Before the cup match against Torino, Milan honoured NBA legend and life long Milan fan Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna who passed away on Sunday. Now time to talk about the match. Milan were aggressive early in the match and this led them to get an early lead as they scored just 12 minutes in putting Milan up 1-0. After that goal Milan looked comfortable and it seemed like they might score a second before half however, Torino had different plans. On a counter attack Torino levelled the scoring just 10 minutes before the half ended. After a few chances from Milan the half ended 1-1.
Wearing the black armband in honour of a lifelong Rossonero #SempreKobe pic.twitter.com/9xYfGNNn1M
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 28, 2020
The second half was under way and Milan looked a few steps behind compared to Torino. This was evident Even though both teams were exchanging chances, Torino looked the more dangerous. Eventually Torino scored putting them up 1 goal. As all hope looked lost, Hakan Calhanoglu saved Milan from the brink and brought the game to 2-2 putting Milan in extra time. Extra time saw a flurry of action and a lot of it favoured Milan. Milan scored two wonderful goals to regain the lead at 4-2. After 120 minutes Milan came out with the win even after it looked like the game was over in regular time.
We went down, we fought back! Semis here we come!
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 28, 2020
È finita!! Siamo in Semifinale!!#MilanTorino 4-2 #CoppaItalia#SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/xaDrlgNQMZ
Now we will look at the player ratings for AC Milan!
STARTING LINE-UP
Gigio Donnarumma: Another game where Donnarumma makes crucial saves to keep the team a float. Yes, Torino scored two goals but they weren't because of Gigio. 7/10
Andrea Conti: Well this was rough for Conti. It seemed like every Torino chance came from the right side as the exploited Conti. He has had every chance to win the starting job but he hasn't performed. 5.5/10
Simon Kjaer: As expected Kjaer had his ups and downs during the match. There were some times where he seemed to save the day but other times he looked out of place. 6/10
GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL! JACK! pic.twitter.com/xjmqlMDqCp
— MilanGifs (@MilanGifs) January 28, 2020
Alessio Romagnoli: Romagnoli continues his solid performance from the weekend. He is the most stable player in that Milan back line and he continues to show it. 6.5/10
Theo Hernandez: In such an open game it was surprising that Theo didn't score but he did impact the game. Defensively there was rough patches but he did recover in many instances. 6/10
Ismael Bennacer: Bennacer just continues to play great in the Milan midfield. His passing and his ability to break up opposing attacks is simply superb. Again against Torino he shows that he is vital to the teams success. 7/10
GOOOAAAAALLLL! HAKAN! pic.twitter.com/a39RHtYgNf
— MilanGifs (@MilanGifs) January 28, 2020
Rade Krunic: Krunic showed that he has the capabilities to be a decent rotational player for Milan. He doesn't bring anything too special but he does bring good qualities to the team. 6/10
Jack Bonaventura: In the last match that we saw Jack in it was fairly rough for him. Thankfully he improved his performance against Torino. Jack even scored early on in this match to give Milan the lead. 6.5/10
Samu Castillejo: Samu and his work rate are just on another level. This guy just doesn't stop working throughout the match and it is noticeable. Samu and his revitalization have been a much needed for Milan. 6.5/10
GOOOAAAAALLLLL! HAKAN AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/avj1hfCO5a
— MilanGifs (@MilanGifs) January 28, 2020
Ante Rebic: Torino was next in line to fall to terror that is Ante Rebic. In my opinion Rebic was great again. He played well up top as a striker and also played well on the left wing as a midfielder. 7/10
Krzysztof Piatek: Another stinker from Piatek. For me Piatek’s time at the club should be done and Milan should make any money they can from his transfer. 4/10
SUBSTITUTES
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Ok yes, Zlatan missed another extremely easy chance but his presence on the pitch is exactly what Milan need even if he misses chances because there is always belief he might score the next and he did. 6.5/10
Ibra's goalpic.twitter.com/EJmH1VyEbp
— SS (@semo33x) January 28, 2020
Rafael Leao: Leao and Zlatan, what a combination. Leao seems to love playing alongside the Swedish international and it shows with him racking up another assist on a Zlatan goal. 6.5/10
Hakan Calhanoglu: Usually Hakan is just bad but today he was flat out good. When he came on I won't lie I was yelling at my TV screen in agony. Hakan proved me wrong and brought the game back for Milan scoring both the goal to tie and win the match. 7.5/10
Franck Kessie: Franck Kessie made maybe the best pass of his Milan career when he found Hakan Calhanoglu in extra time. This baffled me but maybe it shows that Kessie is starting to get it offensively. 6.5/10