AC Milan came back from behind to clinch a draw against Inter this afternoon, courtesy of a Christopher Nknku penalty. Below are the player ratings for the Rossoneri.
In their second game of the pre-season, Ruben Amorim’s men went up against their city rivals Inter, though this time in Australia. It was a pretty entertaining affair but in the end, it was yet another friendly draw for Milan.
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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.
Short Version
🥇 Loftus-Cheek (7.5 – MOTM): Wonderful performance from the Englishman, it has to be said. He should have had an assist, doing everything right to set up Musah, and he created more chances on his own. Smart passing and movement were two more things he showcased as well.
👎 Tomori (4.5): He has to do so much better on the goal. If you look at the replays, he wasn’t marking when he should have been protecting the far post. One look over his shoulder would have been enough to see Dimarco, so it’s just sloppy (and reminiscent of goals conceded last season).
👔 Amorim (6): There isn’t really that much to say. Milan were the best side for most of the first half, I would say, and should have taken the lead. Then, when things started to get a bit tough in the second half, he made the subs to change the game.
Starting XI
Torriani (7): After a couple of easy stops in the first half, and some passing that left a little to be desired, he switched it up in the second half. First a good save to deny the youngster Lavelli, and then a fantastic one on Calhanoglu at the end.
Tomori (4.5): He has to do so much better on the goal. If you look at the replays, he wasn’t marking when he should have been protecting the far post. One look over his shoulder would have been enough to see Dimarco, so it’s just sloppy (and reminiscent of goals conceded last season).
Gabbia (5.5): For the most part, he marshalled the defence in an okay manner but on the goal, I think he could have positioned himself better. Sometimes, it just feels like he ends up a little bit out of position and that confuses his defence colleagues.
Pavlovic (6): Out of the starting centre-backs, he was definitely the best. He managed to stay close to his opponent in the 1v1 situations and also had some good runs forward, breaking the play a little bit when it was needed.
Chukwueze (5.5): If it was an electric performance against Celtic, you cannot really say the same this time out. In fact, he struggled to make a difference in attack, apart from one cross that was just a tad too long. He also could have done better on the goal conceded.
Fofana (6): Lots of ground covered, opening passes made, and tight situations played out of. He did what he does well, for the most part, and deserves a pass here in my opinion.
Musah (5): He was unlucky to hit the post in the first half, but the reality is that you have to score from that distance. A big miss. The American wasn’t the best either in terms of meaningful contributions on the ball.
Bartesaghi (6): It would be fair to describe his performance as decent, nothing less and nothing more. It definitely warrants a pass, though, when you consider how it looked after he left the pitch.
Loftus-Cheek (7.5 – MOTM): Wonderful performance from the Englishman, it has to be said. He should have had an assist, doing everything right to set up Musah, and he created more chances on his own. Smart passing and movement were two more things he showcased as well.
Cisse (6): Perhaps not as promising as the Celtic display, but he did start one attack with a really good pass. He could have done a little better in possession, losing the ball a few times, but it was still enough for a 6 here.
Camarda (6): A few good moves here and there, one in particular when we saw some really good feet, but Milan didn’t really engage him enough. Considering he’s more of a penalty box striker, they should have tried to reach him there more (only really happened once, and it was close):
Substitutes
Estupinan (5.5): He started fairly well with a crucial clearance on a cut-back at the back post, getting there just before the Inter man. However, he misplaced the ball just before Inter’s goal and then got beaten quite a few times, even if he improved towards the end of the game.
Nkunku (6.5): The Frenchman won the penalty smartly (even if the decision was questionable) and converted it too. No question about it whatsoever from the spot, firing it high and to the side. That said, he didn’t really shine much apart from that sequence.
Terracciano (6): Not the most elegant defending, that much is clear, but he got the job done and also showcased his tackling ability a few times.
Vladimirov (6): At 18 years old, you would expect more nerves but he handled himself well, even with the passing in the build-up.
De Winter (6): Stepped up on a couple of occasions to win the ball back, showcasing good timing, and was good aside from that too.
Modric (7): Lively from the get-go and commanded the play with great passing, as also seen on the penalty won. All of a sudden, Milan managed to establish themselves on the ball again and it certainly had to do with his quick passing.
Jashari (6.5): Better than expected, perhaps, as he came on with energy and quality. Switched the play really well a couple of times and always made himself available between the lines.
