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Player Ratings: Bologna 0-2 AC Milan – Pulisic shines; Giroud silences critics

By Isak Möller -

AC Milan claimed all three points in their opening game of the season as they beat Bologna 2-0. For Christian Pulisic, among a few others, it was a perfect start and down below are the player ratings for the Rossoneri.

Starting XI

Maignan (6.5): He made a couple of very good saves and was very important in the build-up, more often than not finding a teammate with his long passing. A good start for him.

Calabria (6): The captain was a tad shaky at times when in possession but ultimately did well as an inverted full-back. Some things clearly need to be worked out but that’s more on a tactical level.

Thiaw (6.5): He was the best out of the centre-backs this evening with a high position and several interceptions. A couple of misplaced passes, but that was to be expected given the lack of alternatives at times.

Tomori (6): An okay game from the Englishman, who did make one mistake that could have cost Milan dearly. However, okay apart from that as said and it’s something to build on for him.

Hernandez (6): He certainly had his trademark moments but lacked the final touch today. The heat (35 degrees in Bologna) probably had a lot to do with it as he didn’t look that energised in the second half.

Loftus-Cheek (6): In the first half, we didn’t see that much of him but upon reflection, he did get stuck in a lot. He definitely focused more on giving Milan a physical presence than being brilliant on the ball, but he had a couple of good moments in that sense as well.

Krunic (6): He did what was needed from him and perhaps a little more. It’s clear that Milan are still a bit defensively exposed even if that isn’t directly the Bosnian’s fault.

Reijnders (6.5): Got the assist for the second goal after a great run into the box and he continued to move around the pitch in a smart manner. He did also help out in the defensive phase, which was necessary to see.

Pulisic (7.5 – MOTM): That first half was simply brilliant from him and although he faded a bit in the second, this was the perfect start from him. Milan have been missing the type of cross we saw on the first goal and his strike to double the lead was fantastic.

Giroud (7): Given the pre-season, it went surprisingly well for the Frenchman tonight. He combined very well with his teammates (as especially seen on the second goal) and dropped down when needed too. The first goal was a nice finish as well.

Leao (6): He struggled out there tonight with many ‘almost’ moments, including an effort that hit the post. The quality is obviously there, we all know that, but this wasn’t his best game and he looked a bit fatigued.

Substitutes

Kalulu (6): Nothing special from him but he did what was needed defensively to see out the game.

Pobega (6): A nice appearance off the bench with some good movement and passing. Hopefully, he can continue like that.

Chukwueze (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating. He was very cautious when on the ball, which is understandable.

Okafor (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating. He barely touched the ball.

Kjaer (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating.

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Tags AC Milan AC Milan Player Ratings Christian Pulisic Olivier Giroud

135 Comments

    2. yes, Kalulu did have a give away that was really bad. And Pobega was much better IMO — so for them to both have the same 6 rating makes no sense to me.

      1. Agree. Pobega made several intercepts. He helped defense a lot and was involved in the transition. I guess he deserves a better rating. Aside from some shaky defensive passing, the team did OK or maybe even an excellent start, particularly in the first half.

  5. Personally thought Reijnders was man of the match but the whole team played well after the first minute. Bologna got a few too many chances after Orsolini came on and the fast start maybe contributed to Milan looking very tired in the second half, but job done.

    I hope Leao just had cramp at the end.

  6. 4 ex Chelsea man in the team. It was interesting to see.
    If Puli keeps it up Chukwueze will have a hard time getting minutes

    1. Chukwueze will get minutes at RW for sure because Pulisic will sometimes play in the middle to give Giroud a rest or sometimes he may play on the left to give Leao a rest (on the LW is where he played almost exclusively at Chelsea after he played almost exclusively on the right side at Dortmund).
      And sometimes, Pulisic will need a rest too. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of Chukwueze (and I’m excited to see him). Loved watching him at Villareal.

      1. You left out the part where both Tuchel and Potter tried to play Pulisic at wingback at Chelsea, easily his worst position, one that wasted his offensiv talent and exposed his defensive weaknesses

        1. Gandalf, you are correct — Pulisic is not best suited for a back 3 formation like Inter plays with their talented wingbacks (Dimarco and Dumfries)… and he definitely wasn’t as good playing wingback. Chelsea became such a mess right after winning the Champions League.

