Milan Player Ratings: Milan 3-0 Spezia

After a heart pounding victory against Rio Ave, AC Milan turned their attention back to the league where they face newly promoted side Spezia. Stefano Pioli decided to rotate the squad and start a very very young front 4. Plus Pioli gave Rade Krunic a chance to shine. The first half was a back and fourth affair as both teams had a few chances. Truly Milan should have been up a goal or 2 but they could not find their finishing touch in the final third.

The second half brought a big change for Milan as Hakan Calhanoglu came on as a sub. This then placed Rafael Leao up top to play striker. This change saw the game completely open up for Milan and from that point on it was their game to lose. Just 12 minutes into the second half Rafael Leao found the back of the net with a beautiful assist provided by Hakan Calhanoglu. Milan continued to attack and press Spezia. Milans pressing caused Spezia to give away the ball and their pressing lead to a beautiful individual goal by Theo Hernandez. To end the day Rafael Leao scored his second of the match and third goal for Milan. The match ended and Milan came out victorious.

STARTING LINE-UP

Gigio Donnarumma: Three straight league clean sheets for Gigio and the defence. He wasn't called upon many times during the match but he made saves in crucial areas and his distribution was on point. 6.5/10

Davide Calabria: Calabria has put in some solid performances in the league so far this season but today he had some mixed moments. At times he was solid on defence and going forward he put in a few good cross that players should have scored on. Other times he struggled with the left wing of Spezia. 6/10

Simon Kjaer: Kjaer was great per usual but I do feel bad with all the shots to the head that he has gotten throughout his career at Milan. 6.5/10

Matteo Gabbia: Gabbia looked a lot better today than the previous Europa League match. But at times against Spezia his pace was worrying as Spezia players were beating him to the ball. 6/10

Theo Hernandez: Marvellous game from Theo. His improvement on defence has been great to see and it is good to see that his scoring touch is still there. His goal was an amazing effort on both ends. 7/10

Sandro Tonali: Tonali seems to be settling in well. Some of the passes that he makes are just absurdly good and his positioning has gotten better since his arrival. On the other hand at times he is too quick to pass and the Milan players are unable to reach those. With time and more chemistry he should be an outstanding player. 6/10

Rade Krunic: Rade Krunic is a solid player, doesn't do anything special but gets the job done. He will be fine in a midfield two and he showed that today. He won't blow your socks off but he also won't make many mistakes. 6/10

Alexis Saelemaekers: Now I know Saelemaekers isn't the best but the kid works his butt off. I agree that he shouldn't be starting regularly but at the moment it doesn't look like anyone will come in to challenge his place. Against Spezia and really most teams Saelemaekers couldn't finish and some of his passes were a bit off. 6/10

Brahim Diaz: For me Brahim had some nice moments today. On the ball he seems to be a star but he does hold on to the ball a little bit too long for my liking. I also believe that his best position is behind the striker. He is capable to play on the wings but behind the striker he is a different animal. 6.5/10

Rafael Leao: Leao had one of the weirdest games. On the left wing he didn't look good at all as he held on to the ball too long and didn't really make anything creative happen. However as a sole striker he looked a little better and eventually bagged two goals. 6.5/10

Lorenzo Colombo: I can't lie, Lorenzo Colombo was basically non existent in this match. Aside from the one shot that got blocked he didn't have any impact on the match. 5.5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Hakan Calhanoglu: It is safe to say that Hakan changed the game for Milan. Once he came in their offence was opened up leading to them scoring 3 goals in the second half. 7.5/10

Ismael Bennacer: There really isn't much for me to say about Bennacer and Kessie to be honest. Both have developed greatly and make a difference when they are on the pitch. 6.5/10

Franck Kessie: Franck got a little rest but came on later in the match and once he came on he looked like his in from self. 6.5/10

Jans Petter Hauge: It was great to see Hauge debut for the Rossoneri. He looked fairly comfortable for only being in Milan a few days. He even had a few slight scoring chances. 6/10

Daniel Maldini: N/A