Player Ratings: Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 AC Milan – French duo steps up

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AC Milan failed to clinch their first point(s) in the 2024-25 edition of the Champions League as Bayer Leverkusen prevailed 1-0 tonight. The Rossoneri fought hard, perhaps even a bit unlucky, and below are the player ratings. 

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 (7.5 – MOTM): The goalkeeper made a couple of very good traditional saves to deny the home side but above all, he stopped several dangerous crosses from reaching their intended targets. Even if not fully, he got them out of harm’s way. He was also good with his feet.

Emerson Royal (6): Taking the entire game into consideration, he did enough to get a pass here as he was constantly available when going forward and also did okay on the ball. Defensively, he was beaten a few times but also had good moments.

Gabbia (6): Calm and collected for most of the game, with some good interventions, and the goal was an unlucky one to concede for the entire defence.

Tomori (6): Just like his centre-back colleague, he defended well for most of the game and his pace allowed Milan to have slightly higher positions on the left-hand side. He perhaps could have done better on the goal, but it was a great run and an even better pass.

Hernandez (6.5): Helped out Milan quite a lot going forward, using his ‘cut-inside skills’ relatively often to open up space. He defended well for the most part too, even if it wasn’t always easy against such a fast opponent. He also hit the bar with a thumping effort, albeit deflected.

Fofana (7): In my opinion, this was the best game from the Frenchman in the Milan shirt. He truly commanded the play in that second half – when the Rossoneri actually got going – and even created a couple of good chances himself. His defending was very important too and this is exactly what we want to see from him.

Photo by AC Milan

Loftus-Cheek (6): While he perhaps wasn’t the most creative player, he added much-needed physicality and had the right movement. He was also quite unlucky not to get a goal after managing to keep his effort down on the half-volley.

Pulisic (6): He was almost always available, like Emerson Royal, and picked up some good positions in the centre-right of the pitch. More incisiveness in attack would have been nice, but he just about gets a pass here.

Reijnders (5.5): This is going to sound very harsh, but only because we know just how well he can do normally. Don’t get me wrong, his movement was more or less spot on throughout the game, but he wasn’t best friends with the ball and that hurt him in the critical moments. The missed chance when he was through, thinking there was still a defender there, was fatal.

Leao (5.5): Again, it might seem harsh given the fact that in the first half, he was our only source of output with some good runs to give us a breather. However, the feeling is that he could have done a lot more in attack in that second half.

Abraham (6): He worked incredibly hard from start to finish and probably should have had a penalty, brought down in the penalty box after a nice run with the ball. It was also nice to see him battle away in the aerial duels, with some success too.

Substitutes

Morata (6): It was more or less what you would expect from him, with hard work and an ability to get on the ball when the crosses came in. Unfortunately, perhaps except for the rebound on Theo’s effort, there were no clear-cut chances for him.

Chukwueze (5): Poor crosses and rash decisions in the first phase of the defence. This was certainly not what we wanted to see from the winger tonight.

Tags AC Milan AC Milan Player Ratings Bayer Leverkusen

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  1. A very foolish coach, why deviate from what works?
    RLC shouldn’t be starting any game he is just so absent and our midfield constantly overrun, he is just a waste of mass.
    I really need to see a pairing of Gabbia and Pavlovic, the Tomori dude is just over doing, complains alot and is always out of position.

    The earlier we cashout on Leao the better for this team…

    1. SO ridiculous the RLC hate. Meanwhile Reijnders ruined so many scoring chances today and not a mention about him. Reijnders was clearly our worst midfielder today but yeah, let’s blame it all on RLC. Same old boring story.

      1. You don’t know how to defend the performance of your favorite player, so you constantly try to compare him to another player. One day it’s Reijnders, another day Tonali or Fofana or …

        Thing is, the pairing of Fofana and Reijnders has worked, as both are excellent midfielders. It’s the coach’s fault to upset that. Loftus has no place in the starting line-up and whenever he starts the team is weaker. It’s not his fault, he is the average player that he is, it’s the coach’s fault for starting him. He could be useful as a sub or in certain, easier games.

        Meanwhile, seems to me you need to have a kid and name him Ruben.

        1. Wow, don’t know how to respond touch a brilliant comment.
          It’s the pairing of Morata and Abraham that has really worked. And the lineup he put out today would’ve worked if Reijnders could finish easy chances inside the box. But I’m sure that is RLC’s fault as well.
          It’s very simple They’ve been here the same amount of time, and who has better production? RLC has played more good games in a Milan jersey than Reijnders has, not even close. Reijnders had his one and only great game against Inter. (Which by the way in that game it was RLC that won the free kick against Dimarco that we won the game on.) That’s literally the only game where he was excellent since he’s been here. The rest is just more games like today. A few nice dribbles, a couple nice passes, and nothing to show for it.

          1. The thing is though, RLC doesn’t start when Morata and Abraham do. But Reijnders does. So that probably indicates what the coaches preference is players lies.

            I’m not trying to clown on RLC by the way. He has a good player in him amid inconsistencies. But Reijnders is just more of a superior midfielder in my opinion.

  2. Deserved loss

    Honestly, we have to say that Leverkusen is much better than us, both in terms of individuality but also in collective terms. They’re fast, know each other and play fast. Also that referee…

    We could have equalized, but also had Frimpong learned how to aim, we could have lost by a big margin.

