Milan Player Ratings: AC Milan 3 - 1 Genoa

AC Milan beat Genoa 3-1 in the Coppa Italia last night despite being forced into extra time by Andriy Shevchenko’s side. We fell behind from a set piece and had to claw our way back with Giroud scoring the equaliser before Leao getting us forward in extra time and Saelemaekers adding a final blow. Milan will face Lazio or Udinese in the next round.

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STARTING LINE-UP

Mike Maignan: A good game from the keeper but he was let down by his defenders on the goal. He was good in keeping the tempo up with his passing and was confident throughout. 6/10

Pierre Kalulu: Another very convincing performance from the defender, he transitioned from right back to centre back after half an hour. He looks so calm on the ball and distributes well but more importantly handled Yeboah, Caicedo and Destro with ease. 7.5/10

Mattia Gabbia: Not convincing at all from him. He is too nervous on the ball and cannot calmly pass out from the back. 5/10

Fikayo Tomori: He was rushed back and we now have to pay for it as he is injured. He inspired confidence and calm in the 20 minutes or so he was on the pitch. N/A

Theo Hernandez: Theo bagged two assists but overall was very subpar. He kept running into a wall and lost Ostigard on the goal which put us in the tough spot. 6/10

Sandro Tonali: Another good workhorse performance from him. He marshalled the midfielders and covered well for the defence. He could’ve been more calm in the final third of the pitch as the distribution was lacking. 7/10

Rade Krunic: A horrific display from him. He could not control the ball and kept misplacing passes. He hurt our attacks by slowing them down and was constantly dispossessed with ease. 4/10

Junior Messias: A strange game for him as he pushed forward appropriately but could not get the final touch off. He seemed slightly out of it but still kept the attack flowing. 6/10

Daniel Maldini: You can see the pressure of the Maldini name when he plays. He has so much technical quality but struggled to work well in the box. He had some good chances to press through but was unfortunately withdrawn early. 6/10

Ante Rebic: A tough return for the Croatian as he was pressed hard on that wing and didn’t have enough space to operate. He did well to pass around with Hernandez and Maldini but did not have enough chances to fire off a shot at goal. 6/10

Olivier Giroud: A quiet performance but one moment changed everything. He did well on the goal but missed other key chances. He really does not contribute enough off the ball. 6.5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Alessandro Florenzi: He brought some energy to the pitch but struggled to deliver the final ball into the box. His snap shots are a thing of beauty. 5/10

Tiemoue Bakayoko: He helped reorganise the midfield and get the ball flowing in the right direction. More of the good interceptions and intensity coming through. 6.5/10

Brahim Diaz: He oddly added nothing more than Maldini. He was dribbling around and keeping the ball moving but didn’t add creativity. He wasted two golden chances that should’ve ended up in the back of the net. 5/10

Rafael Leao: What a cameo. His speed and dribbling ability won us this game. What a sublime finish for the goal and what an impact in a strange moment of the game. 8/10

Alexis Saelemaekers: Similar to Theo, he got something in the form of a goal but was dreadful to watch as he kept losing the ball with misplaced passes, poor touches and an inability to beat his man. 6/10

Emil Roback: A really nice intro for him, he looked confident and had a solid control of the ball. Looking forward to see more of him if Pellegri heads out on loan. N/A

MANAGER

Stefano Pioli: A poor game from his perspective, the wrong rotations hurt us at the start especially the decision to field Krunic. Playing 120 minutes in the cup ahead of the Juventus game was silly and the decision to rush Tomori all back make this one a failure for him. The substitutions worked but Bakayoko from the start would’ve changed everything. 5/10