Saelemaekers (6.5): While the crossing wasn’t always brilliant, I still like what he added to the game with quick movement, a lot of running, and the ability to maintain possession even in tight situations.
Leao (6.5): Fair play, considering all of the transfer rumours, as the No.10 nearly combined for a lovely goal with a great move. Provedel, the goalkeeper, really gambled by diving that early but it paid off to stop the cross.
Ramos (6.5): He was the one who combined with Leao for that big chance and that was really encouraging to see. He also had another good moment, not firing the trigger immediately in the penalty box to create more space.
The manager
Amorim (6): There isn’t really that much to say. Milan were the best side for most of the first half, I would say, and should have taken the lead. Then, when things started to get a bit tough in the second half, he made the subs to change the game.
RLC will start if he keeps playing like this. And Tomori 4.5? You are special. Chukwueze left his man and jogged instead of running to close him. Tomoris fault. You forgot to give a bad rating to Musah. That is the popular one.
Camarda was worse than both of them. 6.
Camarda doesn’t look physical enough to carve out a space in the penalty box, especially if he’s trying to be a penalty box striker. I think he’d benefit from another loan.
if only there was another style… have you ever heard the term fox in the box?!
Did it look like he was “foxing” in the box to you? Because to me it looked like he was getting gangbanged by Bissek.
RLC has always been a good player. The issue is he is never fully fit. He’s had an unfortunate career.
I think the other issue is one of consistency.
True. With that kind of technique and physique, if he’s able to stay fit and consistent, he’ll be such a monstrous figure in midfield.
He should play as AMC, that seems to be his best position by far. He can’t really defend but running with the ball he is almost unstoppable.
Absolutely bud.
We’re going to suffer with Emerson bros Chuk and Estupinan on the flank.
I agree. Not sure what Amorim is trying to get out of Estupinan was he looked like a liability on the Left. While Chuk still clearly struggles with defending.
Camarda’s rating is inflated. He was disappointing. Cissé deserved a higher rating. I’m less impressed with RLC than the official rater here; continues to fall too easily. Also Alexis rated higher than he deserved; unproductive as usual. Chuk for me better than his rating here; seems to return improved from his loan. Nice to see Leão moving faster and playing well with Ramos. Playing with Musah is like playing with a man down; must sell. Torriani, the official rater seems to have a problem with him. What passing issues? Didn’t misplace a single pass and produced 5 saves. We could have lost if not for him.
he had a couple times to pass to tomori but passes it long and the pass was hard for the striker to control so it was lost.
OK, I hadn’t noticed those two. Haha, maybe he is afraid of passing to Tomori who is error-prone.
The Italians always get an extra .5 bump in the ratings. Tonality always did. Bartesaghi always does. Gambia as well. You should know that by now.
Your boyfriend had his annual good game and you pop out of the woodwork. He’ll be missing the rest of the season as usual. Relax
The midfield should improve once Rabiot returns. We did show signs of life offensively but their goal resulted from our usual defensive failures. I wish Amorim would get Cardinale to get him another center back and another wing back. I’d gladly get rid of Tomori and Estupinan if they can be replaced. It doesn’t take much to find players better than these two who are so error-prone, always resulting in conceded goals.
Tomori and his pass.
He is athletic and everything but final pass, decision making, we can remember how mane times in last 5 years Milan conceded because of his mistake.
But he can be good back up maybe if we cant sell and bring new strong centre back.
Leao definitely can play as “attacking midfielder ”
We can see how desperately Hernandez on that left flank is missing….
That’s why we also lost half of Leao but maybe there is hope for this season and like this.
It appears you have an issue with Chukwueze and Torriani. They both had a good game. Chukwueze will do wonders when the season commences. RLC did very well. It was all him in the first half. Musah and the others must improve or be sold.
Did you really have nothing to say, Amorin? How pitiful! His style is coming together. It was obvious in the first half and later stages of the second half. The team was an amazing watch. Had they taken their chances, it would have been game over for Inter. On that note, the coach is doing well. The team has to adapt to his style, especially not becoming too relaxed as the game wears on.
I don’t want to comment on the excessive ratings you gave a lot of players. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
FORZA MILAN.
Since I wasn’t able to watch the game, would you say which players scores you thought were inflated.
ill say it for him , camarda to high ,alexis to high , jashari and loftus to high
Thanks.