  7. Where are they guys who wanted to bench Pulisic before the season even started? ANd said Giroud is too old?
    I can’t believe this guy actually gave Calabria a 6. He has to be joking. One of the worst defensive performances I’ve ever seen. Literally running away from attackers leaving them free shots on goal. Got beat every time. He cannot start any more.
    Reijnders was excellent. Theo looked dangerous.
    But I don’t like the iverted fullbacks, along with the fluid formation guys are getting so far out of position and really leaving us exposed to the counter. It’s also a whole lot of extra running and some of the guys looked exhausted by halftime.
    Good start but need to sort out the defense.

    1. Some of your right up makes sense, but to think Calabria was bad today is a huge misstatement, dude had three runners on him almost every attack Bologna had, unless he has to be flash or something, there was no DM cover for him and I wonder who played there.

      1. He’s always out of position(especially now with the inverted fullbacks) and doesn’t have the pace to make it up. AT one point in the first half he literally ran away from the attacker with the ball leaving him a free shot on goal. He was beat one on one many times.

      2. God bless you…. some people will just hate on someone who is given it all. Lofts chick was the worst on the field. Calebria was even better than theo this night . In everything. Check . Musah will bench some1

      3. Calabria was abysmal today. The worst player in the pitch by far. RLC was not outpaced like him. He was out of position, and clueless most of the time

    2. “ANd said Giroud is too old?”

      Calm down. Let’s wait until after the winter break and see. Anyone can run on matchday 1. The dude is 37 years old. That’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. Is he “useless”? Of course not, but show me any other top 4 club in any of the top 5 leagues whose line is lead by a 37 year old. The closest is Lewandowski, and he is in another universe to Giroud, and he is the only one close to Giroud in age.

      1. They said the same thing last year, plus he played almost every game for France in the world cup. I can name you plenty of teams in the top 5 leagues with worse strikers up top than Giroud. But if we are not going by performance and only by age… I guess you win the argument? Who exactly do you think they are going to get? I’ll take a 37 year old Giroud over Lukaku every day of the week.

  8. Good win at least… the 2nd half was too poor. Reijnders wasn’t allowed to control this game Pioli used him more as an AM. Krunic isn’t a DM and has no clue about positioning no surprise about that at all. Leao’s pressing is so poor it leaves so much space that affects the whole teams pressing. If Pioli is able to fix some things we should be good, instead of asking for a DM he is keen on playing Krunic there at all cost, I hope it doesn’t cost him his job.

    Forza Milan

    2. The second half was poor because the team was completely exhausted. The amount of ground Pioli is asking these players to cover with this fluid formation and inverted fullbacks is crazy. Not only do they have to cover the entire pitch vertically, but now they also have cover the entire width of the pitch as well. Leoa is coming all the way to the right side, so is Theo. One time Calabria was all the way to the left of Theo. It’s too much. Then everyone has to scramble to recover and leaves a ton of open space for the opposition, which Bologna was able to exploit. Thankfully they don’t have the talent to finish it off, but a better team will.

  9. Very good first half, discombobulated second half.
    Pulisic was awesome the 1st half an hour.
    The midfield looks too offensive. Both RLC and Reijnders like to push forward and they leave a lot of space behind them for counter attacks. Especially when Theo is pushing as well. Pioli needs to tighten up the midfield. One of the 2 has to stay back.
    Krunic definitely had a better game than Dominguez. Milan needs an upgrade over Krunic, but after watching Dominguez today, he isn’t the guy. He was the worst player on the field.
    On the side note. Did Chukwueze shrink since his transfer to Milan. I swear he was taller in Villarreal. He looks like he is Brahim height.
    All in all good start of the season with an easy W

    1. Im agree with what you said about Dominguez. Im little bit tired to see almost everyone here was too hype about that guy. In fact…he is not better than Krunic.

      1. Any leeway for the fact that he’s been rumored to leave all summer, is on an expiring contract, is refusing to renew with Bologna and has had the captaincy stripped? I don’t know if he’s the answer, but psychological conditions do affect players.

        1. Another reason why Milan should stay away then.
          He lacks focus and is easily distracted.
          Every person has a life and distraction outside of their job, but for 8,10,12 hours a day you act like a professional and focus on your job and task at hand. His job is 2 hours once or twice a week besides training that is few hours a day.
          Don’t care about excuses.
          Also, Krunic has been rumored to be leaving as well and still performed to the best of his ability besides the transfer distraction.

