Milan Player Ratings: Milan 2-2 SPAL

Milan had an opportunity to continue their winning ways against SPAL. For the latter part of the second half against Roma, Milan played well and against SPAL they could keep the momentum going. For the first ten minutes or so it seemed that Milan was playing with intent and it personally gave me hope. Then all hell broke loose inside the penalty box. Andrea Petanga was left unmarked and floated a header into the centre of the box. After a mad scramble Milan failed to clear it, SPAL then scored to put them up 1-0. Not an ideal start but it wasn't the end of the world. Then the SPAL striker scored an absolutely beautiful goal from outside the box and gave Gigo Donnarumma no chance at a save. SPAL were now up 2-0. To continue this wild first half a SPAL player was sent off after a hard tackle on Theo Hernandez. A chaotic 45 minutes saw Milan down 2-0.

For much of the second half, Milan continued their wasteful form. We've seen this with many Milan teams since 2011, they just cannot finish and this has only increased in recent years. Throughout the second half Milan insisted on taking shots from outside the box against a 10 man SPAL team and that was baffling to me. Milan continued to attack and Milan continued to not capitalize. For me watching it seemed that all hope was lost as Milan just couldn't score with anything that they did. Finally they broke through as Rafael Leao scored to make Milan down 1. Milan pressed on and as Alexis Saelemaekers crossed it in, it deflected off a SPAL defender and went into the net. Milan had a little luck on their side and the match finished 2-2.

Now we will look at the AC Milan player ratings! Sound off in the comments below!

STARTING LINE-UP

Gigio Donnarumma: For both of SPAL’s goals there was nothing Gigio could do. First he was let down by his defence and for the second he had no chance. 6/10

Davide Calabria: Calabria wasn't terrible but not much of an upgrade over Conti. He did almost score an absolutely wonderful goal that just narrowly missed the net. 5.5/10

Matteo Gabbia: Gabbia looked a bit more at ease in this match not making mistakes that a young player could make but he still wasn't that solid. However Milan missed the great ball movement of Kjaer. 5.5/10

Alessio Romagnoli: Romagnoli was fine as SPAL didn't really have many scoring opportunities. 6/10

Theo Hernandez: Very disappointing performance from Theo against SPAL. He almost made no attacking run and the ones he did make were wasted with poor balls. 5.5/10

Ismael Bennacer: After a string of great games Bennacer was just fine against SPAL. What Milan lacked in this match couldn't really be blamed on Bennacer. 6/10

Franck Kessie: Like Bennacer, Kessie was fine but little more wasteful with his shots and touches. Like I said with Bennacer you can't really blame him for the loose. 6/10

Samu Castillejo: Samu didn't have much time to shine before leaving with an injury. In his limited time he played better than he did against Roma showing more creativity. 6/10

Hakan Calhanoglu: Since his performance against Lecce, Hakan was been sub par. He was so wasteful in this match and the constant long shots didn't really help Milan out. 5.5/10

Lucas Paqueta: Paqueta was the one bright spot for Milan in this match. He showed his skills and playmaking ability. He should be the one to start. 7/10

Ante Rebic: Rebic had some opportunities against SPAL but ultimately like the rest of the team he was wasteful. On a few occasions his poor touch stalled the Milan attack. 5.5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Alexis Saelemaekers: Last match Saelemaekers was promising but against SPAL he was lacklustre. His crosses were not on target and for many of them they didn't even find a Milan attacker. On the day that they bought the player on a permanent basis it would have been nice to see a good performance. 5.5/10

Rafael Leao: Leao was a bit more decisive in this match but he still wasn't outstanding. He had chances and missed some but unlike any other Milan player he actually scored. 6/10

Diego Laxalt: Theo had such a bad match that Pioli was forced to bring Laxalt on. For me Laxalt is an average player who doesn't bring anything exceptional to the table. His crosses were fine and he attempted to create chances. 5.8/10

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: It was evident when Zlatan came on that the gameplay was lob it up to Zlatan and see what he could do in the air. He changed the way Milan attacked and when he’s on he brings a fire to the Milan squad. 6/10

Jack Bonaventura: Jacks time on the pitch was a bit better then his match against Roma but for me it is clear that Paqueta should be the starter. 5.5/10