Chukwueze is to blame for the goal. It was Chukwueze who forgot to defend, letting Dimarco alone and watching him. 5 is fair.
Tomori should never start when Gila is fit
The problem this is offseason is the same problem we have faced every preseason before it, that is we don’t have the right players for the coach to execute his game plan.
1. We don’t have good enough defenders to play/pass from the back with the ball at their feet outside of Gila.
2. Midfield isn’t strong or reliable enough and if there’s no turnover, we’re looking at the same midfielders bearing the load and becoming predictable again.
3. Need Wingbacks. We have a bang average Bart and Chuk who is insufficient against anyone better than Celtic. Estupinan is still unreliable and Saele won’t last the whole season (just like last)
4. Camarda needs to develop more to even be a sub. Need an alternative to Ramos. Cisse is an interesting prospect for this season though as an AM.
1. Defenders playing out could be an issue, I’ll give you that. Gabbia is fine with it too. But IMO the big risk with these defenders is playing such a high line and the number of counter attacking forwards that will murder us with pace.
2. We have enough midfielders in the squad for Amorim to fashion something from. No out-and-out defender, but we have ball winners, runners, distributors, all rounders… no one perfect profile but enough to have options.
3. Agree wing backs are our weakness here and no-one is perfect, but again we have options and different profiles. If we are to invest in one area, I’d like it to be a left-back but I don’t realistically know what options are available to our budget.
4. We have Camarda and Gimenez. Between them, we need to make the backup role work. Again, neither are perfect but it’s not something we can afford to invest any more in compared to other areas IMO.
We’re aiming for top 4, not the title – we have enough options for the right coach to do that IMO.
The pattern of making the coach work with what we have hasn’t worked for any of the last four coaches at all. But you’re right, Amorim will somehow be different.
What exactly do you expect, for management to go out and get an entirely new squad every time they change coach? That’s not realistic. A good coach should be able to be flexible and adjust to get the best out of the players he has. I suspect they will still make some more moves but there is enough talent on this squad for top 4 at minimum. We added a quality Striker, a very good CB. The midfield has enough talent . We could use another quality wingback but there is more than enough talent on this squad. Please don’t already be making excuses for Amorin.
Well for one, and for a change, I expect a transfer strategy that makes sense c most of the players here were brought in without any blueprint or a cohesion system. Just disjointed signings that don’t particularly fit into any one system.
Maybe with a competent SD/TD we’d have a better crop of players brought in so that if they longer fit the mould they could be sold. Because currently there’s a lot of deadweight that neither fits nor can be sold off.
Change my mind.
People are so reactionary and it’s funny. Last game he looked great and was motm. But know cause he didn’t have a great game against the best team in the league he needs to be loaned to Serie B. This is the kind of mentality, of not trusting youngsters, that has kept Italy backwards. Nobody’s asking him to take the keys to the city. We’re asking him to be a backup striker. Besides we need to save the money anyway for other positions
I think we’re observing patterns. He did well against a team of Celtic’s caliber and struggled against a team of higher quality. Is our league filled with Celtics? What about the teams that play a low block? What about physical CB’s that Camarda struggled with?
I want my backup to be able to make a difference off the bench.
Also, is no-one gonna mention that this is a pretty good job against a strong Inter outfit?
Inter looked lost too. Last season they were still riding on Limone’s hype train. This season, we’ll probably be on par. But yes, I like what I’m seeing from our lads considering this is only their second friendly and with team far from complete.
You’re joking right? You think we’ll be on Inter’s level this year based on a preseason game missing all their starters?! Gotta focus on ourselves before we even think about a team like Inter. We lost champions league last year. How quick we forget.
Missing all their starters? I guess the likes of Bastoni, Dimarco, Bisseck, Barella, Mkhitaryan who all started are their 2nd tier players. Hakan came on as well. They’re missing the two forwards. And considering they haven’t changed much, I’d except them to do a lot better against Milan who are again going through an overhaul, starting with the coach.
This ratings are very generous. Loftus with one good move and six bad ones gets a 7.5. You would think he was the second coming of Suso or something with that raring on the left. With the exception of the first 20min the team looked bad. There is no speed on the wings. Only when Leao came that improved a bit. And we def need a left footed AM, also Wing Backs.
I was at the game…
The one thing that hasn’t been mentioned is that there was a bit of tension and some feisty tackles for a pre season friendly.
