AC Milan failed to clinch a second consecutive win in the Champions League, crumbling in the second half against Borussia Dortmund. As a result, the qualifications chances are now minimal and below are tonight’s player ratings for the Rossoneri.
Starting XI
Maignan (5): He couldn’t do much about the penalty, of course, but his positioning on the second and third goals was really poor. We are certainly not used to seeing him make those mistakes, but it ended up being costly for Milan. Needless to say, he didn’t get much help from his defenders.
Calabria (4.5): Committed the foul for the penalty, with an inexperienced intervention, and continued to struggle against his man on the right flank. Just like Maignan, his positioning was far from great on the other goals.
Thiaw (6): The German did well against the Dortmund attack and also wasn’t afraid to attempt some risky passes, which more often than not paid off. It was a shame that he had to come off with a muscular injury (here we go again) because Milan played well with him on the pitch.
Tomori (6): A leader at the back as usual, using his pace when needed and also showing some strength in the duels. Of course, the task got a whole lot tougher when he didn’t have a proper centre-back partner and that showed.
Hernandez (5.5): It certainly wasn’t a terrible game for the Frenchman, but the feeling is that he could have offered more when going forward. He often ended up passing it to the nearest man, or attempting a cross. Not enough overlapping runs.
Adli (6): His passing was needed and it made sense to play him from start. Sure, he played some risky passes but during the period when Milan ‘dominated’, he was important. For a higher rating, he needs to evaluate certain situations better.
Reijnders (6): Moved well around the pitch and often sacrificed himself to open up space for his teammates. A good player to have, in other words.
Chukwueze (7 – MOTM): What a way to score your first goal for Milan. In that moment, we all saw exactly why the Rossoneri paid a lot of money for him this summer. For the rest of the game, however, he didn’t have as much success but he’s still the MOTM.
Loftus-Cheek (6): His presence was needed against a strong Dortmund defence and he did well in the hold-up play. Compared to the PSG game, however, that didn’t really amount to much this time out and he also missed a couple of chances. But his importance in that role is still clear.
Pulisic (6): Based on what we have seen, he’s stronger on the right-hand side, at least at Milan. Having said that, he was involved in a lot for the Rossoneri this evening and also had his moments with a couple of good passes (such as the cross for Calabria).
Giroud (5): He missed the penalty and then vanished from the game, more or less, struggling to win the battles against the defenders.
Substitutes
Krunic (5.5): The positioning was poor on both goals but then again, he’s not a centre-back and that must be taken into consideration.
Jovic (6): He hit the post with a lovely header and did get into good positions.
Chaka Traore (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating.
