Milan players post Parma

Player Ratings: AC Milan 3-2 Parma – Pavlovic in beast mode; impact off the bench

Photo by AC Milan

AC Milan somehow came away with all three points in their game against Parma, scoring two goals in added time to complete the turnaround. A couple of substitutes were important, but the main man played from start as our player ratings show. 

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): He could do little about the goals, especially considering he made a great save on the second and got unlucky with the rebound. He also made a big save in the second half on Almqvist, so he deserves to get a pass here.

Calabria (5.5): It was good defending for most of the game by the Italian, but his crossing was very poor in attack. That was a shame because he often found himself with space on the flank, and Milan had men inside the box.

Gabbia (5.5): He missed a great chance to open the scoring in the first half, and perhaps he could have done slightly better on the second goal? It was a great one-two by Parma but the defender certainly could have stopped them before the first shot, and then maybe even the shot which resulted in the goal. Furthermore, while his long balls are good, he still struggles a bit with the short passing.

Pavlovic (7.5 – MOTM): Even before he made that crucial header at the death, he was going to be named MOTM by us. The reason for that is simple. The Serbian fought hard for every ball in both phases, even driving forward when he had the chance, and he also won the penalty (though the goalkeeper almost gifted it). Then, the disallowed goal was a shame but he made up for it almost immediately with the assist for Chukwueze. You cannot ask for much more in both phases (reminder, he’s a centre-back!).

Reijnders and Pavlovic Milan
Photo by AC Milan

Hernandez (4.5): Once again, he failed to close down his man. The slip was unfortunate, and the fact is that he recovered after, but the main issue was he failed to stop Cancellieri then. We saw it against Girona as well when Gil cut inside and scored (very narrow offside then disallowed it). It’s becoming a big problem, not to mention he made several mistakes on the ball as well.

Musah (6): It was a mixed bag from the American, as he displayed both good runs forward and a couple of poor back-heel attempts. He did, however, improve in the second half on the right and got the assist for Reijnders’ goal with a nice pass.

Fofana (5): His passing was far from perfect today and it could have been more costly for MIlan than it was. He was also booked due to a silly foul, which 8/10 results in a yellow card so attempting to win back the ball there showed poor judgement. He will miss the game against Inter as a result.

Pulisic (6.5): By no means am I blaming the first goal on him, but he needed to do a lot better in the press (he was easily beaten by the player who started the move and got the assist). Before the penalty strike, which was very nice, he was also poor overall and failed in attack multiple times. Then again, the goal was important in the end and he was also involved in setting up the winner. It could have been a 6 for him, to be honest.

Reijnders (6.5): The Dutchman had a good effort saved at the end of the first half, but aside from that we didn’t see much of him until the goal. You could argue, like with Pulisic, that this should lower the rating but the goals were still crucial, especially Reijnders’. It was a great run and a composed finish.

Leao (5): Considering just how well he played against Girona, he looked weirdly uncomfortable on the ball and thus didn’t have much success in the 1v1s. It was certainly right to take him off, perhaps it will allow him to recover for the crucial Zagreb game.

Morata (5): He was offside several times, which resulted in a disallowed goal as well. He somehow managed to stay offside for that entire sequence, even though he saw the last defender clearly. He had one chance from a narrow angle in the second half but didn’t add anything, so taking him off was right.

Substitutes

Bartesaghi (6): Overall, it was a positive display off the bench from him. He played the cross that Pavlovic headed down for Chukwueze, so that certainly counts for something.

Bennacer (5): Unfortunately, there were simply too many dangerous misplaced passes from him tonight and one resulted in the second goal for Parma. He wasn’t sharp, and that’s a shame considering how well he played against Girona.

Chukwueze (7): The winger was quite unfortunate not to get an assist for Pavlovic after a lovely cross, but the offside was clear. He did get his revenge with the winner, though, and it’s a moment we might look back on at the end of the season in the top-four race.

Abraham (5): Was he even on the pitch? Although we did see a few runs from him at the end, he was way too quiet before that and really didn’t add much in the box either.

Jovic (5.5): The Serbian missed a big chance before the winner, when he easily could have brought it down instead of finishing immediately.

Tags AC Milan Parma

114 Comments

  1. Guess this is the new Milan now. For those who support Milan and are old, beware of you heart condition and blood pressure. But anyways, if our fate is to be dreadful, it’s better to win that to lose.
    We can whine as much as we want about Morata and Abraham being incapable to score nothing but in front of empty goals, but in reality, is that aside from random crosses here and there and lucky mistakes, we had no quality occasion from which we can actually score.
    Conceição: So far, we have no great looking game from him and today we looked rather dull and passive until Parma’s 2nd goal. I understand him having no-preason and the midfielders being tired, but if he wants to keep his job, he has to show something better than coming back from behind each time.
    Maignan: Wasn’t tested all that much and in my opinion, he doesn’t have a lot of responsibility in the 2 goals, but you can argue that his placement and reflexes should have been a bit better.
    Calabria: he was ok defensively, but those crosses are dreadful. It seems that he can’t pass if he takes less than 2 touches which isn’t good. The last cross before being subbed out was abysmal. With what happened after the game, I don’t think we’ll be seeing him anytime soon now. Can’t wait to see what will Walker do now.
    Theo: The most consistent player of the team so far with back to back to back awful games. By far Milan’s worst player which isn’t anything new this season.
    Gabbia: was ok in the beginning but he has great responsibility in the second goal we conceded. He is not as sharp as he was in 2024.
    Pavlović: I think he is sending messages (and not in a subtle way) that he wants to remain with the team. I criticized him fairly but today he was a MONSTER. By far the best player on the pitch. Defense, unlucky offside goal and grinta. 10/10. If he is sold this winter for Disasi, Moncada needs to be jailed.
    Bartesaghi: He was a bit shaky IMO defensively, but offensively he helped more than Theo.
    Bennacer: Yesterday I read an article that the management was satisfied with him and will not reinforce the midfield. I dunno if it’s true, but think again.
    Fofana: I guess the good thing is that with subbing out early and missing the derby, he will at least have some rest.
    Reijnders: Outside from the life saving goal, he was again rather average and tends to hold too long onto the ball.
    Musah: Again our best midfielder of the day, or winger? or fullback? And for once a great pass that made our comeback.
    Leão: after the great game against Girona, OF COURSE he was going to have a bad one. Good call by Conceição to sub him out.
    Pulisic: not his greatest game, but again he helped a lot defensively and could have gotten an assist if it wasn’t for Gabbia missing a sitter. He is simply fundamental to this team.
    Chukwueze: wasn’t always accurate but he brought life in an otherwise dull attack and got the winner for us. So great job.
    Morata: At this point he is starting to look more like a liability than an asset.
    Abraham & Jović: Not a lot from them once again.

