AC Milan clinched three important points after a very good performance against Monza at San Siro. Several players did well and the youngster Jan-Carlo Simic scored on his debut. Below are the player ratings for the Rossoneri.
Starting XI
Maignan (7): Comfortable with his distribution, as always, and made a great save on Colpani in the second half at 2-0. He read the shot perfectly and really showed his class there.
Tomori (6.5): Another good display from the Englishman, although he wasn’t forced to do anything spectacular. He did well to press high and constantly forced the Monza players into decisions. On one occasion, however, he let D’Ambrosio through too easily for a great chance.
Kjaer (7): Having just come back from injury, he looked really good as he won almost every single duel with his man. In the first half, he also made a crucial block to deny the Milan loanee Colombo what looked like a certain goal. Very encouraging in the centre of a back three.
Pobega (N/A): He got injured after 23 minutes and thus didn’t play enough to get a rating.
Florenzi (6.5): He had two great efforts in the first half and at least one should have been a goal, with the Monza goalkeeper making two great saves. In addition, he was very comfortable in what looked like a central midfield role.
Loftus-Cheek (6): Strong in the duels, as you would expect, and he had some moments when going forward. However, his control of the ball let him down tonight, as he squandered a few promising chances.
Reijnders (7.5 – MOTM): We said after the Newcastle game that he has come into his own and that showed today as well. It was a brave solo run to open the scoring and the pass for Giroud before the third goal was just stunning. In the first half, he also made a great interception tackle which proved he can get the defensive work done as well.
Hernandez (6.5): The Frenchman looked a lot more like the ‘old Theo’ today with some bursting runs forward and good defending on top of that. His end product could have been slightly better, but very good overall.
Pulisic (6): He technically got the assist for Reijnders’ first goal and he was quite lively in the first half, almost scoring the goal of the season with a great curler as well. However, he faded as the game went on and ultimately, it was just a decent performance.
Giroud (6): Let’s be honest here, his flicks and combinations were amazing at times, as seen especially on the third goal. However, he looked almost flustered when he got chances himself, which is never nice to see from a striker.
Leao (6.5): The little turn before Simic’s goal, and the following cross to the youngster, was very good and the Portuguese also had a few other good runs at the Monza defence. He can do more, though, but at least today he walked away with a great assist.
Substitutes
Simic (7): What a debut for the youngster, not only scoring a goal but also asserting himself in the defensive phase. He showed off with a neat run past three players at the end, and it’s clear that he has the confidence to play with the first team.
Bennacer (6): He did what was needed from him, helping set up the attack for the third goal, and looked solid on the ball.
Okafor (6.5): It was a great finish to kill the game and he almost had a goal before that as well. Hopefully, his injury is nothing serious as Milan could use him in form now.
Bartesaghi (6): He got beaten once or twice down the left flank but also had some good moments, making for a decent outing.
Chukwueze (N/A): He had a lovely pass for Giroud, but the latter somehow failed to score. We didn’t see enough of the Nigerian to give him a rating, though.