  11. Pulisic MOTM, absolutely! Next best, Giroud, Reijnders and Maignan.

    The team lost a bit of energy in second half but it needs to be understood that the weather was very hot, so players got tired.

  12. Pulisic is an absolute steal of a player. CDK? Pulisic all the way. Now that’s the kind of player we needed.

    The big concern for me again was Leao. He needs to step it up again. I’m sure he will. It will be electric seeing both sides attacking.

    1. Leao might not have scored; but he still showed how dangerous he can be and hit the post late — but the thing I love is that he led all of the front 6 players in tackles won today. He worked hard defensively and helped the team that way which is great to see.

  13. Reijnders and Pulisic were impressive. I feel that Pulisic and Giroud together can be a great combo. (Pulisic needs to stay healthy)

    A few scary moments but for a first game and 3 new starters it looked decent.

    1. Don’t worry, even if Pulisic is unavailable, we still have Chuk. Still, i hope Cardinale had finished his promise of improving Milan Lab.

      1. It’s shocking how many injuries Milan has each year. I hope you’re right because as much as I’m a fan of Pulisic, he gets injured far too often.

  14. Krunic 6?! He was close to perfection. Incredible to see how much undervalued he is. His defensive reading and positioning was great, he saved more than one difficult situation. With the ball he was clean, playing one touch when needed and carrying it forward when there was space. I would have never expected him to become a n4 of this level. There were people here claiming that Dominguez is better. But to upgrade Krunic you need more than Dominguez.
    A note on Posh: incredible performance against Leao, he was aggressive and clean winning most of the duels. . Also good with the ball and last year scored 6 goals. A player for big teams.

    1. Stop with this insanity please. He was what he always is…Mediocre. The best thing you can say about Krunic is he is a safe player. He’s not going to make a big mistake. That’s not good enough.

        1. Hah, Thank you for proving my point. The best thing you can say about Krunic is that he didn’t make any big mistakes. He didn’t do anything positive, but he didn’t do anything negative either. Not a plus, not a minus. He is a net 0 player. That perfectly sums up Krunic.

          1. That’s what you want from a player in that position.

            He just helped the team win (again) – can you show him some respect?

          3. K has the weird theory that making no mistakes does not equal a good performance. And maybe he thinks the job of a DM should be to dribble past 3 players and then provide goal or assists.

          4. “Hah, Thank you for proving my point. The best thing you can say about Krunic is that he didn’t make any big mistakes. He didn’t do anything positive, but he didn’t do anything negative either. Not a plus, not a minus. He is a net 0 player. That perfectly sums up Krunic.”

            This! You summed it up nicely. Some people have low standards for our players these days. “Give him a 10 as he didn’t make any mistakes this time!!” 😀

          5. That’s what he is there to do. I don’t know what you’re expecting. Obviously, Milan need a destroyer in the midfield, too, and maybe Musah might be that, but Krunic didn’t put a foot wrong so you literally cannot criticise him after last night’s performance, and I say that as someone who doesn’t even like him that much. Sometimes net 0 players is what you need.

      1. You should really rewatch the match and also look at Krunic stats in this match. He did everything a n4 should do, especially in the 2nd half he was always in the right position, intercepting many balls and playing with confidence. If the same performance was put by new player that come for 20m you would all praise him. You should watch how players play regardless of their name on the jersey and how much we paid. Having said that obviously I would prefer to have Rodri there. But the players linked to Milan in that position are not better than Krunic, expect maybe the Porto guy.

        1. I agree Krunic is underrated — as always. No, he’s not a superstar offensively; but he actually does help our attack and past 2 years, he’s made some very good passes leading to goals or great opportunities and has found the back of the net himself. He led our team today in completed passes by a big margin, was well positioned, intercepted balls and had 3 nice tackles won. He’s a steadying presence and especially when you are protecting a 2 goal lead, he’s a perfect player to have on the pitch — he won’t make a stupid horrible pass to the other team right by our box like Kalulu did that can cost you a goal.

        2. Caicedo has entered the chat….

          No but seriously. Not naming any errors when you’re playing a defensive position is the entire point. Anyone who has played DM or in the back line will tell you that. Krunic negotiated tight spaces with good control, broke up play when needed, and made some good vertical passes. Dominguez is not, I repeat is NOT better than him.