    1. All on point. A few additional notes
      1. Super surprised how good Pavlovic passed the ball. My bad for not researching but the kid CAN pass.
      2. Barthesahi can cross. every time the kid cross the ball, it looked dangerous. It contrasted a lot with what Calabria did earlier. (none of his looked dangerous)
      3. Ballsy calls from Conceicao by taking out Leao and Theo. Glad it worked out .

    2. [I keep trying to post this…]

      I basically agree with your assessment. However, unlike you and the author of the ratings article, I’m not sure I would call Pavlovic a “monster”. While his energy is nice, it means he’s often out of position. Being fast and able to recover does not make this OK. In fact, I think he was really lucky to be able to do this as often as he did and get something of a tackle in. Against quality opposition he’s going to get torched. “Chaos theory” defense will fail in the long run.

      More to my point, while Conceicao is 5-1-1 so far, I think our football might be WORSE than Fonseca. Not saying I prefer Fonseca, but has anyone noticed how we’re suddenly conceding a lot of goals? In Fonseca’s last 6 games prior to the supercup we kept 4 clean sheets. Since Conceicao took over we’ve only kept 1 clean sheet. This is very concerning. It’s not exactly like we have the kind if attack that we can rely on to score 3-4 goals per game to overcome a nonexistent defense. I am beginning to wonder if Conceicao will still be on the bench come next season given how they structured the contract…

      1. To your first point, Pavlović single handedly nullified most of Parma’s attacks. He was never beaten or outrun and was always in a better position or had more pace than however forward he was marking. Most of his duels didn’t look to me like desperate wins but rather somewhat easy for him, which means his position wasn’t that bad. The first goal was entierly Theo’s fault. And when we had to score, he was able to bring some energy going forward.
        To your second point, yes we’re conceding relatively more than we did during the last 5 games or so under Fonseca but 1st it wasn’t by that big of a margin. And 2nd Fonseca basically sacrificed our offense for defense which resulted in dull draws like the home game against Genoa and the one against Roma. From the Atalanta game forward we had 2 clean sheets, but only one game where we scored more than 1 goal. Under Conceição, aside from the Juventus game, we look like we’re really trying to win each game.
        But I agree that if the situation continues as it is, I doubt that he will be our coach next season…

        1. Yeah, re point 1 could just be a matter of perspective. I would need to see Pavloviv against better opposition. Re point 2, is our offense really that much better under Conceicao? I’m not sure. Maybe more desperate? In the end if he gets the points, he gets the points, but I’m not liking what I’m seeing at all.

        2. Oh and forgot to mention: the Fofana disqualification. I called that happening in thr pre-match analysis article. Why did he need to start? Musah and Benny starting in the double pivot was the call to make vs Parma. Now it will have to be them vs Inter.

    1. Agree 100% with you. Pavlovic was the only one who fought to win today.
      The rest of the team was playing like it was a training session…shame

      1. Exactly what I said when I was watching the match. Some these plays as if they are in training session, and it can be frustrating at times.

      1. Why will they even consider selling pavlovic…if properly harnessed..man is going to be very good for us..he hasn’t even been given much chance to warrant wanting to sell him..fonseca barely used him now the current coach needs to see ,he is one to watch.

      2. haha give him a few years and he’ll go bald and even look like him.
        PAvlo is winning on the public opinion court. His negative is that he sometimes looks nervy but it’s not like Thiaw and Tomori are rocks

        1. Thiaw-Gabbia kept 4 clean sheets in Fonseca’s last 6 games on the bench. We leaking goals like a sieve right now. Given the condition of everything else, it’s not what we need right now.

          1. If you guys can observe Milan games properly, you will notice that the faults are not mostly from the defenders, the midfielders often misplaced their pass or easily gets beaten then leaving the defence expose. On such scenerio, the defenders has to be on their best to stop such attack. You can’t keep exposing your defenders to one on one scenario and expect individual world class defending every now and then. Check the two goals scored today then you may understand better

  2. was that a FIGHT between COACH and CAPTAIN at the end of the match?

    What a mess this club has become. i have to say I am so disappointed with Conceicao. Forget about the supercup wins, this one right here was pure luck how we won the 3 points. terrible in the second half, Parma were the better team and we scored two late, late goals on adrenaline, and even then Chukwueze almost managed to ruin an open goal.

