Gianluca Lapadula was again the hero as Milan continued to put the pressure on at the top with a 2-1 win over Crotone.
The visitors took a shock lead with just their second away goal of the season through Falcinelli, but Mario Pasalic replied with his first goals for the Rossoneri, allowing Lapadula to bag what would prove to be a winner inside the last ten minutes.
Who impressed for Vincenzo Montella? And who disappointed?
Starting XI
Donnarumma (6.5): 45 Serie A appearances! The youngest player to reach that milestone in the 21st century! Gigio didn’t have much to do during the match but controlled his penalty area well. There wasn’t much the young goalkeeper could do about Crotone’s goal, though.
Abate (6.5): The captain has shown great heart and determination throughout the match and was working hard in defense and attack, especially towards the end where he was running up and down the right flank to try and get the win for the Rossoneri.
Paletta (7): Not only did he do his job in defense, but the Argentine-Italian caused problems for the opposition defense in attack as well, getting an assist on the first goal after nodding the ball towards Mario Pašalić, who headed it in from close range.
Romagnoli (6.5): Though he should’ve done better in preventing Crotone’s goal, Alessio Romagnoli bossed the defense and made it difficult for the opposition attack to get through and cause any real danger. It’s always relieving seeing the young defender in the line-up.
De Sciglio (4.5): Another really poor performance from Mattia, who was at fault for Crotone’s goal, looking clumsy in the process, and failing to properly contribute in attack putting in a number of inaccurate crosses. The young full-back needs to get his act together and stop being a liability.
Pašalić (7): Getting his first Red&Black goal and in San Siro, the young Croatian put in a fine performance in midfield, keeping control and keeping a cool head in all situations. He’s proving his worth after having been uninvolved in the opening games for the Rossoneri.
Locatelli (5.5): Looking hesitant and shaky throughout the match, Manuel Locatelli didn’t quite look at it, making poor and risky moves. It’s a lot of responsibility and pressure for the youngster and hopefully it only gets better. He’s already shown how confident and talented he is.
Sosa (4.5): Misplaced passes, poor dribbling, and skied shots from distance. It was a lacklustre performance from the Argentine veteran who has yet to show that he deserves a starting spot. Only impressive thing he did was the one-two with M’baye Niang.
Suso (6): One of our most consistent players, the Spaniard proved to be a lot to handle for the opposition defense with great display of skill, passing, and mazing runs. He did put in a few misplaced crosses that could’ve been done better.
Lapadula (7 – MOTM): He hadn’t done much throughout the course of the game but Gianluca Lapadula scored the all important winning goal in the dying minutes, his first in San Siro, after having won a penalty which was then taken and missed by M’baye Niang.
Niang (4.5): It’s not so much the performance from the Frenchman that has irritated us, that happens to even the best, as it is the selfishness and greed when he took the penalty away from Lapadula, who had won it and wanted to take it, and then missed it.
Substitutions
Adriano (5.5): Other than the half chance he didn’t take, not much of an impact was made by Luiz Adriano who looks to go lower down the pecking order following a number of great performances from Gianluca Lapadula and considering we still have Carlos Bacca.
Honda (N/A): The Forgotten One. The Japanese attacking midfielder hasn’t made many appearances this season as his exit seems more likely to happen. He hasn’t made much of an impact after coming on, though his cross led to Lapadula’s goal after the Crotone defense failed to clear it.
Kucka (N/A): The Slovak was booked 3 minutes after coming on towards the end of the match to help the Rossoneri keep the one goal lead and win the 3 points, getting himself suspended in the process and will miss the match against Roma next week.
The Coach
Montella (6): Bringing Juraj Kucka instead of any other midfielder on in the dying minutes of the match was questionable as the Slovak will now miss the next game against Roma. Nonetheless, the Italian won the 3 points and continues his fine run with the Rossoneri, keeping them joint-second in the Serie A.
