Milan Player Ratings: AC Milan 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

AC Milan pulled off a big win at the San Siro last night against Tottenham Hotspur to mark our first victory over an English side in over ten years. 1-0 for the Rossoneri as Brahim Diaz forced the goal with a burning desire to boost his tally. The game was only the second ocassion where Stefano Pioli bested Antonio Conte in their careers. The 3-4-3 is working thus far as we have two wins and two clean sheets. Here are our player ratings for the game:

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STARTING LINE-UP

Ciprian Tatarusanu: Following the trend of the previous two games he has been one of the better performers in the side. He was commanding of his box and was chasing the ball up the field which was great. He has another clean sheet and made a few crucial saves. 7.5/10

Pierre Kalulu: A convincing game from him as he has slotted in with ease in the back three. He absolutely shut out Son and was deadly for the counters. He has also shown an eagerness to drive forward and a solid passing range. 7/10

Simon Kjaer: As with the last game, his age is showing as he needed to call upon Kalulu and Thiaw to bail him out when beaten for pace a few times. His aggression was fantastic as he pressed Kane high up and kept him at bay. 6/10

Malick Thiaw: MOTM for me by a mile. It was ridiculous to think he was the most inexperienced defender and only had 233 minutes to his prior to last night. He is quick and composed in defence, his tackles are clean and passing tidy. He also can drive up the pitch and shows exceptional strength. 8/10

Alexis Saelemaekers: He put in one of his best performances last night. He managed Perisic brilliantly, his press was intense and he covered so much ground. His last ditch save was immense for morale and he really pushed the midfield battle into their half. 7/10

Rade Krunic: An average performance where he was largely just breaking up play but did not get to build that much with his passing. He did release Leao and Diaz a few times but overall struggled to offer much to control the midfield. 5.5/10

Sandro Tonali: A balanced performance but more was expected as Skipp and Sarr managed to go toe to toe with him. He improved from January but is not yet at his 2021/22 level. The passing is still sloppy but the runs are getting better. 5.5/10

Theo Hernandez: Blonde hair and Theo is back. The runs are back. The cutbacks and square balls are back. He set up the pass for Diaz’s winner and created dangerous opportunities multiple times. He did well to hold off Kuluseveski for the bulk of the game and was tidy defensively. 7.5/10

Brahim Diaz: A brilliant goal that came from sheer determination. He was impactful and showed some strength to make his presence felt. He continues to come up big in particular games. 7/10

Rafael Leao: The touch just was not there but the determination to make things happen was back. He had a few opportunities to burn defenders and take good shots or deliver good crosses but seemed slightly rushed. Regardless he was dominant and beat the Tottenham defence with ease. 6.5/10

Olivier Giroud: A tireless workhorse performance. He was constantly running around to break up the play and offer an outlet to win the ball further up the pitch. 6.5/10

SUBSTITUTES

Junior Messias: A great cameo, he made lots of interceptions and his tackles added an extra line for Tottenham to break and continued the good work of Saelemaekers. He drove forward and put in some good balls. 5/10

Charles de Ketelaere: He should’ve scored, he is just a bit unlucky. Good movement and strong possession play. He is slowly growing in confidence. 5.5/10

Tommaso Pobega: He added some muscle but did not get on the ball too much. N/A

Ante Rebic: He pressed and slowed down the play as required. N/A

MANAGER

Stefano Pioli: He nailed the team selection but should be able to field a stronger eleven once Maignan, Tomori and Bennacer are slotted in. He managed the game well and kept the team compact. Our set piece management is getting better and the mental focus is now visible again. 7/10