    They say to repeat the same mistakes are madness. Conceicao was brought in to fix the mistakes made by Fonseca and he’s commiting the same errors. This was not the match to rest players or send messages. This Milan team struggle to even win against rock bottom teams without it’s best players, and it almost happened tonight. These are precious points.If hed followed Milan for the past two years he should know players like Chukwueze are not the solution to any answers. Then picking fights like that after the win…

    Very disappointed and things are not looking good imo. Shoutout to Pavlovic who had a great performance though. I’m not sure what to expect for the rest of the season, transfer market, results,….

    This club is a MESS.

    1. Same chuks who drew two players to himself and made Tijj free in an empty space, same chuks who was better than the two starting wingers (understand puli is back from injury and not at his 100%) and brought life to a dead attack? You might have your dislike about him but give credit where it’s due.

      1. Lol, pls Chuk did nothing for the Rejndiers goal. Rejndiers run in space was so good that Parma players hardly even realized what happened. Also in what was Chuk better then the other wingers? He was same as always being ineffective in 99% in what he does. He got one lucky goal and now suddenly he is better than our other wingers lol. If someone brought life to our attack that was actually Pavlovic. Who deserves a far higher rating.

      2. I will give credit if it’s due. In fact I can’t believe he almost made a mess of the goal. Good think Parma keeper was awful.

        Before Parma’s second goal where Bennacer and Musa messed up, Chukwueze stood and watched as they robbed him of the ball in a similar situation which should’ve been a Parma goal, only for Maignan to save the one on one. For that I can give credit to Chukwueze.

    2. Yes it was a fight and I cant wait to find out what happened. Madness!! I think calabria is done after this incident, they had to get seperated by the staff. Wauw!

    3. compared to Sergio today, Fonseca was pure CLASS!! for all he was worth, never confronted any player like Sergio did today. Total nonsense on the part of the coach.
      Everything Fonsy was criticised for, Sergio has repeated!! now we see some players do not have the motivation to play for us: they should move on. Simple. Sergio threw all caution to the wind today and went all out in an attack desperate for a win. the urgency to win and move the ball forward should not only happen when we are in losing positions. players still lose the ball and jog back slowly, smile with smirk on their faces.
      We were lucky, extremely lucky to win today.

      1. Exactly. And our defense has actually gotten worse, IMHO. I’m extremely concerned. Ugh, we should have hired Conte, shouldn’t we?

    4. Theo not in shape and no replacement since he came to club, Leao sometimes the best sometimes lazy, no leader in defence, no right full back (hopefully Walker will change it), no replacement for Fofana, Morata is misunderstanding, same as Abraham, Jovic – no comment. All that is before Conceição even came. How You can blame it on him I have no idea. At least he bring fighting spirit. This club is mess because of owners not the coach. He is doing what he can with what he got.

  3. How Moncada and the rest of the so called management can watch this and not realise we need a mobile, wiring striker is beyond me…you got Abraham and Morata, i and many others here knew these were bad moves but deal with your errors!

  4. #bench Theo
    Where are all the people who were trying to blame Fonseca for Theo’s terrible performance this season? He couldn’t get thru to his players, couldn’t get the players to buy in. New coach, same problems. Didn’t take Conceicao long to come to the same conclusion.
    The idea that Milan is trying to sell Pavlovic is mind boggling. Huge potential. He’s been our best defender the last 2 games.
    I was wrong about Conceicao. He’s a genius. His tactics of playing poorly, falling behind every match, then subbing in all attacking players and throwing everyone forward is working perfectly.
    #BENCHTHEO

    1. Théo is gone. He wasn’t showed any respect from the bankers, he obviously lost motivation and went from being a world class left back to some classic Redbird donkey. Another casualty of war under this erratic management.

      1. Agree. Theo definitely had a close bond with Maldini. Ever since he left, theo looks like he is 1 foot out of the door.

        1. But why do we depend on a PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER to perform based on his “special bond” with a director? I mean, it’s ridiculous. Other top players change managers and teams all the time and keep performing. What he needs is a psychologist, not Maldini.

          1. This. It seems these kids here love their fairytale stories where Maldini kisses all the booboos away. Ridiculous. They are grown men. Or should be. Haven’t been acting ones though. I guess that says a lot too.

            I guess they’re not paid enough to act professional? 4M€ per year isn’t “pro enough”. 😀 😀 😀

      2. Not an excuse. Even if he wants to leave, even if he is dissatisfied with the management, he should at least respect his teammates and the club that made him who he is. Before Milan he was a nobody, a reject and it was in Milan that he acquired a huge salary, superstar status and played with les Bleus.
        For all the hate that they got here, Hakan, Donnarumma and Kessié played very well and to their general standards till the last days of their contract.
        Now I don’t know why Theo is so bad this season, but I can’t think of many good forgiveable reasons.
        The management and Fonseca have a lot of responsibilities with our current standings, but truth is, if we miss the UCL next season, Theo should also blame himself because there are games that we lost almost entierly because of him.

        1. “For all the hate that they got here, Hakan, Donnarumma and Kessié played very well and to their general standards till the last days of their contract.”

          Say it louder for the daft people at the back to hear it who excused Theo’s behavior because Fonseca wasn’t good enough coach or he didn’t like his salary.

        2. Theo is facing some veru serious personal allegations outside of the pitch, which could be why his head is not in the games at all this season…

      3. Bart back to make another pathetic excuse for Theo. What a shock, he’s blaming management for Theo’s play on the pitch.
        Somebody misses a sitter…Management’s fault. Theo gives up his 100th goal of the season… management’s fault.
        It’s raining…management’s fault.
        Global warming…Management.

  5. Based on how Pavlovic played after we try to sell him, maybe we need to put everyone else up for sale….

    I wonder who everyone that blames Emerson week in week out is going to focus on now. I don’t think he’s had a game this season worse than Hernandez’s 45 minutes today.

