After clinching a spot in the next round of the Europa League, AC Milan turned their attention to Serie A to play Sampdoria. In this match Milan were without Ibrahimovic, Kjaer, Bennacer and Leao so other players would need to step up to secure a victory. Milan started off the match with the bulk of possession but couldn't find their footing in the final third. However Sampdoria still had their chances on goal but failed to capitalize. After those chances Milan had the bulk of possession again but still were too wasteful as they couldn't convert any of their chances. Finally right before half time Milan were given a penalty after a Sampdoria handball. Kessie had the penalty duties and he converted giving Milan a lead right before half time.
We had to dig deep but in the end we come away with another win ✌️
— AC Milan (@acmilan) December 6, 2020
Partita sofferta, dura: un grande gruppo la porta a casa. Bravi ragazzi! ✌️#SampdoriaMilan #SempreMilan@emirates pic.twitter.com/7dU1s3pdGw
With Milan being up 1 goal, the match opened up quite a bit. Even with the match opening up Milan were still the team that created the superior chances. Milan came out of the second half on fire as they hit the post just a few minutes in. After so many chances and so much possession Milan finally got their second goal by way of beautiful link up play from Hauge, Rebic and Castillejo who sent it in the net. Up 2-0 I surely thought the match was over but Sampdoria had other plans. In the 82nd minute Sampdoria got one back and with only 8 minutes left they looked threatening. Thankfully Milan held strong and didn't allow Sampdoria to get points out of this match. A classic grind it out victory.
Follow us on Twitter @SBNRossonero
STARTING LINE-UP
Gianluigi Donnarumma: Gigio played well but I do want to see him take more command of his penalty box. He has to make sure his presence is felt. I also thought that he could have maybe done a bit better on the Sampdoria goal. 6.5/10
Davide Calabria: Davide has turned into a completely different played this season. He again locked down that right side and let no attackers past him. He also had some moments on the other end of the pitch. He almost had an assist to Rebic but he put it a little too high for him to control. 7/10
Matteo Gabbia: Gabbia put in another solid performance. Yes, there were a couple of moments where he could have done a tad better but overall he was good. His progression can turn him into a good rotational player for Milan. 6.5/10
️ Head over to the app to hear what the Coach and Matteo Gabbia had to say after #SampdoriaMilan
— AC Milan (@acmilan) December 6, 2020
https://t.co/k2zluibzhx#SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/D5q7o6UdFJ
Alessio Romagnoli: I think it might be safe to say that Alessio is back to his normal self. He was good in the air and overall the defence really didn't allow a lot of Sampdoria chances from open play. 6.5/10
Theo Hernandez: Theo put in another good 90 minutes. Like the others on the defensive line he was good. Interestingly enough Theo was technically the one who won Milan their penalty. 6.5/10
Franck Kessie: Kessie continues to be an absolute monster on the pitch. In the first 5 minutes he got a yellow card, which is less than ideal. However he played the rest of the match perfectly bossing the midfield. 7/10
Sandro Tonali: Another growing pain match for Sandro. He was very up and down in this match. One moment he would have a terrible give away but then make up for it with nice hustle and a tackle. It should also be pointed out that he was the one that crossed it to Theo who won the penalty. 6/10
@SamuCastillejo posted this earlier
— TheMilanGuys (@TheMilanGuys) December 7, 2020
“Pioli is on fire ”
Not only a team, but a family! Seeing Pioli run to the team after the second goal just shows how much they care about each other. #PadrePioli pic.twitter.com/tSurqVrCrW
Alexis Saelemaekers: I don't think Saelemaekers had a great game but he did have some moments. Of course his pressing and defensive ability was vital for Milan. Also he did show some moments of skill but couldn't capitalize. 6.5/10
Hakan Calhanoglu: Without Ibra, Calhanoglu really is the lifeblood of the offence. I don't think Hakan did anything special offensively today and he wasn't involved with any of Milan’s goals. However I do think that him tracking back was important in the Milan victory. 6.5/10
Brahim Diaz: No doubt in my mind that Brahim was the flop of the match. He was very wasteful with the ball at his feet and he was pushed off the ball way too easily. 5/10
Ante Rebic: Mandatory sentence about Rebic not being a pure striker. What I can say about Rebic is that he runs his butt off for the whole 90 minutes and he always has that ability to make something happen. He has been racking up the assist lately. 6.5/10
United we stand top of the league ❤️ #SampdoriaMilan #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/aOm0ZTgYzV
— AC Milan (@acmilan) December 6, 2020
SUBSTITUTES
Jans Petter Hauge: To me Hauge should have started the match. Once he came on he showed maturity in his decision making. He even had a hockey assist on the goal from Samu. 6.5/10
Samu Castillejo: Samu scores again surprisingly. I don't think Samu is playing that much better but he is scoring so that is a good sign. 6/10
Rade Krunic: N/A