Milan Player Ratings: Lazio 1 - 2 AC Milan

AC Milan took on Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico and came away with a crucial three points from a gut wrenching encounter that took 92 minutes for the Rossoneri to pull ahead and keep themselves in the title race. Milan won 2-1 with second half goals from Olivier Giroud and Sandro Tonali to keep the pressure on our crosstown rivals.

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STARTING LINE-UP

Mike Maignan: Yet again not much to do on the goal but was solid otherwise especially with the slide tackle. 6/10

Davide Calabria: A bit of a better performance with more forward runs and greater accuracy with the exchanges but was always chasing the ball in defence. He benefitted from Tonali’s wide position. 5/10

Pierre Kalulu: A good game, his aggression really helped us pile the pressure on them and he supported our attack on set pieces to keep them nervy. 6.5/10

Fikayo Tomori: Another uncharacteristically poor performance. He was asleep on the goal allowing the ball through and made a few dangerous mistakes shortly after, he needs to brush off the stress. 4/10

Theo Hernandez: A better performance as the final pass was there, he had lots of crosses and square balls going in at last. 6/10

Franck Kessie: A good strong performance where was winning the ball back non-stop. He could have done better with his shooting on those two occasions but honeslty did a great job managing the midfield. 7/10

Sandro Tonali: An important game from him and an unbelievably key goal to score. His wider role allowed him to be creative and push forward, he was relentless in his pursuit and got rewarded for it. 8/10

Junior Messias: Solid game from him as he showed his ability to keep the play flowing and the balls floating into the box. Giroud should’ve capitalised on one if not two of his crosses. 6/10

Brahim Diaz: A better performance as there was some impact but his piercing passes are not coming off and it is too many horizontal balls for a quality no. 10. 5/10

Rafael Leao: A tough game for him but his quality shone through, he created opportunities from nothing and got an assist in the end. 7.5/10

Olivier Giroud: Finally his deadly touch comes off, a good goal and an even better game to get it in. 7/10

SUBSTITUTES

Ante Rebic: He looked like the Ante of the previous two seasons, what a snapshot and more importantly what amazing determination to win the ball, keep it in and kick off the chain of events for the winner. 7/10

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: What a return, what an important assist. He has a presence and he needs to stay fit. He should’ve scored that crazy chance but I guess he is also a bit rusty (no pun intended). 7/10

Rade Krunic: He added muscle to the middle and recovered the balls well, he keeps showing that desire which helps late on. 6.5/10

Alexis Saelemaekers: Lots of pressure and a good tactical foul. N/A

MANAGER

Stefano Pioli: He got bailed out at the last minute. He looked in better shape with attacking depth and his game plan was correct throughout, a good but stressful one for him and us. 6.5/10