    Some good mentality and some good chances taken and I’ll definitely allow Leao his off day, seeing as he’s been on good form lately and he was right in the middle of celebrating with his team mates at the end.

    Midfield still looks absolutely spent, unsurprisingly, and even if by some fraud or miracle we did sign Giminez, I don’t think it will count for much if we can’t find some reliable legs in midfield.

    Musah rating is harsh IMO, he never stopped trying and working.

    1. Yes, now that their two scapegoats Fonseca and Emerson aren’t here to blame, will they maybe focus on the real problem players on this team? Probably not.

    2. People look surprised but shouldnt. Theo has never been that great defensively. NEVER. The thing is, he is so damn fast and has been sooo good going forward that we ignore his shortcomings.

      1. Agreed, Calabria got abuse for years for not being as good as Theo going forward but Pioli’s plan was always having Calabria as a defender and Hernandez as an attacker. However, whilst his defence lapsed, he’s not even chasing back with the same attitude or hunger this season. For me, I’m happy to put that down to exhaustion after a year of nonstop playing for club and country.

  6. Another dreadful performance but great finish and I’ll take a win any kind of way it comes.
    Pavlovic absolute beast. Best Milan defending and attacking player today. Don’t know how serie A gave Reijnders the MOTM award and not to Pavlovic.
    Mike was great as well.
    I thought Calabria played well for most of the game while Reijnders got better in the 2nd half. The rest of the starters were trash.
    It took just about 3 weeks for Conceição to realize why Fonseca was treating the “superstars” the way he was. Yanked at half time. Leao the worst rated player on the pitch by SofaScore. But, but he and Conceição has clicked and Conceição put his arm around Theo in the player circle after the Juventus game in the Supercopa and all was back to being peachy at Milan again because the big bad mean man Fonseca was gone out of Theo and Leao’s life. Ha ha ha.
    This team desperately needs a midfielder that can pass the ball. Bennacer was awful and you can’t depend on him.
    Spend the money you want to invest in Gimenez on a midfielder and buy Castro from Bologna in the summer for the striker position.
    Zero chances created.
    Buy a midfielder.
    We are going for the hat trick vs. Inter.

    1. The reaction on Reijnders face when he got MOTM, he looked surprised (Probably because it was another guy who deserved it more)

      1. Just to say that these MOTM stuff shouldn’t be taken too seriously when attempting to prove who is the best player on the pitch.

  7. Pavlovic thebest by far and he is not even well adjusted to the team yet. I think at this time based on performance Tomori should be our 4th CB. The critisizam on Calabria is harsh as always. Without him the right side quickly colapsed and we consided a goal. Somehow Musah is not blamed for it at all despite him losing the ball and not covering as RB. If it was Calabria im sure it would have been mentioned. In general Calabria run him self to the ground and most of his crosses were poor cause he was constantly sprinting. Chuk was fresh yet his crosses were terible too but somehow he gets a 7 for scoring one lucky/messy goal. As for the others, in general i would say good response from the team and we are winning just by sheer effort and wining mentality. We also desperetly need a new CF. Even Colombo is better than Morata/Tamy.

  8. Conceicao and Calabria almost getting into a fist fight after a dramatic win tells you all you need to know about the complete lack of leadership in this non-existent, incompetent and downright surreal management that treats everyone in the club like cattle.

      1. According to some, you can’t blame the players as the management took away their knight in shiny armor Maldini who’s not there to kiss away the booboos anymore. Also, the management isn’t paying enough for the players to act professional. 100% on the management. Just like the global warming etc. as someone previously mentioned here. 🙂

  9. I thoroughly enjoyed Pavlovic…he single handedly saved us today. That’s what we mean by taking your chances after being on the bench so long. And when are we going to learn that Puliilsic is totally ineffective when he is not on the right…he was non existent in the 2nd half after changing position. Happy to take the 3points, we really labored for it. Forza Milan.

  10. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to watch the game.

    Seems that a team waited until 5:30 a.m. to start playing.

    Mike – 6.5 – he made some saves that kept us in the game and we seem to have forgotten that. That second goal stop was amazing. He was on his defense that it didn’t get cleared.

    Calabria – 6 – No he’s crossing wasn’t good. But his defending on the right side made things a lot less dramatic. And his short passing with pulisic and Musa was working pretty well. Incidentally, when parma scored their second and there was a shot of our bench, only Calabria showed any signs of anger. I believe this speaks volumes about the team in general

    Gabbia – 6 – he brought his lunch pail and got the job done. Pavlovich was a monster but Gabbia being The Rock is what allowed the monster to maurade

    Pav – 8 – it wasn’t just that he was an offensive force. There were times when his defense changed the game. As Isak said he was present in All phases. As a center back, I imagine he ran just as much as Musa in this game. Unbelievable!.

    Theo – 4.5 – it’s not that Theo is terrible. It’s just that he is bang average. For the player that he can be and the money that he wants, he is simply not meeting any kind of expectation either in offense, defense or leadership

    Musah – 5.5 – this guy’s ability to break lines with his dribbling is unbelievable. But while he keeps the ball with him, he often still leaves his brain behind. I believe he will be a phenomenal player but he wasn’t today.

    TIji – 6 – I have no explanation for his performance today other than he must be wrecked. Well I’m glad he scored and I like the guy. There were times when he should have passed and he shot and times when he shot and he should have passed. He needs a break because the physical cooking he’s taking is becoming mental.

    Fof – 6 – I find it interesting how similar he is to Musa in the sense that he wins balls that shouldn’t be won then turns around and gives them away because he appears to have left his brain behind.

    Puli – 6 – beautiful penalty and the usual work rate. But he was largely ineffective in the attacking side so the goal only makes up for that.

