AC Milan secured an important win against Atalanta this evening and even though the final score was 2-3, the Rossoneri had a rather comfortable evening. Down below are the player ratings for them.
Starting XI
Maignan (7): The goalkeeper may have conceded twice tonight, but he also made several great stops in the first half to keep Atalanta at bay. His distribution was also important for Milan and he continues to do well for the club.
Calabria (7): Overall, his performance was solid in both phases of the game. He crowned that with an important opening goal as he was brave enough to continue his run forward, although he got a bit lucky with the finish.
Kjaer (6.5): He struggled with Zapata at times but it didn’t amount to anything dangerous for Atalanta. He also won many duels and was comfortable on the ball as you would expect. Good return for him.
Tomori (7): It was a very strong performance from the centre-back who showed off his qualities once again. He lost Pessina once but recovered with a fantastic tackle and that’s what we love to see.
Hernandez (7.5): The Frenchman did very well on the left-hand side as he burst forward several times. He almost got the assist for the first goal but did get the assist for the third goal and was important as always for the Rossoneri.
Tonali (7.5 – MOTM): The youngster continues to impress as he not only was well-placed in the defensive phase, but also wasn’t afraid to drive forward with the ball. His high pressing was key as he scored his second goal for Milan thanks to it.
Kessie (6.5): Much better from Franck this evening as he made several key clearances and interceptions this evening. He was also calm in his passing and looked a bit more like the midfielder we all like.
Saelemaekers (6): His presence was inevitably important with regards to the team tactics and such. Individually, though, he didn’t always succeed. He should have scored but missed a header from point-blank range.
Diaz (6): Atalanta were good at neutralising the Spaniard this time and the latter was also happy to open up space for his teammates. Just like Alex, therefore, important in that sense but didn’t add much more.
Leao (7.5): Another electric performance from the Portuguese youngster. He wasn’t afraid to take on his man and did well on the left flank. The goal turned out to be crucial and it was indeed a lovely finish from him.
Rebic (6): We can’t deny that the Croatian worked extremely hard this evening and always followed through in the high press. However, he could have done better with the ball at his feet and will surely be a bit disappointed.
Substitutes
Messias (5.5): It’s hard to put a rating on his performance but if we want to be cynical, he caused the penalty with a somewhat clumsy handball and also lost the duel against Zapata before the second goal. The latter perhaps should’ve been a free-kick, though.
Bennacer (N/A): He didn’t play enough to get a rating.
Ballo-Toure (N/A): He didn’t play enough to get a rating.
Pellegri (N/A): He didn’t play enough to get a rating.
READ MORE – Atalanta 2-3 AC Milan: Rossoneri keep up excellent league form with win in Bergamo
Wish messias doesn’t defence anymore😃 kessie was perfect tonight, not 6.5 my opinion. Hope he signs and become an important bone again. We need quality depth btween tonali him and bennacer. Last two goals we conceeded was unlucky, but a lack of concentration also. If the were 10 min more I don’t know.. rebic does hard work, doesn’t score but hold the opposite defence nailed and gives clinical passes. But if giroud and İbra return, where he will play? Ibra won’t make half of the season I guess but with giroud rebic will be unpleasant. And meanwhile tomori a super old fashioned Italian style defending skills. Love to watch him. And he puts the ball in very effective. What a transfer!!!
Big Mike: did great when called on.
All goals conceded were not his fault
Theo: Was outstanding defending and coming forward, if only he can add a little more to his technicality upfront, he will be a beast
Calabria:Fast becoming a teammates we can’t do without, he will start in any team he find himself.
He is superb offensively and defensively
Tomori:I wish Romagnoli can be this good defensively.
He is a mixture of Nesta and Ramos.
Kjaer:It’s painful he is aging already, he is becoming a fine wine as he age
Kessie:Without sentiment, Kessie played his heart this night. He did it very simple and was almost every where. Now,i wish he signs a new contract again. Lol.
Tonali:Improving each day. There is still more from this lad.
Diaz:He is fast becoming a new man. He’s grown so quick.
Leoa:Though can be frustrating times but, yiu can’t do but to love him. He’s pace is second to none.
Salesmaker:Truthful, might just be our weakest link in the team but, at times, he does the unimaginably.
Rebic:If only he can work on his instinct. He needs to make decisions as fast as he can.
Forza Milan. You made my night
Walking you’ve said it all
Very good summary! Milan Always!!!
I agree with you 100 %.
