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Milan Player Ratings: AC Milan 4 - 2 Udinese

The side came through with an opening day victory and kicked off the season in a positive way.

Brahim Diaz of AC Milan celebrates after scoring a goal... Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images

AC Milan put on a show for the fans at the San Siro scoring 4 goals in the opener and decisively winning whilst allowing for three debuts. The defence needs to sharper and the side need to be more focused in the opening minutes of the game. Here are our ratings for the 4-2 win:

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STARTING LINE-UP

Mike Maignan: A poor start to the season for him but not largely his fault, he was left out to dry on both occasions where he conceded. 5.5/10

Davide Calabria: This was a weird one because on the one hand he had a masterclass winning the penalty and providing the assist on the second goal. On the flip side, his passing was sloppy and he was often beaten on counters. 6/10

Pierre Kalulu: A strong game from him where he imposed himself physically on the Udinese attack and made some amazing interceptions and that ‘gif’ block. 7/10

Fikayo Tomori: Still some adjusting to do after the summer specifically on positioning and more commanding of the backline is needed. We cannot afford to concede early goals going forward and Tomori screaming at his backline are key to this. 6.5/10

Theo Hernandez: A great start to the season as his delivery and decision making seem to be improving. He is maturing as a player which is ultimately benefitting the team and he looks to be the new penalty taker for the side. 7.5/10

Ismael Bennacer: A fantastic performance from him as he demonstrates he is one of the most talented midfielders in a high press system. His passing was great to push play forward and always got us out a pinch. 7.5/10

Rade Krunic: A tough one for him, as stated prior to the game, he does well to break up play but does not always pick the right pass thereafter which slows down our build up. 6.5/10

Junior Messias: After such a promising pre-season, he completely flopped in the opener. Firstly, the defensive error that allowed Masina to score is inexcusable as he fell asleep on the job and we paid for it. In attack, he was sloppy and indecisive, the wrong pass constantly and an inability to dribble really showed he needs consistency as the talent is there. 5/10

Brahim Diaz: A brilliant performance from him where he leveraged a few moments of brilliance to overshadow the spells where he was shut out. Great desire for his goal and similarly good passion to intercept and get the assist for Rebic. The pressure of CDK and Adli seems to be doing him some good. 8/10

Rafael Leao: A poor one from him, he looked lethargic and was missing that clinical touch in front of goal. Even in a poor performance, he still opened lots of space and created chances so only way to go is up. 6/10

Ante Rebic: MOTM after such a tough year for him. He was clinical and is really coming into his own in the false nine role. Stunning finish for the first goal, great awareness for his second goal and amazing pressure and hold up play throughout. 8.5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Olivier Giroud: He had a quiet one but really should’ve scored off the lovely through ball from CDK. His hold up play was great. 6.5/10

Charles de Ketelaere: He was unlucky to get his goal chalked off for the foul but showed moments of brilliance with his passing, his turns and obviously won cheers for keeping the ball from running out. 6.5/10

Alexis Saelemaekers: He wasted chances as usual when he could’ve set up Origi’s debut goal. His effort was there as usual but the decision making is still lacking. 5.5/10

Divock Origi: Not that long to observe him but we saw some good movement and positioning. He cross play went down well opening space and his strength will intimidate defences going forward. 6.5/10

Tommaso Pobega: Nice to see an academy product get his debut but nothing much of note except he seemed to struggle for pace where falling back. N/A

MANAGER

Stefano Pioli: Overall a good response and a solid win. He has improved the team in attack but needs to work on the focus in defence especially from set pieces and crosses as we have been exposed there all summer long. 7/10