    Morata – 5 – I believe we’re using this guy wrong. He should be coming off the bench and absolutely destroying a team that is tired. His first touch and his decision making are far too poor for him to be a starter.

    Leoa – 5 – he had a bad game and there’s no hiding from it. But he’s also been evolving his entire game the entire season. So I’ll forgive him the game and expect him to do much better in UCL.

    Tammy – 6 – he was standing at the near post when Musa put it on his chest rather than on his feet. That’s the only service I can remember Tammy getting the entire time he was on the pitch. If we’re going to have a striker like him or Jimenez, then we need different attacking tactics to take advantage of it.

    Benny – 5 – while many will blame the second goal on Musa, I believe it was Benny who played him into trouble. He sort of regressed to a couple games ago where he clearly was making a difference but was also making critical mistakes. I believe he’s just shaking the rest off.

    Barts – 6.5 – I am of the opinion that this kid is who changed the game. Not because of anything particular that he did though. He did put in some good crosses. Rather he took the left side from something that wasn’t a threat and forced Parma to play both sides of the pitch in defense. He had great energy and was always available. It was great to see him get the chance

    Chuk – 6.5 – I’m not a fan and I think he should be sold. But he came on with more energy than any two other players at that time. This combined with Bart’s is what ultimately overwhelmed parma’s defense. And his work rate is what put him in a position to score that last goal.

    Jovic – 6 – he did what he could with the service that he got.

    Sarge – 5 – his subs made the difference so credit to him, but they shouldn’t have had to. I’m beginning to believe that the problems Milan run deeper than any single coach can fix in a short amount of time. We’ll have to see what the Sarge can do when he gets a boot camp next summer.

    1. I like Barts as well, I just don’t know if he is ready defensively. He comes across as a less dynamic version of Theo.

    2. “I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to watch the game.”

      I hear you. This is the standard experience we have watching Milan games from east coast Australia. The typical evening game timeslot in Europe converts to 4:45 or 5:45 am. Depending on summer time changes.

      Yesterday’s game I could enjoy at nice 9:30 pm. A rare treat for us.

  11. yes we’re not playing a good game, we’re far from proper play, but can you guys stop a bit and celebrate the dramatic wins for a while. stop complaining and criticize everything. just enjoy the moment even its only against a team like Parma

  12. Horrendous match. Every player on the pitch made several errors. I wonder of Conceição will come out and say this was the worst match he had been a part of.

    Pavlovic was a warrior playing with extra grit. Pulisic bagged the penalty which others have found ways to miss. Musah slotted a clever ball and made his trademark carries through the midfield, holding the ball to long, and errant passes but to be fair everyone made bad passes all match long and at least he made one of the few good ones. Reijnders was a passenger until his run and finish, no glaring mistakes of note. Don’t know if subbing Theo and Leão was the best idea granted they both were playing poorly as the whole team was. Chukwueze getting a 7 is laughable given he was poor taking on defenders, running right into them losing the ball. He did get the winner but a 7, bro trying to low key dig at Pulisic with that rating.

    Conceição is lucky we got the win because two of our worst matches have come under his watch. This team is looking sus and everyone knows it.

  13. The ridiculous Pulisic hate continues. Donkey Musah lost the ball for the second goal. That was on him, not Pulisic. He is appaling technically. The assist doesn’t make up for that.

    1. What hate? I don’t see anything out of regular here in comments. Different folks bashing different players which they don’t like. As usual here.

      Puli is our top player and imo I’d much rather have him take over on that LW than Leao and get a proper RW instead. I’ve had it with Leao’s nonchalant dragging up and down the flank when real team players like Puli and Reijnders leave their hearts on the pitch.

  14. This team does not know how to move without the ball. When we are in possession the ball carrier looks at 9 statues, which is why all our passes are intercepted. Then we are caught flat footed on counters because the players are letting the grass grow under their feet on offense. These are the types of “tactics” you teach 8 year olds. Nobody makes themselves available for the ball, nobody goes to an incoming pass, instead standing and waiting for the ball to arrive. It is shocking. If I were Conceicao I would still scrimmages with only one touch passed allowed all week, and work on corners exclusively. That’s it.

  15. Parma had only won once away from home this season and today was almost 2.
    This team is a car crash.
    Conceicao has had a busy schedule so can’t be to harsh on him, however I would expect to see a more coherent team by now especially against that level of opposition.
    No structure to the team and zero pattern of play, terrible stuff

    Pavlovic has great heart, so well done to him. He has a lot to work on and perhaps he would benefit from a loan next season, but certainly for now he must stay.
    Bartesaghi is ready to be a regular part of the 1st team, a few games will do his confidence wonders. Time for Theo to take a seat imo

    I don’t really want to comment on the others as it was such a messy performance.

    Eletu is fit again and playing well for Primavera, got a beautiful assist in the last game. He turns 20 in March and needs to be given time with 1st team now, he is a natural DM with wonderful passing and ability on the ball

    1. “Time for Theo to take a seat imo”.

      Interesting change of tune, because after Theo finally played 1 good game in the Supercopa vs Inter you were out here calling people out for telling the truth about Theo all along. Can’t blame it on Emerson, Fonseca, the contract, the weather, the fans, etc anymore for Theo being Milan worst player this season.

      1. Our difference of opinion is that I think he is a great player and you don’t. Yes he is having a terrible season, so we need to do whatever it takes to get him back in form, including benching him

        1. You are right, I don’t, never did, never will.
          Great athlete, never a great player? Milan doesn’t have any great players.
          How can a fullback be considered a great player when he can’t defend his own shadow and he plays as a defender?
          Serie A makes him and Leao look better than they actually are because they are more athletic than most of the league.
          If either one of them was great, rich big clubs would be knocking on Milan’s door to buy them. Almost no interest in Theo. How come ManUtd, who is looking for a left wingback (a fullback that can’t defend) isn’t trying to sign the “great player” Theo? Instead they are going for an unproven Dorgu for about the same money they can sign Theo for based on his contract lenght?