Loftus-Cheek was the standout. He is quality. Watching him on TV doesn’t do him justice.
Same can be said for Saleamakers. The work he does off the ball is incredible.
Camarda gave the ball away every time he got it and Ramos wasn’t much better.
Modric is boring to watch because of how perfect he does everything. Even at 40, what a player.
Having said all this, it was what is to be expected for a preseason game when players are working overtime to get ready for the season.
I was also at the game. Agree RLC really surprised me with how well he played. He beat 3 Inter defenders in one move.
Cisse looked good.
It was a young forward line in the first half
Was impressive how much the game changed when the 7 subs happened at once in the second half.
Estupinan had me worried multiple times but did improve in the latter stages.
He looked most at fault to me on the goal.
Dream sale, Tomori, pavlovic, Estupinian, fofana…
There isn’t much difference between pavlovic and Tomori… Both are prone to errors and rash challenges. The major difference is one is suitable for three man defense, the other isn’t
I think that Tomori is way more error-prone than Pavlovic. The latter also works harder and supports the offense better. I’d gladly sell Tomori but I still think that Pavlovic should stay. People forget that Pavlovic is still a very young player and he has steadily improved over time.
You clearly described Tomori early days at Milan in your attempt to praise pavlovic… Both should be sold…
Overall, Inter played better. Leao made every decision wrong. Modric misplaced a few passes. The positive is Torriani. Milan can sell Maignan if there is a decent offer. Musah and Estupinan should be sold ASAP.
I don’t think overall Inter played better. We played better for a longer time in the first half. They improved in the last part of the first half and in the the first part of the second half but when we made our subs we again resumed playing better than Inter. Overall the score of 1-1 was fair, but remember, we did hit the woodwork unike Inter, and ultimately had the better scoring opportunities.
Milan only has that woodwork chance. Penalty is very soft. Inter started slow, and then dominated possession. Yes they don’t have a lot of chances but there was a waste from their youngster and also Hakan strike. It was just a friendly and doesn’t matter much.
RLC is always good in the preseason and fools everyone that he gonna do great things this season and he is trash instead.
RLC Out
Tomori Out
Estupiñán Out
Musah Out
Fofana Out
Gimenez Out
Saelemaekers Out
Leao Out
This must happen if Milan wants to be a better team next season
Calling a footballer trash is just silly, he flatters to deceive, and is definitely not on the level if you want to build a title winning squad, but trash definitely not, he’ll find a club where he should be of use. There are plenty of mid table squads who would love a footballer like him.
RLC can be good. But he is too injury-prone, falls too easily, is too irregular, and maybe has one good game out of five. Even if today he was decent, people who know him well do know that when he has a good game, you can expect four bad games to follow.
For this to happen, other clubs need to be willing to buy these players. Do you see anybody rushing to Milan’s door to purchase these players? Because I don’t.
I do think that of your list, while I agree with the first six names, Saelemaekers can occasionally be useful and selling Leão is a mistake. Leão had a terrible season, last season, while repeatedly injured and playing out of position. Just today’s friendly already showed that he did better than in most games of last season: he seems more fit and was moving faster, and was more present.
The problem with the people who advocate for Leão to be sold, is that they don’t realize that the likely replacement will be a cheap Joe Nobody, which will make our offensive problems even worse.
Leão can thrive under the right coach and the right system, if he is healthy, and has a good feeder helping him out (like Theo used to do). Last season neither of these 4 conditions existed, so he had his worst season with us.
Rather than selling him for cheap (after last season, other clubs won’t buy him for significant money) and getting an even worse replacement, I’d rather work on restoring the situations that make him play well.
Sure, that means he is limited as a player. He can only play well when his bursts of speed are not hindered by injury, when he plays in a true left wing role with someone central to receive crosses, when someone feeds him for through balls so that he can also score on his own, and when the offense has at least 3 men rather than two.
Still, even with his limitation to only ONE way he can be effective (that is, a combination of four factors), when the favorable conditions exist he is devastating to the opponents’ defenses.
Is it justified to keep a player who can only do well in some circumstances? Well, yeah, when the “do well” becomes really decisive (as he did demonstrate in several points of his tenure with us), and especially when a cheap replacement would make the team worse, not better.
Do I know if Amorim will restore the ideal conditions for Rafa? No, I don’t. But it does seem like Amorim has been changing his mind about Leão, lately, so, we’ll see.
