AC Milan’s long wait to win the Coppa Italia will continue for at least another year after they were beaten 2-1 by Atalanta in last night’s quarter-final at San Siro.
Milan’s cup Italia exit at the hands of La Dea was not without talking points as the away side enjoyed the rub of the green on two controversial calls. Nonetheless, another trophy target has vanished in a season that is threatening to fizzle out to nothing.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (as seen below) has their ratings from the game, starting with the team’s overall performance and Stefano Pioli’s management, both of which earned a grade of 5.5 out of 10.
The best player on the field for Milan was Theo Hernandez in the eyes of the paper as he got a 6.5 and assisted Rafael Leao for the opener, while Luka Jovic was anonymous and received a 5.
Mike Maignan, Davide Calabria and Matteo Gabbia (who was forced off in the first half) all got a 6, while Yunus Musah got a 5.5 and Alex Jimenez a 5 for giving away the decisive penalty.
Tijjani Reijnders and Rafael Leao were two of the only other positive notes as each got a 6.5, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek got a 5 and Christian Pulisic a 5.5.
Simon Kjaer and Filippo Terracciano received a 5.5 off the bench, while Jan-Carlo Simic was awarded with a 6.
Musah is absolutely lost. I don’t put this blame on him entirely because Pioli doesn’t know how to use him properly, he just sticks him wherever he feels when he’s panicking. I believe with right guidance he could become a good player, a Kante type of destructor. Right now he’s all pace and no tactical awareness, just headless running up and down. Still I think 20 millions for him would be better spent elsewhere.
RLC is just too big and clumsy to play a role of AM. He carries the ball but there’s no final pass from him, he just gets confused at that point.
Reijnders is finding his rhythm but he’s overcooked. Played every match between Serie A, CL and Coppa. Still I think he would be better used in advanced AM role as he’s always looking for passing in between spaces and looks to play one-two pass.
Terracciano in my opinion was good with positioning awareness. He was mostly always on the right spot, cleaning in defensive phase and also combined a lot with Leao on that left side. Would love to see him trained in more defensive midfield role and nurture in to a Tonali type of player.
Jovic had no service and therefore I wouldn’t blame him. Giroud couldn’t do any better.
Also Jimenez, no worry over that mistake that led to penalty. He’s young, getting settled in first team and probably a bit too excited in proving himself. Mistakes are opportunity to learn and grow in experience.
“Also Jimenez, no worry over that mistake that led to penalty. He’s young, getting settled in first team and probably a bit too excited in proving himself. Mistakes are opportunity to learn and grow in experience.”
I would agree for Jimenez, but since he is a player who will most likely go back to Real Madrid, is it in our interest to spend time developping him ? We did that with Diaz and in the end we lost him.
They are reportedly trying to re-negotiate the deal with Real Madrid.