    2. He will turn 24 at the end of the season & was purchased for 18 million. He is Milan’s best CB.

      A loan… What the hell are you talking about?

  16. Calabria on the argument with Conceição: “A misunderstanding between me and the coach that stays on the pitch. Adrenaline rush but we cleared things up. Not the first or the last time you see something like it, these are common things in football. I apologize cause it’s not a nice thing”

  17. If I have to pick right now, Pulisic would be my Best player of the season, while Theo – our worst one.

    Absolutely amazing performance from Pavlovic. I’ve criticized him in the past, but hats off for today’s showing. Let’s hope it leads to consistency. I still think Thiaw and Gabbia is so far the best CB pair we have in terms of pure defending.

  18. Fofana needs a break. Sucks it is going to happen against Inter. He is Tiji from last year. Plays too much. Tiji is in the same boat even though he looked good today.

    Musah starting to be a good midfielder with endless energy. Just needs to increase his football IQ.

  19. I just want to know what happened with Sarge and Calabria. They should both be ecstatic. Team played poorly but got the win at the end. Defensively Calabria played a good game. I’d assume he said something to Sarge? He’s probably riding the bench now anyways.
    Pavlovic was a beast. Easily MOTM. Pulisic with a nice PK. Still perfect. Plus he gets back on the corners and they get a pk off of it. Reijnders with a great run and finish. Musah great dribbling and one good pass. Chuk lucky but it went in. Lots of bad play today overall by everyone.

    1. He has openly protested his substitution, kicking stuff around and shouting at Conceicao. Strange it wasn’t caught by the cameras.

  20. First of,

    Lavoro eccelente Mr. Conceicao; he made the right call to hook off Theo and Leao at the right time and the less said about that duo the better.

    Secondly to the good things, good to see the team fight and never give up even when they shouldn’t have been in that bad situation in the first place. The brilliance of Pavlovic, I’m gutted his goal was offside, MY MAN OF THE MATCH; Surely we don’t sell him and he keeps this work rate. The Workaholic Musah with the intricate pass and finally Tijjani gets his scoring self back, Chukwueze with the finishing touch and Sansiro with the rapturous roar. Good times, yeah? I’m afraid not so fast

    Owners must start buying high flying players or sell the club to willing owners who are ready to splurge on world class talent.

    Our Midfield lacks depth; options on the bench are limited, 2 good-great Midfielders are needed ASAP and please and please what’s Morata doing at Milan??? Apart from his passion, his play is lacking any bit of inspiration. We need a solid 9 like never before.

    For now we breathe a deep deep sigh of relief.

    Forza Milan!!!

  21. Chukwueze made a good cross for the header that was ruled out and managed to score the winner.
    Otherwise he was dreadful!

    7 is too high rating.

  22. Italian fans especially Ac Milan fans are the worst.

    I have been supporting this club for 23 years and I am completely disgusted by how some Italians think.

    Chuks scored the winner, give him the credit. But no, you guys are all Wailers. Always crying.

    Some of you wanted Maldini out just because CDK didn’t click. Yet after he left we cried about his leaving and wanted him back.

    Everytime players don’t play well, you all clamour for heads to roll just so your stupid egos and biased nature can be pleased.

    Be grateful. Chuks went all in to get that goal and yet some of you are just bl**dy ingrates.

    Same way Napoli lost Osimhen and Kvara!

    1. If that was him going “all in” to get that goal, then holy sh*t, I think it explains everything you need to know about the player really.

    2. What about your bias nature? Every time Chukwueze completes a dribble you come here and act like he is better than Messi. Now you demand a thank you to a player that got a goal because he was in the ball’s path toward goal and only made contact with his thigh? You are wilding out here.

      Chukwueze-great teammate, most likely a good man, poor footballer for Milan.

  23. Pavlović must stay! He is sort of a defender that is willing to bleed for his team. We need him and his character. While he is not perfect, with time he can become a world class player for us. Happy with the win! My heart was racing after Chukwu scored a winner 😅 Forza Milan!

    1. Well, after the way Theo has played his value has probably been cut in half.
      Can’t sell Calabria because his contract is up in a few months, and nobody would buy him anyways. Some bottom table team might take him next year for a cheap price.

  24. I’ll make the judgements as I would have done at the 90th min rather than after the result because the bulk of it goes there. I think this was poor game management by the coach. I understand why he took off Theo..he was poor….but Leao also? You’re just handcuffing yourself at that point. The drop in quality was evident. Plus it wasn’t like we’re up a goal or two to make these “statement” subs. There’s a game to be won and those two esp Leao are key players for wins. As the game progressed you can tell we needed Leao on that wing. (Btw I like how Bartesaghi played, a legit left back with defensive skills and should have been backup to Theo). On top of that subbing out Calabria and resorting to a back three with Gabbia at RCB was a disaster. Eventually we had to have Musah play RB anyway and resorted back to a back four. Complete shambles from the coach.

    We lacked any form or play or tactical build up. It’s sooo poor. Two coaches now. Both same nonsense. Let’s hope we can ride out some lucky wins because struggling to score against Parma is a worrying sign. Fine if you want to say you can without your stats it’s another thing to have a system that can back it up..and as far as I’m seeing the coach doesn’t.

