AC Milan kicked off their 2016/17 Serie A campaign with a 3-2 win in dramatic circumstances against Torino on Sunday afternoon.
Carlos Bacca’s hat-trick saw Milan race out to a 3-1 lead after Andrea Belotti had levelled at 1-1, but a late collapse saw Gianluigi Donnarumma’s penalty save preserving the three points for Vincenzo Montella in his first league game in charge.
So, how did the team fare in what was an unforgettable game?
Starting XI
Donnarumma (8): GIGIO DONNA! If it weren’t for him, Torino would have gotten the equalizer after his heroic save on Andrea Belotti’s last-second penalty. The 17-year-old barely had much to do until the last 20 minutes, but bosses his penalty box really well.
Abate (7): The speedy Italian full-back had a good match and got an assist after a few great crosses earlier. Hopefully he keeps it up and gets himself some more assists consistently.
Paletta (5): The Argentine-Italian defender did well to stay strong in defense partnering with Romagnoli, making good clearances and strong tackles. Picked himself two yellow cards, though, the second being undeserved as it was Belotti who tugged his shirt, ripping it in the process, and going down for a penalty.
Romagnoli (6): The usually reliable Alessio Romagnoli looked a bit lost at times and was sleeping during Torino’s equalizer, marking Andrea Belotti poorly. Overall, though, the young Italian had a decent game helping out in attack and putting in good defensive work.
Antonelli (5): Not really the kind of performance we’re so used to seeing from Luca Antonelli as he’s made a number of errors. Hopefully it’s just temporary and the Italian goes back to playing how he used to in the coming games.
Kucka (8): The tank in midfield, Juraj Kucka! As always, hard working and dangerous in defense as well as attack. The Slovak came close to getting a goal of his own in the first half and was solid and consistent throughout the match.
Montolivo (5): Riccardo Montolivo had a great start to the game, but it went down from there as il Capitano made a number of errors and bad decisions which could have been costly.
Bonaventura (7): Adapting to a new position, Giacomo Bonaventura played the creative role in midfield, creating chances for teammates and himself and winning the penalty that got the third goal for the Rossoneri.
Suso (6): Maybe still getting used to the system and teammates, Suso hasn’t had a bad game but not a great one either. The young Spaniard had a few missed opportunities and not too good decision making.
Bacca (9 MOTM): Scoring with every shot, prior to the one-on-one miss, Carlos Bacca got his first hat-trick and Milan’s first hat-trick since 2012 when Giampaolo Pazzini scored 3 against Bologna. The Colombian went off to a standing ovation and a huge applause.
Niang (8): Putting in a good performance, the Frenchman replicated his fine form from last season to this match, getting himself an assist. Hopefully it only goes up from here for the young attacker.
Substitutions
Bertolacci (N/A): Andrea Bertolacci suffered an injury which forced him off the pitch just around one minute after coming on.
Poli (N/A): Coming on for the injured Andrea Bertolacci, the Italian midfielder didn’t have much of an impact other than giving away a free-kick in a dangerous position which thankfully went high.
Adriano (N/A): Luiz Adriano came on for Carlos Bacca late in the second half, adding fresh legs to help out in defense and maybe create chances of his own.
The Coach
Vincenzo Montella (7): This was the first Serie A game for Montella as Milan coach and you could see how well the team put his plan to use. Still a lot of work to do, but it’s a start.
