Milan Player Ratings: Milan 1-1 Inter Milan

After finally picking up a point in the Champions League against Porto, AC Milan turned their attention back to Serie A as they faced Inter Milan on Sunday. Injuries and suspensions hampered Milan as they were forced to start Ballo-Toure and Rade Krunic. The first few minutes were an open affair but in the 10th minute Inter were given a questionable penalty. Inter converted the penalty to go up a goal. Milan responded well and just seven minutes later an Int own goal equalized the match. Going into the break, the score was tied at one.

For a good portion of the second half Inter dominated the flow of the match and got the better of the chances. There were a few occasions in which they were centimetres away from taking the lead at the San Siro. However, Pioli made substitutions and for the last 20 minutes Milan took the match to Inter and were the ones who were centimetres away from stealing the match. Even with all this excitement in the derby, there was no late winner for either team and after 90 minutes a draw was the outcome.

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STARTING LINE-UP

Ciprian Tatarusanu: The Tatarusanu slander is now not acceptable anymore. He was great in this match and he is starting to show what a veteran backup keeper should be. That penalty save was a massive moment in the match. 7/10

Davide Calabria: Calabria was very solid in this match and probably the most solid on the backline. There weren't many instances where a threatening Inter attack came from the left side and Perisic was very quiet. 6.7/10

Fikayo Tomori: This wasn't Tomori’s best match but he was still fairly good in my opinion. There were a couple of instances where his aggressiveness bit him in the butt. On the other hand there were instances where that aggressiveness paid off big time to stop the Inter attack. 6.5/10

Simon Kjaer: Kjaer had a few “oh no” moments against Inter. There were a few times where Kjaer got beat by players that shouldn't be beating him off the dribble, especially a central defender like Bastoni. Kjaer wasn't bad but he could have been better. 6/10

Fode Ballo-Toure: Ouff, Ballo-Toure did not have a good performance. His positioning and awareness on the play led to the second penalty from Inter was just embarrassing. Ballo-Toure just can't seem to put a good performance together. 4.5/10

Sandro Tonali: I love the way Sandro Tonali plays as it seems like he would die for the jersey. His aggressiveness in the midfield gives Milan two ball winners in the middle of the pitch. Also, great delivery on the own goal. 6.5/10

Franck Kessie: Franck was another one that didn't have a great performance and in two situations really stuck out. A player should know better than to dribble inside their own penalty box as that is an extremely dangerous place to lose the ball. I don't think his penalty call was right but you can't put yourself in that situation. Kessie should also be burying chances that close to the net. Reports say he wants a massive pay raise but highly paid players don't make those mistakes. 5.5/10

Brahim Diaz: Brahim was almost non-existent and that is usually the case when he is played on the wing. Brahim is best behind the striker and as we saw against Inter, when he is played out wide he can't seem to find space. 5.5/10

Rade Krunic: Having Krunic as an attacking midfielder against lower level teams is ok but against the best of the best in Serie A, he creates no offence for the club. Krunic was another non-existent player and he brought next to nothing. 5.5/10

Rafael Leao: For a good portion of the match Leao was the main source of creativity for Milan. There were times where he was a bit too casual with the ball but overall I liked how Leao played and I like the forward trajectory that he is on. 6/10

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Zlatan was forced to drop back a lot in this match. He played almost as an attacking midfielder. Zlatan didn't really come into his own until later on in the match. It is good to see that he can play a full 90.

SUBSTITUTES

Pierre Kalulu: Even out of position Kalulu puts in a very good shift. It is clear that Kalulu can be a good player at this club, just a shame that he is played out of position so much. 6/10

Ante Rebic: Rebic came on and didn't show a ton, it was a classic Rebic performance in a way. There were some moments where you saw a creative Rebic and then others that made you question what he was doing. 6/10

Alexis Saelemaekers: Saelemaekers was subbed on and brought the energy that the team was lacking and I think this is the perfect situation for a player like Alexis. Alexis is a good rotational player and this match showed that. 6.5/10

Ismael Bennacer: In my opinion Isma performed well once he came on, he progressed the ball forward well. I just wish that he buried that half chance from inside the box. 6/10

Tiemoue Bakayoko: This was probably the best that Bakayoko has looked so far this season. He came in and was disruptive, even was crisper with his passing. This should be a good leaping off point for Bakayoko. 6/10

MANAGER

Stefano Pioli: I can't blame Pioli much for the starting lineup. I thin he knew Brahim didn't have 90 minutes and saw Saelemaekers struggling in the previous match so he probably thought he would try something new. I did question Pioli’s subs but I will say I was wrong and those subs actually impacted the match in a positive way for the most part. Only two draws so far into the season, can't complain about Pioli. 6.5/10