    Btw Anyone knows the reason Calabria and coach bust up? My guess is taking him out and then scoring coming exactly on the right hand side d

    1. As everybody here knows, I often defend Leão, but this time the coach was absolutely correct in subbing him out. In 45 minutes Leão didn’t produce a single action that was remotely helpful to the team, and I granted him a score of 3. He was totally off today, and I am not sure what he would have done in second half; often when Rafa is like this, he doesn’t really recover; Rafa is a kind of “all or nothing” guy with superb games and putrid games; today was a putrid one. Bartesaghi and Pavlovic actually worked a lot better from the left flank than Leão. I thought that this was Leão’s worst half of the season so I have no problem with the coach yanking him out.

      Apparently Calabria was unhappy with being subbed out and kicked things around and yelled at the coach, then said something else to the coach after the game was over, and the coach then lost it. It was likely some offensive word. In my opinion both acted unprofessionally.

      1. I hear you bud. I didn’t think Leao was having a good game but also I wouldn’t say everyone else was that much better either. It was an atrocious half by everyone. But to do that at 1-1 when you need a goal….the first person that comes to mind is Leao. Poor Puli had to play another 90mins after an injury and try to bring home 3 points. Leao can be bad 80 minutes, brilliant 10 minutes and that’s all you need. That being said it’s not that he’s immune from getting the hook. Theo hook esp made sense to me today. Something’s not right with him.

        That Calabria episode now that I’ve read some more is just poor taste and poor professionalism from both.

        1. I agree with you. I am critical of Leao especially when I watch games like today. But it was a mistake to take him out today. He can be a game changer and it was 1-1. Puli just came back from injury and isn’t up to speed yet(usually takes him a game or so). Theo, yes bench him. Leao in a different game sure but not this one.

    2. Am to saying that :
      just imagine

      Some haters out there watching ACM 90 losing games as 6 in a table 5 mins later no lose for ACM

      Extremely Precious,, creepy, abysall

      Cao have all times in 63 comebacks with one double comeback-not sure there is such tormentor in ACM all time history

      Other classical

      I preferred 1:0 instead of comeback so will say that again:

      ACM Classics

      1:0 is also anti hater result – proly mostly ,
      to keeping result same to Girona actually

      Ggs

      This is ACM Classics

  25. Pavlovic isn’t the best defender but he can be trained and improve and become one of the best. What I really like about him is his attitude, he shows up every time and fights his heart out for the team. Just imagine if Leao and Theo had the same attitude, they would be unstoppable.

  26. The positives were the fighting spirit at the end, especially from Pavlovic, and the win. The negatives were that we made the usual defensive mistakes, some players were very poor, Fofana collected a yellow and is out of the Derby, and the ex-captain and the coach got into a nasty public fight.

    Maignan, 7. No responsibility for the goals conceded, and made a couple of saves that guaranteed the 3 points.

    Calabria, hard to rate him. Very good defensive performance. For this he’d deserve a 7. As soon as he was taken out that sector collapsed and we conceded a goal. However in offense he was terrible with misguided cross after misguided cross. It did make sense to sub him out because the coach was trying to win the game, and you can’t kick things, yell at the coach, and almost get into a fist fight with the coach. These are seriously unprofessional mistakes and for this, I can’t give him a pass despite his very good defensive work today. 5

    Gabbia, mostly solid as usual but not quite to his standard because he whiffed a sitter and had some responsibility over one of the goals. I guess for the first time in many games he deserves less than a pass. 5.5

    Pavlovic, phenomenal. By far the best player on the pitch and it is a travesty that a different player won the official MOTM, because he was the one who deserved it. Tremendous defensive work that kept us in the game, endless energy to help the offense, a disallowed goal by half a foot offside, an earned PK, and an assist; was the player with the biggest distance covered while being a CB which in itself is amazing. A performance for the ages and by far his best for Milan. If Pavlovic is sold, the managers need to be committed to a psychiatric hospital and be charged with crimes against AC Milan. He is only 23, hasn’t played much, and still puts together a very good performance last game, and a phenomenal one this game. 8.5

    Theo, terrible, terrible, terrible. One of his worst half-games for Milan. Not only didn’t do anything right but conceded a goal. Yes, Emerson is not our worst player this season. Theo is. Why, I don’t know. It’s hard to understand. We thought of so many explanations; his life off the pitch, relationship with the coach, no longer invested in playing for Milan… whatever it is, it’s bad and he’s been frankly detrimental. Given that it’s hard to think that someone his age suddenly unlearns how to play football, maybe he needs: one, to be benched; two, to get a psychologist to work with him; and three, to get a mentor to teach him professionalism. Theo today was not only Milan’s worst player, but the worst player on the pitch both teams considered, and that’s hard because Parma’s goalkeeper was tough competition for worst player (causing an infantile PK, defending poorly our 3rd goal; their goalie kind of lost the game for them; still, Theo arguably was even worse). Today, my score for Theo is a 2.

    Fofana, a lot of good and bad, and I’ll be inclined to give him a pass for the good part, however, collecting a yellow and missing the Derby was stupid (although I blame the coach more for starting him in these circumstances, and Musah for making the mistake that led to it). Because of the disqualifying yellow days before the Derby, I give him less than a pass, 5.5

    Reijnders, not brilliant, had two good shots saved by the goalkeeper and scored, but then didn’t do anything else. However, just for the sake of scoring he deserves more than a pass. 6.5

    Musah, also mixed bag. The usual work rate but today he made even more mistakes than his usual. Lost the ball of their second goal, and contributed to Fofana’s yellow because Fofana had to try to rescue another mistake by Musah. Still, had his moments, like the cross to Pavlovic’s disallowed score. Still, because of the mistakes, which not only almost made us draw or lose the game, but also will likely have an impact on the Derby, I can’t give him a pass. 5.5

