AC Milan Player Ratings: Hellas Verona 1-2 Milan

AC Milan beat Hellas Verona 2-1 on the road as Stefano Pioli’s men were forced o grind out a result with the winning goal coming from Sandro Tonali. Three points in the bag allow Milan to keep pace with Napoli and look forward to a mini derby against AC Monza at home this week. With a first start and a first debut, there was quite a bit of drama. Here are our player ratings for the game:

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STARTING LINE-UP

Ciprian Tatarusanu: We are hanging on by a thread with him in goal as the saves are risky and unreliable but more so, he is slow and ineffective with the ball at his feet. 5.5/10

Pierre Kalulu: He is doing well at right back as he offers some dangerous crosses in attack and is overall very reliable in defence. He was beaten on the goal leaving the space for Gunter as he pressed for the ball an left a gap. 6/10

Matteo Gabbia: An unlucky one for him but one that did show his inability to read the game as well as the other defenders. He wrongfooted Tatarusanu for Verona’s goal with that huge deflection. He needs to keep it tidy. 5/10

Fikayo Tomori: He gave too much space to Henry and Djuric but held up well regardless. He kept it clean with the clearances but we look very vulnerable on the set pieces. 6/10

Theo Hernandez: A relatively quiet game bar the one fiery shot that stung Montipo late on. He never really gained a foothold in this one. 6/10

Rade Krunic: A slow performance as he seemed positionally lost. Nothing majorly positive nor negative but he should really be imposing himself in this type of fixture. 8/10

Sandro Tonali: He breaks hearts at the Bentegodi once again with the winning goal. A tireless performance and good composure to seal the win with that goal. 7.5/10

Yacine Adli: A good display and an important opportunity for him. He struggled to make an impact floating around the midfield but showed flashes and never stopped pressing. 5.5/10

Brahim Diaz: A brilliant opening 15-20 minutes where he almost got an assist but otherwise faded and was always missing in the attacks. Another player who should have done more in this game to make an impression. 5.5/10

Rafael Leao: Despite it not being a good performance from him, he forced the own goal and released Rebic to play Tonali in for the winning goal. He is the most impactful player we have and is delivering directly and indirectly to victories week in and out, 7/10

Olivier Giroud: He missed a sitter in the 10th minute in that brilliant one-two with Diaz. He is not as sharp as usual and needs some rest. 5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Divock Origi: He did much better with the 45 minutes especially showing some exceptional hold up play as his strength will be a big asset. He came back to collect the ball and start attacks from the midfield and always looked a threat around the box. God things to come from him. 6.5/10

Ante Rebic: A fantastic game from him and one where he should likely be the MOTM for the chances he created for himself and his teammates. He got the all important assist but more than that was offering fluidity and getting the ball to flow in attack. On top of that, he met headers and shots testing Montipo and deserved a goal. 7.5/10

Tommaso Pobega: He did well bringing some muscle to the midfield with hard tackles and was one of the only players to actually clear the balls from our box during set pieces. His position in the box is always ideal and begging for a lay off. 6.5/10

Ismael Bennacer: Added that spark and forward press, drew key fouls and help consolidate our control of the midfield leading to added pressure which delivered a few good chances toward the end. 6.5/10

Malick Thiaw: An unbelievable debut and cameo. His rating is unrealistic but in reality he made two last ditch goal saving blocks in the span of five minutes to guarantee the three points and delivered under pressure of his first performance. 8/10

MANAGER

Stefano Pioli: He got the substitutions just right and made a huge leap forward by giving minutes to Adli and Thiaw. He needs to tighten up the tactics of this 4-3-3 system and create a coherent plan that does not sacrifice a few players whilst over relying on others. 6.5/10