After finishing the first half of the season at the top of the table AC Milan turned their attention back to the start of the schedule to face Bologna. In their earlier fixture Milan won handily but would it be the same with Milan still missing key players? Milan fielded a lineup that saw Rafael Leao start at attacking midfield and gave a debut to Fikayo Tomori. Just 12 minutes in Theo Hernandez had a free kick from a long way out and and he very narrowly scored for Milan but the ball hit the woodwork. 12 minutes after that chance Milan were awarded a penalty and Zlatan stepped up to take it. Zlatan shot it to the left and it was saved by the keeper but Ante Rebic was quick to slot home the rebound. At the half Milan were up a goal.
Harder than we'd like but 3 points in the bag
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 30, 2021
È così che si inizia il girone di ritorno: con i tre punti! #BolognaMilan #SempreMilan @emirates pic.twitter.com/EAxQz8BDq4
Milan started well in the second half as they were awarded another penalty in the 55th minute. Kessie was now the penalty taker and he calmly scored to double Milan’s lead. In the 61st minute Milan had another golden chance to finish out the match but Calabria’s header was parried wide by the goalkeeper. Bologna made a boatload of substitutions late in the second half and those subs worked out well for them. In the 81st minute former Milan player Andrea Poli scored to bring Bologna within one. The final 10 minutes had Milan fans on the edge of their seat but the Rossoneri held Bologna off for the victory.
Follow us on Twitter @SBNRossonero
STARTING LINE-UP
Gianluigi Donnarumma: Gigio was massive in the match. For a while he didn't have to do much but at times he had to make spectacular saves. I do want to see him take more command of his area though. 7/10
Davide Calabria: Calabria had a decent game defensively but with the ball at his feet he struggled a tad. Usually he can make some moves and get himself out of trouble but that wasn't there. 6/10
Fikayo Tomori: A very nice debut for Fikayo Tomori. His aggressiveness and pace is something that this Milan team doesn't have at the centre back position. Of course at times he was out of position but new team and new tactics. One complaint is that he passed the ball back too often as he should look to drive it forward more. 6.5/10
Happy with your full debut, @fikayotomori_?
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 30, 2021
Ottimo debutto da titolare #BolognaMilan #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/BmitYa7pT0
Alessio Romagnoli: Romagnoli was fine but nothing spectacular. It was up to him to control more of the defence since Kjaer was out injured and I believe he did a fine job for that for the majority of the match. 6/10
Theo Hernandez: Ouf a rough match for Theo. He didn't really do anything impressive on either end of the pitch and his giveaway was directly linked to the goal scored by Bologna. 5/10
Sandro Tonali: I think Sandro is starting to settle in nicely and this game shows that. No major mistakes but also nothing that would blow your mind. 6/10
Franck Kessie: Another very good performance from Franck. His penalty was clam, cool and collected. Also, his shielding of the ball at the end of the match is so key for Milan. 6.7/10
All the President's men
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 30, 2021
Powered by @gruppo_a2a#BolognaMilan #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/fIpdrE9BtC
Alexis Saelemaekers: Alexis didn't really do much in this match. He tracked back and ran well per usual but offensively he didn't do much to help the team and at times was a ghost on that end. 5.5/10
Rafael Leao: Leao was put in an awkward position playing attacking midfield but he did a serviceable job. At times I think he was a bit too selfish taking shots where he could have passed but as Pioli said in the post match press conference Leao has been more active in matches and I agree with that. 6/10
Ante Rebic: I think we saw a bit better play from Ante but still nothing that we saw last year. he had one nice cross to Zlatan which led to a nice opportunity but other than that not much else. 5.7/10
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Zlatan wasn't the greatest in this match. He again missed a penalty and at times he struggled to comeback, get the ball and pass it out wide. Maybe fatigue is settling in. 5.7/10
SUBSTITUTES
Ismael Bennacer: Finally Bennacer returned and it is clear that he makes a big difference in possession. Hopefully he can return to full match fitness soon. 6/10
Rade Krunic: Once Rade came on he started well but as the minutes went on the negative plays started to happen. 5.5/10
Mario Mandzukic: Mario really didn't have much to do aside from defending but his minutes do show that he had something left to give. 6/10