Milan Player Ratings: Milan 1-1 Atalanta

After the Sassuolo match, AC Milan faced maybe their toughest opponent since the restart in Atalanta. This match was difficult because of two main reasons: one was that Atalanta like Milan have been on a hot streak since the restart and second was because Milan would be playing with backups in the midfield and defence. To start Atalanta dominated possession but as the match progressed Milan started to see more of the ball. Eventually Milan had a free kick on the left side of the pitch and Hakan Calhanoglu curled a beautiful shot into the right corner, Milan were up 1-0. Near the end of the second half Duvan Zapata out muscled the Milan defence and scored a goal to level the match at 1-1 and that is how the half ended.

For a good portion of the second half neither team had any concrete scoring chances. It was good to see that a cobbled together Milan backline held up against probably the most potent offence in Serie A. After Stefano Pioli put Rafael Leao on, the match opened up and both teams had opportunities to go ahead. Neither of the clubs were able to put it in the back of the net and after 90 minutes an injured and suspended Milan team picked up the draw.

STARTING LINE-UP

Gigio Donnarumma: It was nice to see Gigio get the captains armband in place of Romagnoli, Gigio even stepped up with a massive penalty save. 7/10

Davide Calabria: Calabria put in another solid performance against Atalanta. He doesn't do anything off the charts but as a rotation player he would fit well in the squad. 6.5/10

Simon Kjaer: Kjaer had to step up big against Atalanta as he was the one anchoring the defence. He held the line together and had a great match. 7/10

Matteo Gabbia: To my shock Gabbia wasn't that bad in this match. He had a tall task and yes he made mistakes but overall performed well. 6/10

Diego Laxalt: Laxalt stepped in for Theo Hernandez and didn't play horrible and that’s a win in my book. Defensively he was fine but I couldn't help but think if Theo was there how deadly that left side of the attack would have been. 6/10

Franck Kessie: I felt sorry for Franck in the match because he had to be everywhere in the midfield. This was because he was paired with Lucas Biglia. Kessie gave it his all and played well. 6.8/10

Lucas Biglia: I hope this was the last time that Biglia plays for the club and I'll leave it at that. 4/10

Alexis Saelemaekers: This was a rough night for Alexis as he didn't see much of the ball at all and when he did his touch failed him massively. 5/10

Hakan Calhanoglu: It is safe to say that this was the Hakan we were all advertised and that free kick that he scored was superb. Not to mention that he continuously ran back and helped the defence. 7/10

Ante Rebic: Rebic was tearing up the left side of the Atalanta defence for much of the first half but on a few occasions he got ahead of himself and lost control of the ball without being attacked. 6.7/10

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Zlatan impressed me in this match, not so much with what he did offensively but what he did to the help the team as a whole. On numerous occasions he dropped back and tried to help defensively. 6.8/10

SUBSTITUTES

Jack Bonaventura: For me Jack’s performances off the bench have been improving. He even almost scored to win the match for Milan. 6/10

Rade Krunic: Hands down better than Biglia and if needed should be put ahead of him in the rotation. 6/10

Rafael Leao: Another match where Leao showed his potential. Almost immediately he came on and had a beautiful pass to Saelemaekers who couldn't finish. 6.5/10

Samu Castillejo: I’m assuming Samu didn't start because he wasn't fully fit but it is clear that when fit he should start. 6/10