    Pulisic, still out of ideal physical shape, but took the corner kick that led to the PK and took the PK superbly. Just for that, deserves more than a pass. Oh wait, he assisted Reijnders, too. So for these decisive actions, he gets a 7

    Morata, caught offside three times, ineffective, not even his midfield work was good today. One of the worst players on the pitch. 4

    Leão, I can’t recall a single action that was productive or dangerous or even remotely helpful. Arguably his worst game of the season. It’s a pity that he is so irregular as last game against Girona he was phenomenal. 3

    Subs

    Chuk, mixed bag too. Once he came in, pretty much 100% of his actions didn’t help. But then towards the very end he did improve, and produced a goal and a quasi-assist that wasn’t a goal due to a narrow offside. 6.5

    Abraham, did he play? 5. His performance and Morata’s makes it painfully obvious why we need Gimenez, and need him NOW. The managers and owner must pay whatever Gimenez’s team is asking or else we won’t make the next Champions League and will lose even more money. We can’t go far without a true striker.

    Bennacer, couldn’t repeat his good performance of last match. Probably still suffering from lack of physical game form; managed to recover it last game but a few days later without a full week to recover, suffered again. 5.5

    Bartesaghi, came in with lots of energy, helped the offense a lot, resumed the left flank offense which put Parma in more defensive trouble being in part responsive for their late collapse that won us the three points. While he didn’t score or assist, his work there disorganized Parma’s defense, allowing other Milan players to score and assist. Good game. 7

    Jovic, didn’t have much time and got little service but when he did get the service, missed a sitter that could have been the winning goal; fortunately shortly thereafter Chuk got the winner. For missing that sitter, Jovic gets no more than a 5.

    Mister Conceição, huge positives and huge negatives this game. Having started Fofana and losing him for the Derby is criminal (and that follows another lineup blunder, starting Emerson days before his possible sale, then losing that sale to injury). Getting into a public fight with a player, even though the player instigated it and was out of line, is unprofessional. He should have calmed the player down in front of the cameras and then bashed him at will behind closed doors. The positives are that his Milan clearly is more ambitious and with more fighting spirit than his predecessor’s. Remember Fonseca being content with a 0-0 draw against a Juventus missing 5 of their starters? Also positive that Conceição yanked out the underperforming players Theo, Rafa, and Morata at halftime; too bad that he only yanked out Fofana too late, after the latter had already collected a yellow. Then he made the bold choice of handicapping the defense by yanking out Calabria for Jovic and this move almost backfired as it immediately resulted in Musah screwing up while trying to cover that sector, resulting in a goal for the opponents. Still, overall his subs worked, given that Bartesaghi revitalized the offense, and Chuk ended up having a score and a quasi-assist. I find the negatives too serious to give the mister a passing grade. 5.5

    1. Reijnders goal was a pass from Musah not Pulisic and the Pavlovic’s almost goal was from Chukweuze and Parma’s second goal was more on Benny for a terrible pass than Musah bottling it.

      1. Ah OK, I got it wrong. So maybe Puli should be deducted 0.5 and that should be added to Musah’s score. As for Parma’s second goal, I feel both Isma and Musah were culprits. Or else, just adding 0.25 to Musah’s score might be fair. I’m still pretty mad at him for causing Fofana to need to sacrifice himself for a yellow; playing Inter without Fofana is likely to come back to bite us and that’s both on Conceição and on Musah.

  27. Reijnders becoming bruno fernandes tonight, could have had 2 assists to his name but choose to take difficult angle shot, egoistic

  28. Honestly what has happened to theo? This man went from being the best lb in the world to being the worst milan player this season. He had a couple of good games and I thought he was back but he’s a liability at this point.

    Pavlovic has that attitude and hunger I admire in a player and I knew it from the first game he played. He needs to be given chances. Like someone said he resembles chiellini so much in every way that if we just stick with him and give him chances he can become one of the best defenders around. For his size once he gets going he is pretty quick. Great tackler and nobody dribbled past him, work on positioning and passing and we have a monster of a player.

    We haven’t played well under conceicao let’s be honest. I thought starting fofana was a bad idea and we will suffer without him, but it’s the first half performances all the time. I don’t like playing less possession and then we get caught out and go down all to have to try and salvage something. Maybe that’s got to do with a striker not being able to finish out chances and someone like gimenez can come in and do just that but then the midfield all go a sudden goes anonymous.

    Maybe conceicao needs to fix just more than the mentality of the team and get his players to fully have the tactics on point because luck won’t last forever. Coming back from 4 of 6 games is playing with fire.

  29. “Pavlovic (7.5 – MOTM): Even before he made that crucial header at the death, he was going to be named MOTM by us”. Well said.

    I see a lot of Vidic in the defender. Often termed as lacking technique yet doing almost everything a technical defender would provide you. His passes were the only ones tempted forward in tight spaces and yet reaching a teammate. I’ve been seeing those passes from Thiaw too since last season and glad that the ratters have been mentioning it about the German’s performances now. An underrated part of our passing game, seeing too many of our passes are going sideways and too predictable to bother the opponent’s structure. Talking about Pavlovic, he’s the kind of player that attracts crosses to himself inside the box (something our strikers don’t seem to have) and he doesn’t joke when going for it. That positional/running instinct for crosses would be important for the team on both ends like Vidic was for Man Utd. I used to envy them for that! His defensive abilities are clearer to us, so I don’t feel the need to go on about that. One thing is quite clear to all, Pavlovic would, without asking, give absolutely everything he has on the pitch. I’m so pleased with him today. Forza Strahinja!

  30. Theo breaks my heart. We know he can play, but letting opponents relax and tee up shots….
    Pulisic deserves a 6 even though his corner and PK were magnificent.

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