AC Milan added another three points to their tally thanks to an important win against Lazio on Saturday evening. Tijjani Reijnders did especially well and was named the MOTM by Gazzetta Dello Sport.
The Rossoneri didn’t have the best of first halves but came out with a lot of energy in the second, putting Lazio under tremendous pressure. It paid off as Christian Pulisic and Noah Okafor managed to get on the scoresheet, making it three wins out of three.
As per Gazzetta Dello Sport (see photo below), Reijnders was the best Milan player on the pitch with a technical superiority, channelling his Dutch nature in every area of the pitch. He got a 7/10, just like Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao who also were crucial.
The likes of Fikayo Tomori, Yunus Musah, Alessandro Florenzi and Noao Okafor were above average at 6.5, with the latter three all doing very well off the bench. Mike Maignan, Davide Calabria, Theo Hernandez, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tommaso Pobega all got a pass at 6.
Finally, Yacine Adli struggled to get on the ball in the first half especially and didn’t have the same success with his long balls, thus getting 5.5 just like Simon Kjaer. The Frenchman was named the flop of the match, though.
Is Krunic in charge of the ratings. I think Adli had a good game most of the time our players weren’t moving so he couldn’t get the ball to them. Adli plays quick while you could argue he could slow down. I think our players should move more. The midfield are always too far they need to make themselves more available. Our players never help with the build up everyone is just in the front waiting for the ball rather than going to it sometimes.
Interesting ratings!
5.5 is harsh for Adli but I struggle to see how people are getting so excited about him.
I can sort of see why Pioli was so hesitant. He’s incredibly slow on the ball. I’ve shouted at the TV a few times for him to pass.
And I was one of the ones disappointed he had been given chances!
It’ll be interesting to see how he develops. After all I’m the one always always saying how the exact same players can be transformed. But for me he does need to transform. He’s not there yet.
I said same after Cagliari match. He has vision and passes but he needs to anticipate the game quicker and understand movement of his teammates. Instead he holds the ball for too long, making the game static in midfield while the opposition forms their defense.
I dont think anyone is saying he is a world beater. But, overall, he isnt that far off defensively from what Krunic does and is already better offensively. He is young and has a higher ceiling that Krunic. That’s probably the argument. Neither of them is a true DM. Musah i think is better suited for the role, but that’s a separate topic
He’s nowhere near what Krunic does in defence.
And the younger/ceiling thing is meaningless because players don’t stay a clubs long enough!
Gds should leave Adli alone !
Exactly my point!!! Gazetta seems to watch the game actually, unlike all the Adli fans here
Its remind me with the Hauge case all over again, i wished Adli success but he’s not there yet and people start comparing him with legend such as Pirlo are ridiculous.
Completely agree with the rating. And the reason for the sloppy start apart from Adli doing nothing was actually lost Pulisic. He did not play well in the first half of the match. Improved a lot in the second partly because of mounting pressure we built on the right. Musah was absolutely phenomenal btw. Great potential.
if i were to guess. pulisic has had a fair bit of injury problems from defenders getting away with a lot. guys were dropping like flies before the ref showed up around half time. the ref seemed to re-appear after pulisic went at him.
Let’s be honest, the guy is wasting in front of the defence. We’ve always hoped for him to get chances but not in front of the defence. He’s got so much more to give and I do hope that maybe by a freak incident, Pioli will play him as one of the mezzaelas. Just my 2 cents.
How was Reijnders MOTM? If Leao missed what he did, and twice, he would get 5. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤡🤡🤡🤡.
Is this the first half rating? I feel GDS didn’t watch second half.
Why is no one talking about Giroud? The lad is the real flop nowadays. Okafor or Jovic should be our stater.
ok, glad im not going crazy and others noticed he was a half step slow mentally and physically most of the match. which is fair given how up and down it was and hes lacked minutes. i think RLC injury actually saved him from coming off at the half and gave musah a chance to go box to box.
love tr’s hustle and he deserves to be rewarded for it but i thought pulisic was a bit ahead and leao created those goals. especially the second. maybe there is some frustration with him but he just decided at one point we should win the game and made some amazing plays. clear motm.
given what i expected if kjaer got stuck in 1v1 coverage vs what happened, he gets a 10.
Adli moves too slow for me. No urgency on the ball. He’s talented for sure and I hope he improves with more games. But he’s definitely no Pirlo or Zidane. At least not yet. Way too early for this type of comparison
People criticize Adli for being too slow with the ball. Compare him to Krunic and I’d rather have Adli holding the ball 1 second longer and actually passing the ball forward than watch Krunic pass the ball backwards EVERY SINGLE TIME.
The opening goal would have never seen the daylight against Lazio if Krunic were on the pitch as he would have turned around and passed the ball to Tomori instead of Adli’s brilliant ball forward.
And also… To people complaining how bad Adli is… Well, he has new role. He hasn’t played that role before. Considering that fact he’s doing pretty darn well. Give him 5-10 more matches there as a starter and then judge. I’d say there’s no place for Krunic anymore if Adli can have 5 more matches as a starter.