        3. Dude had the second best pass completion percentage at 95% and then people wonder where I’m pulling the stats from. Only one better was Tijji at 100%. Those are incredible numbers. He also won half his ground duels and of course as usual all his aerials. Long passing was 100% as also his usual. I really don’t get it. Was where he needs to be and kept things calm and controlled. Played intelligently. You don’t need flash all the time.

          3. “Not every pass can be forwards. 🤦‍♂️”

            Let’s put it this way: For a player who some call “playmaker” every pass should not be backwards. It would help the team if he passed it forward at least once per 5 passes. But it’s “Backpass-Krunic” and his trademark so what can you do?

    3. Okay let’s not start having orgasms over Krunic again. He’s OKAY – coming off the bench, squad depth, rotation yadda yadda yadda. He’s not Ambrosini.

      1. Seriously what was so good about Ambrosini???

        I loved Ambrosini but I never thought he was
        supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

        Where does this idea come from that he was some sort of super human – created with special DNA that ceased to exist in Italians after the year 20Something (when entirely coincidentally we had an explosion of transfers)?

        Krunic is “ok” for helping us win games. That really should be the end of the matter. We didn’t get to the semi-finals of the Champions League by playing with 10 men (or less since it seems about half the players on that team are being written off as “not being players capable of playing in champions league”).

        These arbitrary ratings of “hot” or “not” are nonsense. These are elite athletes. Every single one of them has strengths and weaknesses. It’s about playing to their strengths and minimising their weaknesses.

  15. I’m very happy with our right side attack, pretty good, definitely an upgrade from last season. Crosses coming in frequently. Fast forward to Match day 4

    1. Calabria seemed shaky because the right side was too offensive.

      Pulisic and RLC were high up sometimes leaving only Calabria with 3 players.

      Those saying Krunic was bad didn’t see the game or are not open minded. Krunic had a very good game.

      Reinders?? What a player. 4-2-3-1 is the best for this team RLC and Krunic then push Reinders up a bit. 27 completed passes out of 27 attempted.

  17. Reijnders should have been at least 7.
    Man is everywhere on the pitch.
    He had an assist and one clutch tackle as the last man inside the box to deny bologna the chance.
    It’s been God knows how long for me to see milan right side drive the ball forward with pace and accuracy instead of back passing all the time.
    These new signings definitely an upgrade from last season.

  18. Great start for Puli. I was very impressed with Reijnders. Fantastic coverage all game. He was literally everywhere. I’d give him a 7. Leao was quiet today but he’s probably still tired from varying this team for two seasons.

    I’m defense the same suspects were making the same mistakes. Tomori & Kalulu. I hope this kid Pellegrino is good because Tomori needs time on the bench.

    1. agree with all comments — especially on how happy we all should be with both Pulisic and Reijnders. They were fantastic. And agree our defenders need to somehow recapture that magic they had during that final 9 or 10 or 11 matches to end our Scudetto campaign w/ all of those clean sheets.

  19. Eh, I disagree re Leao. I saw a player who wanted the ball, drove forward when he had the ball, and expressed frustration when the ball wasn’t passed in his direction. He even wandered over to the center and right on a couple of occasions looking for the ball. The “problem” was that a lot more of the play was going down the right flank in this game. I put problem in quotes, because it’s really not a problem as we now have a proper right wing. Because we have real RWs Leao was seeing less of the ball than before, not any laziness on Leao’s part. The one-dimensional tactic of pass it to Leao is over thankfully.

    1. Agreed.

      I think Leao is going to have a quieter season but the team overall might perform better – something the media and fans need to remember before they turn on him.

  20. Ratings are pretty legit, well done. Read some other ratings on some other sites that were such trash, u guys do a better job. No one mentioned however Maignan making a few weird low passes that caused unnecessary trouble and thiaw getting really sloppy in the second half, leading to his substitution. Pulisic!!! Happy for him

  21. I think 433 is not suitable. We let lots of holes in mf and back. I’m not sure. Also pioli trys invented FBs. Also not fan of that. I think 4231 is the perfect formation for us

    1. it looked like after we got the 2 goal lead, the 4-3-3 seemed to change to a 4-2-3-1 with Giroud (obviously) up top while RLC and Krunic dropped back to the two defensive mids (and the attacking mids obviously, were Leao – Reijnders – Pulisic).

