Milan Player Ratings: AC Milan 3-1 AS Roma

AC Milan took on AS Roma at the San Siro last night despite numerous absences and emerged with a big 3-1 victory over Jose Mourinho’s side. Milan eased past Roma scoring 2 early goals and the substitutes in the second half finished the job with a stunning team goal for Leao to finish off. A big three points that keep us in the title race but more importantly firmly in a Champions League spot.

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STARTING LINE-UP

Mike Maignan: Lovely acrobatic saves from him, he definitely changed the momentum of the game when he saved Abraham’s header, Zaniolo’s one-on-one and the double shots of the corner. He continues to impress with his reflexes. 8/10

Alessandro Florenzi: What a stunner that free kick would’ve been but alas the post limited him. He did well driving forward and held up decently enough in defence. 6.5/10

Pierre Kalulu: He had that one slip up in the first half but otherwise looked solid. He is clearly learning from Tomori with his high press and aggression and his speed is a huge asset. 7/10

Mattia Gabbia: Gabbia looked a bit shaky but it was a tidy performance from him. He kept the passes simple and always cleared the ball when in doubt. Overall a respectable outing 6.5/10

Theo Hernandez: Theo with the captain’s armband was a big one, the tensions throughout showed his rawness as a leader. As an attacker, he won us the first penalty and was a constant threat to Karsdop. 7/10

Sandro Tonali: By far his best performance as he covered all that ground on his own and had to track Zaniolo and Pellegrini throughout the game. He partnered well with Bakayoko too hence there is loads to look forward too. His strength and speed are starting to show as a major asset to go toe to toe with attackers. 8/10

Rade Krunic: Utility man showed us that he forgot how to defend. He played Abraham onside for the goal, lost track of Mkhitaryan for a good chance in the first half and was dispossessed often. A tough one for him as he looked out of place. 5/10

Junior Messias: His first goal at the San Siro and what a tidy finish. He is a stunning dribbler and gives us so many options in attack showing his true value. 7.5/10

Brahim Diaz: So close to a banger of a goal but the post kept him out. He looked a bit more confident and better on the ball but is missing that deadly final touch and his usual nimble movement. 6.5/10

Alexis Saelemaekers: Saelemaekers was back to his underwhelming version of himself as he kept running into a wall and not making the right decisions. Hopefully he can brush off the game. 5.5/10

Olivier Giroud: A solid performance from the striker with much more impact off the ball and on the wing. He buried his penalty which gave us a good start and looks a threat in the box. 6.5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Tiemoue Bakayoko: Finally Bakayoko turns up. He played a very good half an hour or so with really good intercepting and tackling. His passing broke the lines and he looked like his old self. 7/10

Rafael Leao: Lovely dribbling but more importantly, exceptional composure. His confident run and finish on the goal showed his class and it is amazing for him to get off the mark so early in 2022. 7/10

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: He looked sharp and was so good in putting the defenders on edge which facilitated Leao’s goal. Unfortunate on the penalty but that shows how key Kessie is. 6.5/10

Andrea Conti: Nice for him to get some minutes in a Milan shirt ahead of his departure. Not much of note but he made sure there were no late threats. 6/10

Daniel Maldini: N/A

MANAGER

Stefano Pioli: A massive victory for him with 8 players out excluding longer term injuries against a full strength Roma with Mourinho at the helm. He continues to show that his side has heart and a desire to win. 8/10