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AC Milan opened the season against Udinese with an extremely disgraceful performance. Giampaolo put a cobbled together starting eleven claiming that they knew his system the best. This starting eleven saw players like Fabio Borini and Samu Castillejo getting the start. This proved to be catastrophic for Milan as the team looked worse than last year. During the first 45 minutes Milan didn't create any chances and almost everyone on the squad looked uncomfortable. When the first half came to an end things did not look good for Milan and Udinese looked the more dangerous side.
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— AC Milan (@acmilan) August 25, 2019
Teething problems as our season opener ends in defeat
Esordio amaro in questa #SerieATIM 2019/20#UdineseMilan 1-0 #ForzaMilan pic.twitter.com/qaVQphnlQk
Giampaolo decided not to make any substitutions and Udinese continued to dominate. Again Milan looked lost and this finally got exploited when Udinese scored off a corner in the 72nd minute. Giampaolo decided to bring on Franck Kessie and new signings Leao and Bennacer but sadly nothing could fix the team in this match. After the 90 minutes Milan lost 1-0. Ending the match with zero shots is not promising. Yes this is the first match of a new season but you'd have to believe the team would be more competitive than this.
Now let’s look at these shameful performances and rate the players. Leave your comments in the comment section below! Follow us on Twitter @SBNRossonero
STARTING LINE-UP
Gianluigi Donnarumma: Gigio might be the only player that showed up during this match. He didn't have much to do but the saves he made were vital to keep the match close. 7/10
Davide Calabria: Well Calabria’s pre-season struggles have continued into the regular season. Time and time again Calabria gave the ball away and he was poor on defence. 4.5/10
Matteo Musacchio: New year and same Matteo Musacchio. He continues to have lack marking skills that are required in Serie A. However Musacchio is still the best option that Milan have until Mattia Caldara comes back. 5/10
Alessio Romagnoli: Like much of the rest of the team Romagnoli didn’t do much. He wasn’t poor but he didn’t do anything exceptional. 6/10
All the post-match reactions from the Skipper, Fabio Borini and Coach Giampaolo are available on our app
— AC Milan (@acmilan) August 25, 2019
Download it now: https://t.co/SWTea3GYoA #UdineseMilan #ForzaMilan pic.twitter.com/GIMGBoUvFR
Ricardo Rodriguez: Similar to many others in the squad Rodriguez didn't bring anything to the table. Rodriguez wasn't the weakest link in the defence but he surely didn't do anything extraordinary. 5.5/10
Fabio Borini: We joked on our podcast this week about Borini starting and sadly it actually came true. Borini brought nothing to the table and at times they even directed their offensive scheme away from him. 4.5/10
Hakan Calhanoglu: Calhanoglu played in an unfamiliar regista role in this match and it showed. He was all over the place and it seemed he didn't connect the defence to the midfield. 5/10
Not our night, we’ll work hard to bounce back ⚫️
— AC Milan (@acmilan) August 25, 2019
Sconfitti alla prima, ma con il lavoro torneranno i 3 punti: #ForzaMilan ⚫️#UdineseMilan pic.twitter.com/4LlNqhR1gE
Lucas Paqueta: Paqueta like the rest did not impress in the opener. It might have to do with the system Giampaolo has implemented but Paqueta didn't show the flair he had last season. 5.5/10
Suso: Finally Suso had the chance to show he could play trequartista in a real match. Sadly he didn't offer anything creatively. Suso was bottled up by the Udinese defence and only until late in the match did he create a chance. 5.5/10
Samu Castillejo: Castillejo was a complete ghost during this match. He was nowhere near the ball and didn't bring anything to the game at all. 4.5/10
Giampaolo: “This goes beyond the result, I don't like those offensive solutions, they are sterile. There is nothing to throw away, maybe I’ll have to take care of some different details.”
— Milan Eye (@MilanEye) August 25, 2019
Krzysztof Piatek: Like Calabria Piatek’s poor pre-season form has continued into the regular season. He was beaten to the ball countless times and most likely had more fouls committed than touches of the ball. 4.5/10
SUBSTITUTES
Franck Kessie: Once Kessie entered the pitch the offensive play of Milan did improve however not by much. But Kessie was an obvious improvement to Fabio Borini. 5.5/10
Rafeael Leao: Leao didn't have much time to make his presence felt during the match. He has few touches of the ball but in those few touches he looked skillful and could pose a real threat as the season goes on. 6/10
Ismael Bennacer: Bennacer also did not have a lot of time to impress in his Milan debut. However from the little I saw it proves that he should be the starting regista no questions asked. 6/10