    1. Is that directed at me?

      I predicted 1:0 so wasn’t far off.

      I also had a go at the media for raving about CDK after they helped push him out so not sure what you’re referring to.

      I think the reason I confuse some people (other than the fact that I wrote more 140 words) is:

      a) I don’t arbitrarily rate players; and
      b) I like the players who play for my team.

      You should try it sometime.

  23. This was the Giroud show
    Defence was weak (Thiaw)
    Giroud, Calabria, Krunić and Reijnders 4 best players for me

    For the opposition it would be Orsolini, Dominguez and Ferguson who played well

  24. Reinjders was the MOTM. Fantastic going forward and tracking back and his distribution was great. Steal of a signing. Pulsic was great first half goal and hockey assist. Constant threat.

    Nice to see our attack wasn’t so reliant solely on the left side. Versatility was great.

    Well deserved victory and solid performance from the lads esp for first game of season

    Side note: Dominguez didn’t look that great IMO

  25. Leao is a bit of a concern for me. Pulisic’s arrival should naturally have lit a fire under under him as he has been far too comfortable for two years now and finally has some competition. But after watching tonight it almost seems like having Pulisic there made Leao play with less urgency.

    1. disagree. I saw tons of defensive effort from Leao — he had 8 tackles won; more than any non-defender/back 4 player on our team. Having positive impact attacking from other players will only open things up more for him as the season progresses. We really could score a lot of goals and we haven’t see what Chukwueze and Okafor can do for us yet (well, we’ve seen their excellent talent when they were on their prior teams). I’m very excited for more offense/goals for us this year.

    1. and on offense. he also just had terrible body language and refused to track causing Reijnders to do the work for both of them….I’m not trying to be a downer but i thought maybe he was injured or something…

  27. it looked like after we got the 2 goal lead, the 4-3-3 seemed to change to a 4-2-3-1 with Giroud (obviously) up top while RLC and Krunic dropped back to the two defensive mids (and the attacking mids obviously, were Leao – Reijnders – Pulisic).

    1. we moved out of the 4-2-4 press once it was clear we were exhausted and would give away goals. it was a close to a penalty play in the box around the 55th min or so. Afterwards it was just a 4-4-2 low block.

  28. Alrighty a few observations about this match:
    – Leao was actually tracking back on defense. It could be that he really wants to build on that criticism and become a more complete player. This is a good sign.
    – We don’t have to rely on Leao for offensive output and it’s not just Puli. It’s Tijji who is pulling the strings sending the ball to wherever the offense needs it.

    – Pioli making subs early wow. Lol. At least some of the new guys got game time

    – Due to the way we’re playing there were many players out of position. Not sure if we’re too dynamic or if it’s because it was vs Bologna. But a better team can take advantage of that. That being said I like the fluidity

    – The tempo was so high it was clear we got gassed in the second half which was what I mentioned during the game. We’re also lucky in that sense.

    – Tijji’s passing and ability to get out of pressure is absolutely incredible.

    – We still have huge holes in midfield. Krunic was the only one that really held the defensive midfield together and a different team would capitalize on it. As I’ve said before I dont mind us winning 3-2, 4-2, 5-4 and so on as long as we get point and outscore the opponents. But in Serie A this approach in the long term is not going to work.

    Side note, Last year Dominguez caught my eye, this year is Buekema. He was decent. Not saying to get him but he did a decent job.

    2. Posh was the one that impressed me. Super solid against Leao, winning almost all duels. Clean with the ball, strong in the air and can play also CB.

    3. personally the interchanging of positions is beautiful and the reason I get excited to watch games. The freedom because of the abilities of everyone to defend and attack made the team unguardable for the first 30 min.

      That said, you nailed it in that it clearly takes top form to play like that and by the 55th minute all we could do is bunker in a low block and counter…this should improve a lot over the coming games.

      I am not exactly sure what RLC was doing for most of the game…i need to watch it back but he was neither tracking back defensively or pressing high leaving all the work to Taijji which of course he did brilliantly. He almost appeared to be injured to me or maybe sick. Small concern given the job the rest of the team did.

