Milan Player Ratings: AC Milan 1 - 2 Spezia

AC Milan beaten 2-1 by Spezia thanks to a penalty miss from Theo Hernandez, a ridiculous decision from the referee to disallow our winning goal and an impotency amongst the attack in front of goal. This is a huge blow for Stefano Pioli and the side in the Scudetto race and a complication in the top four race given the upcoming fixtures.

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STARTING LINE-UP

Mike Maignan: This is a difficult season for him as he is putting in stunning performances but keeps getting caught out due to defensive failures. He could’ve had a clean sheet but was beaten with two easy chances for Spezia. 6/10

Alessandro Florenzi: He held up well in the first half and kept Verde quiet but was easily beaten and out of position on the first goal. 5.5/10

Pierre Kalulu: A good game from him again but he struggled on a few occasions when the striker managed to turn him. The defender needs to be positionally sound when defending in the box. 5/10

Mattia Gabbia: Another poor performance from him, he has no calm on the ball and makes the backline nervy. He looked beaten in the second half as he was chasing shadows. 5/10

Theo Hernandez: He missed the penalty which hurt us but regardless, his performance was just not good enough. He wasted chances coming down that wing and often misplaced the final pass. 5/10

Rade Krunic: A slightly better display and he got off some good passes that spurred the attack forward but he was still poor on the ball and constantly getting dispossessed. 6/10

Tiemoue Bakayoko: He was good at managing the midfield but got sloppy as the game wore on and lost influence when the play was pushed wide. He helped in attack but kept overhitting the key passes. 5.5/10

Alexis Saelemaekers: The winger is doing well to find space in the box and get some shots off. He needs to be more clinical with his shooting. On the wing he continues to struggle to beat his man and put in average crosses. 6/10

Brahim Diaz: A terrible performance. He did nothing and offered zero creativity. His poor form is definitely hurting us now as we become overly reliant on the wingers. 4/10

Rafael Leao: What a brilliant player. It was heartbreaking to see him get subbed off and for us to lose this game following his incredible strikers at goal and stunning goal. 8/10

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: A poor game from him as he looked lethargic and could not convert his few opportunities. He needs to deliver more of a final blow but he can force things forward. 5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Junior Messias: What a tight finish on the disallowed goal. He really brings that strong goal threat which begs the question ‘Why didn’t he start?’ 6/10

Olivier Giroud: A quiet performance where he spent most of his time chasing the ball. He came close once with the header but once again needs to do more off the ball. 5/10

Davide Calabria: You could see the passion and drive when he came on. He played with urgency and forced saves as he fought to get a goal. Amazing to have him back but really poor on the final goal as he was miles out of place. 5.5/10

Ante Rebic: A really good display from him. He added pace and physicality on that left wing, he set up Ibrahimovic and Giroud for shots on goal. He drove forward and create the circumstance for Messias’ disallowed goal. Really keen to see him play more. 7/10

MANAGER

Stefano Pioli: Poor decision making yet again. Lots of bad luck to be precise in this game but he should not be playing Saelemaekers and Krunic from the first minute ever. The subs were correct but Leao should have remained on given his form. 5/10