That’s the point, nobody is looking at buying them, you sign them on a free, that’s how we kept our squads strong all the years, hell we even got Cafu on a free after Roma didn’t want to renew his contract and that worked out perfectly for us as he was on his way to play in the J-League in Japan, and that is the art of the free transfer, we’ve gotten players like:
Cafu, Favalli, Vogel, Vieri, Kalac, Amoroso, Pancaro, Flamini, Tomasson, Rivaldo, Donadoni, Kluivert, Bogarde etc all on free transfers which were players that contributed massively towards our squad, just because you get a player on a free doesn’t diminish the quality of the footballer whatsoever.
Why are you replying to me about incoming free transfers? My comment had nothing to do with that. I was commenting upon how hard it is to unload the deadweight when nobody wants to buy them. As for free transfers, do realize that there are only so many spots in a roster for domestic and European lists. You can’t bring in a bunch of players without making space for them, which is why we need to unload the deadweight.
I see your comment is completely stripped of emotions and I can confidently say that only few comments are as true as yours.
People are not understanding that Leao Theo was a partnership. When you break that partnership its a whammy ….then you bring a defensive dinosaur as a coach, double whammy….players are bound to perform bad…for Leao it was double bad because he lost his partner.
PLEASE PEOPLE AT THIS FORUM, DON’T JUDGE A SINGLE PLAYER ON LAST SEASON’S PERFORMANCE. A dinosaur coach who coaches to defend will make every player look bad. Just wait and see how Napoli will play this season. Allegri can go to Real Madrid and make R9 defend like a centre back, make Raul like Gattuso, Mbappe like Left Back. Just see what KBD is saying already. I bet he will go AWOL in first 3 months….Retire…Better retire than play under s dinosaur coach who makes forwards become centre back. I mean track back is something else, who defends for life against Pisa? Who?
The crop of players Milan has these days… I wonder what new managers think anytime they take the Milan job
Okay, I’ll start with the positives: the midfield, led by Loftus Cheek and Modric, offers intelligent passing, excellent movement between the lines, and the ability to create chances. The coach substitutions have been successful in restoring balance to the team. Milan has a deep bench and diverse attacking options capable of changing the course of difficult matches and overcoming deficits.
Now, on the negatives: the fragility of the defense against crosses and poor defensive coverage. The lack of coordination between Gabbia and Tomori allowed Inter to score easily. The defensive system still suffers from lapses in concentration and poor positioning on crosses, making the team vulnerable to conceding easy goals against top level opponents. Ultimately, relying on individual solutions instead of building a structured, collective play and a system that controls the tempo of the game from the start is a weakness.
The problem with RLC is that his best position is midfield, but he is hardly ever played there. No other player is moved all over the pitch game after game. Any player would struggle for consistency if they play one match in midfield and the next as a striker. Hopefully Amorim is smarter than his predecessors.
Mr. Isak Möller, with all due respect but Gabbia was not at fault and/or bad positioning, absolutely not. Watch carefully and closely as to who was marking (if that 🙄) DiMarco; wasn’t it Chukwueze? You’ll find that it is. DiMarco was left unmarked and unfollowed by Chukwueze. I think you need to perhaps understand the positioning better in order to put someone at fault, especially when that someone is not at fault at all.
As for RLC, I’ve said it many times before in other posts that he has truly been unfortunate with his injuries, and personally I would not let go of him but truly give him the chance and time he deserves to play, consistently, to prove his worth. It is rather Fofana and Musah along with Estupiñan that I would let go.
As for Chukwueze, definitely not my first choice at all; same for Saelemaekers. But then again, who do we have?
Gabbia is worthy, absolutely worthy of the armband. Gabbia deserves the armband.
He doesn’t like Tomori. He’ll give him a bad rating every time. 1 point less than he should get at least. It is evident. Not only he’ll rate him lower but blame him for a goal and ignore who it really was. Incredible there are people like that but…
Perhaps a bit out of topic here but don’t those kits look so much better without that Bitpanda logo at the back, along with the simple white socks instead of the hoop-like red&black ones? Unless the socks were simply just black or black with red turnovers. Simply clean and classy in its ‘less is more’ kinda motto.
Ancora con sta Estupimеrda…
The roster does not look so promising. We have lots of deadweights on the team that we really want to get rid of but the demand for them is just not there. We are stuck with paying a salary to deadweights.