      Also would shout out Thiaw. He is always in the right spot and making the right play. He is a tremendous player…

      1. It’s not that RLC had a good game or anything for me but I could tell he’s trying to figure out stuff. His strength is certainly an asset. He’s able to hold off ppl well. Not sure about his other abilities

    4. Well said. Agree.

      RLC is really a ACM – loves to play in advanced role and doesn’t always track back leaving Reinjders to do that dirty work with Krunic. Better teams will exploit that on the counter. Speaking of Krunic – he isn’t going anywhere. Solid game but most will criticize him because they don’t like him. As I said in previous comment – Dominguez didn’t impress when he needed to with Pioli watching on. Krunic will def stay like it or not. Agree with Leao comment as well. First time in forever we didn’t need him or Theo to create all of our chances and yes he did track back and defend more than I have ever seen him before. Solid display and more of an all around game – but again the critics will say he didn’t score so he had must have had a bad game lol. Calabria….I like him but it’s time to give Kalulu the start. If Calabria wasn’t Italian I think that would have happened already. Also I think that is/should be the last game we see Pobega play in when Musah returns 👀

      Wonder how/if Pioli is going to get Pulisic and Chukwueze on the pitch together or will one remain a super sub?? I can see us dropping back to a 4-2-3-1 w/ Pulsic behind Giroud, Chuk on RW and Reinjders and Krunic/Musah as the holding mids

      Still need a #9 to backup/spell Giroud and a backup LB…time is running out

      1. my hope is musah is the solution to making this team more complete defensively next to reinjders because he has a very high workrrate and lives to run down attackers…

        having mids (as many as possible) that can give you 12km per game from box to box is key to this style of play and so far it seems more like Reinjders and Krunic fit that mold.

        Right now Pulisic is covering a lot for RLC on defense which I think is why hes trusted over there because of his high workrate. If they don’t need that he would feel more comfortable with Chuk there.

        Musah wont be thrown into that krunic role until he’s had some time on the field. But their defense will improve when both are on the field together.

        There are a lot of minutes to fill. Everyone will need to be ready.

        I like the 3241 in build up and 325 against the low block, I don’t see them changing that, you are talking about a personnel change of Pulisic instead of RLC with Reinjders not having as much freedom forward. I would like to see musah first…i like using the current formation especially given the capabilities of the CBs.

        Its also a fitness question though…

      2. Agree too here @Juro. It seems if Leao doesnt score or assist then ppl think he has a bad game smh..this is literally why we upgraded the RW…so we have a viable option. I think this will help him and us in the long run. He’ll be “rested” enough during the game that he can be effective later on in the game. Such a relief though seeing effective attack on the right 😁
        On Calabria/Kalulu I’m a little indifferent. They should play depending on the opponent. Calabria can handle the shorter guys like Kvara and Kalulu the taller pacey guys.

  29. Pioli subs is late. we haev another game on saturday. last season we have 12-13 useful players, so its understandable for late subs, but now the subs are all good players too. should sub early to give them time at rest important players since we were leading 2-0.
    i think the lads did well, if the coach have ratings i would give him low for this game

  30. Too early to be overly optimistic with the Rossoneri especially with Bologna,however definitely encouraging. Real encouraging…….. clean sheet as well, a convincing win goes unbelievably far as to confidence……happy for Pulasic ,off to the right start…… going to sleep great tonight !!!! Forza Milano

  31. And now for the ppl who said Krunic had a bad game. You guys are full of crap. You don’t know how to play football or what you’re looking at. He did exactly what was needed of him. Fancy flicks, dribbles and flashy stuff doesn’t mean he didn’t do a great job. He allows all that crazy attacking and chance creation up ahead because he’s busy positioning himself and reading the game for the rest of them. Underappreciated and undervalued is what he is. And he could have gotten an assist if Leao shot off the bar went in. He had the second best passing percentage in the game (95,%). Second best to only Tijji. Won half of his duels and was where he needed to be. When is this guy ever going to get credit smh

    Now, Do I think we need a more commanding presence in the middle? Of course. But with what we have now he’s our best player until someone else (presumably Musah) get up to speed.

