucas Biglia - 7.5

This comes pretty close to what we want to see from Biglia over the course of the season. He orchestrated the midfield, distributed accurate passes- including the one to Calhanoglu to set up the third goal of the evening- and was pivotal to how ‘together’ Milan looked.

Franck Kessie - 7

Good performance on the part of Kessie. A noticeable presence in midfield, and pitched in with an assist for Andre Silva to round out his hat-trick. Needs to keep along these lines and be more consistent down the road.

Calhanoglu - 9

Absolutely exhilarating performance from Calhanoglu, with an out-and-out inspiring first half, where he registered his first goal for Milan, as well as the first one of the evening, and set up the next two goals, both put away by Andre Silva. His resources and energy waned a bit in the second half, but the salient takeaway is the top-notch first-half show he put on.

Andre Silva - 10

Andre Silva’s performance goes to show the audacious amount of money Milan forked over for him in the summer weren’t one dime wasted, and while it’s perhaps soon to set about beating the drum for him, the fans got an inkling of just what exactly Silva can do leading the line when appropriately supported by creative midfielders. He spearheaded Milan’s attacking force, and is undoubtedly, along with Calhanoglu -and, I have to say, the system - the main takeaway from last night’s game. He hit the back of the net three times, walking home with the first hat-trick in Europe by a Milan player since Kaka, 2006.

Kalinic - 7

The limelight was taken up by SIlva, but while not stealing the show, Kalinic did remarkably well tonight. He slided the ball to Calhanoglu on seven minutes, for the Turkish international to register his first goal of the season, and distracted Vienna’s defence throughout, making it possible for Silva to have more space and less of the defence to push his way through. He will doubtlessly hit top form in a handful of games.

Subs:

Suso -7.5

Came in for Kalinic in the 62nd minute of the game, and made his mark within seconds, hammering away a beauty of a goal, though courtesy of a deflection as well.

Bonaventura -6.5

He got in on the act naturally, combining and passing the ball around well. Little by little he’s getting back to being the Jack before the injury.