I do believe that Kessie should be given at least a 7 rating. It maybe because he still hasn’t sign the contract, so the deduction of 0.5 point makes sense, ya. LoL.
Diaz i feel deserves more then 6. Kjaer had a hard night but still did well so all others ratings are spot on
Agree with you. Because of Diaz and Leao Atalanta defenders couldn’t join their teammates in build-ups properly. They had to look back all the time.
Kjaer deserves more points due to his opponent Zapata who is the most dangerous player so far he never had a chance to show his best during the clash.
Boys did well last night.
Bruh Messias 5.5?? Support your players a bit man, not just random hyping for the scorers. Messias opened up the play for the third goal, and you know very well that both atalanta goals were super undeserved. The hand ball was a deflection and the second was a foul. Kessie also dominated the midfield. I know you want some difference in ratings but really the team played an almost perfect game tonight. Rebic made silly decisions and was sloppy, could be more blamed for the second goal than messias.
I think you guys are a little hard on Messias. It’s true that he committed a penalty, but it was a very fortuitous play that could have happened to any player. It is not his fault. In the play of Atalanta’s second goal, it’s true that he loses the one-on-one, but that doesn’t justify the rest of the defenders standing still. The ball passes in front of Tomori and he falls asleep, along with Kjaer. (It’s very easy to criticize, I know, and even more so when you don’t know what it’s like to be on the pitch…. Just an opinion). In short, Junior Messias did not do badly, not to mention that he actively participated in the play of the third goal.
(Sorry for my English translator, hahaha). Forza Milan.
Great game by the lads. Love the team spirit. That sets us apart. It’s evident they play for one another. Imagine if we had a starting caliber striker (Valhovic) and a starting RW (Faivre)?? Sky is the limit! Pls sign Faivre in January. love Sales but he’s better off bench esp if we have a lead imo…Valhovic must be signed next summer at all costs.
Agree
Tbf Messias looked good when transitioning, he runs the right channels and looked dangerous on the ball. A little bit of rust but he should be fine the next game. He gives us a serious option going forward. Loved his eagerness, he doesn’t just run around like a mad man. He shows some intelligence with all his runs.
A little bad luck for Messias, he didn’t play bad at all; the handball was more bad luck than anything else, I don’t think his movement was clumsy. Also, he didn’t lose the duel against Zapata before the second goal, or rather he did but because Zapata pushed him down, it should have been a foul; plus, Calabria had more responsibility in that goal for me, he was not very well positioned, imo; Tomori had that area already covered, he should have stuck to Pasalic and cover that area, Pasalic was totally alone and unbothered when he scored.
what a great result… we are keep on fighting until the final day
Messias did great. He was at ease on the ball and started the attack for the last goal, for which he also made the right move to let the ball slip through for Leao. He also covered for Balo Touré when he was not watching Zapata but didn’t get the foul that was made by Zapata. However it shouldn’t be Messias’ job to go defending there. That he does, only shows for his workrate. Same goes for the penalty where he was there to make the tackle. Unfortunately it led to the penalty.
I didn’t know what to expect given his background, but he had a very convincing debut. We’re going to need him this year.
I don’t agree with your rating of Messias. He had a high work rate. He was everywhere. He started the move for the third goal and had a great sense of judgement to let the ball roll on for Leao.
Kessie did a lot better. I could hardly pick anyone for a fatal fault save for the third goal. Messias was definitely fouled during Atalanta’s build up to that goal but we had like 5 or 6 bodies in that area that could have done better.
Refrereeing aside, that two goals could have been avoided by Messias.
First: you never dive to stop a shot with a hand spread wide like that. Never! That is always a pen with current rules. Last year maybe you could argue that it bounced off him, but this condition was REMOVED FROM THE RULES in 2021/22 season.
Second: Even if Zapata tripped him, you do not go down so easily in your own box. I dont care if Duvan chooped his leg off with a machete – you stay on your feet and clear that ball. You can fall down on first contact in the opponents half (where it is less risky,) not in your own half, let alone your own box.
Also for that second goal Rebic should never loose a ball like that and Tomori should clear Zapata’s pass instead of waving at the ref.
And before ppl reply saying that it is not their fault, but the refs – yea you are right, but i am not interested in assigning blame, I am interested in not loosing goals even when calls dont go our way. Bad calls will happen and good team like ours should try to mitigate the consequences, instead of lying flat on their back and playing martyrs.
I sound very negative here. It was grreat performance by Milan and I am very happy with it. It’s just a shame that we didnt put a 3-0 win over Atalanta and that pompous coach of theirs.