      1. Because as a def midfielder it’s his job to support the defence if needed and provide safety for the other 2 midfielders, if they screw up? You are just full of crap and a hater
        Krunić played very well and if he plays every game like this, then Milan don’t need another regista

      3. Bro made a crazy long pass to Leao who nearly scored. Yea he just makes short passes. Smh. He also makes short passes. He’s not the creative spark. What’s a defensive mid doing creating? It’s not his job though he can as shown in this game, literally. If everyone was creating no one would be defending and we’ll leak goals

          1. What about him? We don’t have him.
            I would love to have him in his prime (not now though) or Casemiro, Rodri,. Kimmich or Barella but we don’t and we can’t afford any of them. PS Kante was never a creative mid but he’s a ball carrying defensive mid.

    2. Such a pointless stat. When most of your passes are backwards to the keeper or side to side to the defenders you are going to have a high completion percentage. It means nothing. He creates nothing.

      2. Again. See above. I assume you’re to alking about pass completion rate.. His job is to defend and get into positions to mop up or help the defense. Passing accurately helps where he’s at. If youre in front of defence and you’re losing the ball ie ur pass accuracy is low then you’re more likely to get scored on. Alot of his passes granted are when he got pressed but he made the right decision. He passed back when he needed to in order to reset the play and forward when he needed to.
        What about his defensive stat? He won most of his duels.. completely ignored that one. You guys are full of crap like I said. Just hate for no reason. I would like to have Casemiro there but this is what we have and he does the job. Creativity? You ingnored the pass to Leao that came off the woodwork or what? He’s not supposed to be creative, he can be but it’s not necessary for his role. That’s Tiji, Puli, RLC and so on. Smh

    3. Read this mario andrew & K comment are so funny. They want DM show creativity, it is just like they say hey gattuso you are mediocre because dont have creativity. You already explain to them but it seems their brain cannot accept that. K more crazy , he want DM keep possesion in dangerous position and play like playmaker , what the hell this K thinking. Again krunic are underated and most ppl here dont appreciate his hard work helping defense that allow reijnders and other winger/striker free to atack

        1. Xabi Alonso was complete garbage, all he did was pass square and foul. You’re insulting Kante and Ambrosini but comparing them with that fraud.

        2. Kante plays as an 8 and has always played as an 8 with a 6 behind him…hes a good defensive player but he plays a different position.

      2. You guys are seriously stupid or just have really low expectations. A good DM is a distributor of the ball, he doesn’t just kick it back to the keeper in fear every time he gets it. Also, some good ones can even dribble a little bit out of pressure and open things up for the offense. But i guess you guys are happy with a player that just does the bare minimum. ” Hey, he didn’t make any big mistakes… give him a ten!”

  32. Just boring game and luckily u met bologna. If u play like this against inter, they will humiliate u.

    Still, PIOLO out

    1. LMAO! You are the same guy, who said that Bologna would beat, Milan 3-0 and Motta would school Pioli… Already eating your own words? Eh..

        1. So basically? You are hoping, for Milan to lose just to put all blame on Pioli? 🤡 What lucky? If you so upset, go support Bologna then..

  33. Good play, good job for Pioli and all the players.

    I think for the next games, rotation is needed. So players like Okafor, Chuk, and Musah, include Adli and others, they have played time either.

    Not just stuck with the same 11 players, all the time.

    Maybe after 2 matches, Pioli can play players above from the first minute.

    But overall, this Bologna’s night was a good game, appreciate for all

    1. Rotation might be where it starts to go wrong for us….

      Haaland played 53 games last season.

      Why can’t our guys play that number?

        1. Sorry only expensive/superstar players can play more than 50 games a season?

          I would’ve thought the thing that sets them apart is their ability but apparently they also have the superhuman ability to play as many games as most players did in the 1990s….

          The point is to reach that machine like level of play requires constant repetition which is why too much rotation isn’t ideal. Pioli says he now has 20 starters so should be interesting!

  35. It’s important to mention that both Tuchel and Potter tried to play Pulisic at wingback at Chelsea, easily his worst position, one that wasted his offensiv talent and exposed his defensive weaknesses.
    As much a part of why he “failed” at Chelsea as his oft-mentoned injuries

  36. Bologna had almost double our number of chances (17-9), they got through the midfield with ease. The most important thing is the points at this stage, but there’s a lot of work to be done. A DM is needed. There is no defensive control in midfield.

  37. Very good performance from our new players : Pulisic & Reijnders. But Leao & Theo performance are disappointing, compared what they did in pas 2-3 years before.

    Imagine Theo-Leao back to their top, we may after the treble winner, this Season !!!

