Player Ratings: AC Milan 0-1 Atalanta – Leao miss costly for Rossoneri

AC Milan lost by the odd goal against Atalanta despite a positive start to the second half, at which point the game was still tied. Several players could have done better and below are the ratings for the Rossoneri. 

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out how we decide the player ratings. From the scale to what affects the rating, we have compiled everything there.

Starting XI

Maignan (6): Atalanta had zero shots on target in the first half, and just two of them in total, so the goalkeeper wasn’t really tested tonight. Aside from the goal, he made a good save on Lookman towards the end. He was also solid with his feet, so a 6 feels appropriate.

Tomori (6.5): The Englishman had several clearances, some advanced ones as well, in the first half and continued to play well in the second. He also offered support in attack when needed and did that well, as we saw at the start of the second half.

Gabbia (6): Taking all of the battles with Retegui into account, the Milan product did enough to get a pass here, even if the goal stemmed from the Atalanta striker getting to the ball first. Some decent blocks from the Italian as well.

Pavlovic (5.5): While he did at least try, as always and especially in attack, this was a game to forget for him. He looked rather uncomfortable in the build-up and for some reason, he decided to push up just before Atalanta’s goal, leaving tons of space for Ederson.

Jimenez (6): He’s a tough one to judge because on the one hand, he offered a lot when going forward and combined well with his teammates. However, he also lost quite a few duels at the back against Lookman, even if he did better in the second half. Close to a 5.5, but just about a pass.

Fofana (6): The Frenchman had several good passes forward and intercepted the ball a lot, relying on his strength. He also ran with the ball a lot to create attacks for Milan. In short, he had 60-65 really good minutes but then, unfortunately, he was a bit wasteful in the decisive moments (hence the rating).

Reijnders (5.5): Yes, we saw some good things from him today, but he was far from his usual self in the decisive moments. He never really looked convinced of his choices and often tried to dribble too much when given the chance to shoot. The pass for Leao in the first half was good, but also easy to make.

Hernandez (6): Once again, it was confirmed that this formation suits him better. Good in both phases from the vice-captain tonight, without a doubt, and he showed his desire at the end of the game with good tracking back to make life difficult for Lookman.

Pulisic (5.5): Apart from a couple of good plays at the start of the second half, we didn’t really see much of him this evening. The set pieces were okay but not fantastic, far from his usual dangerous ones, so it was a game to forget.

Jovic (5.5): He missed a big chance at the end of the first half after doing everything so well. The shot was indeed poor and while we did see multiple good combinations from him, more than that is needed in a game like this.

Leao (5): Considering his quality on a good day, I’d almost be tempted to rate him at 4.5 after the missed chance in the first half. It looked like a certain goal when Reijnders played the pass, with perfect weight, and all the winger needed to do was make use of his trademark run. It’s a chance that he had to score and the miss proved costly.

Substitutes

Joao Felix (5.5): He added some energy to Milan’s attack, that much is true, but lacked the final touch – as seen before – with some good opportunities squandered.

Abraham (N/A): We didn’t really see enough to give him a rating, even if he came on at the same time as the Chelsea loanee. Atalanta had a lot more control of the game at that point.

Sottil (N/A): Just like Abraham, we didn’t see enough to give him a rating tonight, but he wasn’t awful.

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

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