    Forza Milan…..

    1. Haaland had injury problems until he started working with Guardiola.

      A feature of all the clubs Guardiola has managed is that he’s had very few injuries, worked with smaller squads, and multiple players have been able to play 50+ games per season (from Pujol to Messi to Lewandowski and now Haaland).

      This is why he’s able to get his teams to play almost like robots.

  39. Reijnders a boss with 100% successful pass completion. Pulisic motivated, showing versatility with both legs. Clicked well with Oli. Krunic also had good quiet game and did what was expected of him. He made himself available and covered between our CB’s everytime the opposition got near our penalty box. Had 95% successful pass completion and made some crucial interceptions as well. One was after Thiaw’s howler and the other after Kalulu’s.

    RLC was quiet and nothing special. Pobega did more in those few minutes. Thiaw was shaky making it hard for Calabria, Tomori and Krunic. Leao and Theo tried but weren’t really in their element. Still, we need to focus this season on team’s display and in this ascpet they did well.

    Overall a good game in first half. Slept too much on lead in second and gave too much space to Bologna. Midfield too leaky.

  40. I just hope you watched this match carefully..
    I say this ,and I,ll say it again Giroud Is class ..
    Typical poaches goal and an assist for pulisic .
    How many times have I told you ,just listen again Olivier can easily score around 20 goals this season in all competitions..pulisic and rafeol leao will also score lots of goals ..Giroud last night amazing especially his hold up play and link up play with team mates ..yes he did fade a little in second half as did pulisic .
    Man of the match pulisic what an energetic performance from him and what a goal….
    This match on paper was never going to be easy ,and there will be many teams who travel to Bologna who will face a tough match .
    So this is a great start for us and a great three points .
    We are not quite ready yet but we will be ..
    I have also told you we will challenge for honours again this season so just watch and listen .
    We have a great squad of players which is good as even the best of players will need a rest from time to time …We are AC milan

  41. My rating:

    Maignan: 7
    Calabria: 5
    Thiaw: 6,5
    Tomori: 5,5
    Theo: 5,5
    Krunic: 6
    Reijnders: 6,5
    RLC: 5,5
    Pulisic: 6,5
    Leao: 4,5
    Giroud: 6,5

    Forza Milan!

  42. The truth remains that Bologna keeps possessions in the midfield more than Milan,just one win Krunic now looks like Benacer,Rodri or Casemiro🤣
    Krunic is just good for Turkeys league.

  43. The Krunic haters are so silly. First of all, I don’t think any of us Krunic supporters have EVER said or even implied that he is or should be someone creative like Pirlo was or some people throwing N’golo Kante’s name out there is so dumb and ridiculous. Kante was literally the best midfielder in the world along with Modric for a couple years (winning PL with Leicester, then next year with Chelsea, winning WC with France, winning CL with Chelsea). NOBODY here thinks or expects Krunic to be Kante!!!!
    He’s a backup and was a backup for Kessie, Tonali, Bennacer past couple of years; but the FACT IS — when he steps on the field, he is beyond solid. He plays in tons of different positions, does whatever the manager asks of him and as a starter yesterday, he was the perfect player to have in the match protecting a 2 goal lead. When Bennacer returns, he’ll play less and Pobega will play more. The bottom line is you idiots still don’t understand the value he brings and then when you argue that he’s bad, you make it seem like we Krunic supporters are saying that we think he’s Luka Modric or something.

    1. Adli far more better than your idol KRUNIC. But PIOLO having affair with KRUNIC so he choose KRUNIC instead Adli.

      Ppl said KRUNC is DM, but ton of goals come from his mistake. And ppl still stand on KRUNC or KRUNCH or whatever they call.

      Lol

      1. I’ll give you a stat so you can go sh*t yourself. Krunic has zero mistakes leading to goals or opponents shots for all of last season. Bennacer and Tonali cannot claim that.

    2. Thank you DB. Sometimes I have to go so far the other way to bring the convo in balance it makes it look like I’m sort of fanatic. It’s very simple. Krunic is such a dependable option to have. There should be a proper defensive Mid since Kessie left but that’s management’s fault both current and previous. What we have is what we have and Krunic is as reliable as you can get for a squad player. Pobega and Adli are less reliable and cover less positions than him. But to see ppl say he’s trash, I simply can’t fathom what we’re both watching.

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