    There are certainly many things we’ve done wrong. I understand we’ve decided to leave the possession to them and focus on defense, but our counters were bad mostly. They mostly consisted on one player running with the ball until he ran out of options. Compare to Leverkusen who play fast one two touches to one another. Defensively we simply didn’t have an answer to their collective play and we let them had their way in the midfield.

    Onto the players individually

    Maignan: man of the match for Milan. He saved us from a big loss really

    Theo: Not his worst game considering he had to deal with Frimpong, but he still has habits of over carrying the ball and didn’t close his lane very effectively.

    Gabbia & Tomori: Leverkusen’s dynamic play made them look really bad and they were always a step behind.

    Emerson: Might as well have put a cone instead of him. Boniface had a field day with him and offensively all his attempts lacked precision and killed our rare opportunities.

    Reijnders: lacked precision, didn’t pass quickly enough when needed and seriously my man really needs to work on his shooting. One year later and he still can’t shoot to save our lives.

    Loftus-Cheek: Hadn’t been for that shot towards the end I would have forgotten he played

    Fofana: By far our best midfielder tonight (which isn’t saying much really). On the negative, he still bull rushes leaving space behind and over does it with dribbling and sometimes silly shots. On the positive, he was quite active during the second half both offensively and defensively, crossed some good balls and didn’t allow Leverkusen’s players too much freedom. You can also see that he has a good fighting spirit.

    Leao: Aside from some good runs in the second half, he was once again unfocused and lacked precision.

    Pulisic: Not his best game tonight, and when he got the ball, the opportunities were lacking.

    Abraham: Couldn’t make something out of the few opportunities he got and his pressing was ineffective

    Morata: His entry did provide dynamic to us and I think he should’ve started, but he lacked precision with many shots.

    Chukwueze: Didn’t do much

    So far we have 0 points after 2 games, not the first time really. You could argue we had games we were never really gonna win.

    Hopefully after the break, we will get softer teams (with the exception of Real Madrid), so it’s up to us not to screw things up.

    1. Leverkusen are further ahead into their project. 3 years in with the same coach, only improving. Milan is 7 games in with a new coach and a new system …

      1. Big ‘plus one’ from me to this – it was a side in their stride vs one getting used a new system. We were competitive with one of Europe’s best teams from last season – no overreaction from me

      2. Sure new coach. But the main Milan group been together 5+ years. And the system is the same. That was the whole point in hiring fonseca. Makes the same bs moves as pioli, except he wants to use the rb more for some reason.. nothing wrong with that but it should be the other way around. Lb at Milan is a bit better than rb 🤦‍♂️

      3. Thanks bro for bringing this to our notice. This Leverkusen team beat Bayern at the Allianz Arena last season. Bayern still couldn’t get a win against them on Saturday. Let’s face the facts; they are very good. They were highly unlucky against Leipzig. They attacked the whole of the first half, with Leipzig goalie making so many saves. Milan, on the other hand, is still “work in progress “. No team has pushed Leverkusen this hard at their home. I would have loved a draw, but, I’m glad with the response of our boys. It’s not all about winning. This team is slowly getting better. If we had started Morata and Abraham, they would have opened us up more. Alonso ended up bringing in more midfield and defensive reinforcements to seal the game. I have not seen him panic like this. I can’t start blaming this or that player. All of them can’t have good days. But, this Milan team is improving.

    2. Re: Pulisic opportunities were lacking. Rafa missed him wide open at the spot in the first half. He set the table for Reijinders in the 2nd. Chuk is a huge drop off.

      Too much complaining on the field about the refs. None of the ‘missed’ calls were actually fouls. Shut-up and play.

      1. “Re: Pulisic opportunities were lacking. Rafa missed him wide open at the spot in the first half. He set the table for Reijinders in the 2nd. Chuk is a huge drop off.”
        That’s kind of what I meant, but maybe I didn’t express it properly. Pulisic either didn’t receive enough good balls to make a difference and his teammates didn’t make the best out of the opportunities he set. But overall not his best game.
        For the refeering, I found a bit sus tbh, but I agree that players should get up as quickly as possible instead of allowing Leverkusen to counter while laying on the ground.

  3. Player Ratings are pretty spot on… Fofana was immense. We played with “courage” as Fonseca keeps saying and that was the main thing. We were unlucky too but the ref, who should’ve been invisible, was the star of the show 👏

    1. Courage ?? Walking around and passing around our defense and goalie is what you call courage ? Allowing and inviting constant pressure without creating anything the first 65mins is what you call courage ? It’s a shame this is what Milan has become. This coach should be lighting a fire for these players to learn how to pass around and move around rather than holding into the ball for too long and expect counters to win us games. In European modern football, you have to have the whole team moving and passing. That’s why Atalanta and Inter are the only Italian teams that do well against other European teams outside of Italy. Those teams play expansive game but we only play wing play. When was the last time you saw us create from the middle ? This is Pioli all over again. SMH

      1. “When was the last time you saw us create from the middle ?” Bingo! I’ll add to that, do we have a system of play? That Leverkusen pass for the offside goal was strictly from a system of play, passing and moving to create a shot on target. We simply don’t have that. I was really hoping we would have something similar but this was us being out coached…by a newbie coach mind you.

        1. Isn’t it the fault of the midfielders who lack these characteristics?

          Which one of our midfielders can bit a cross field pass?

          None.

          1. @MH man don’t get me started on the midfield lol. I’m being positive as it’s only the first few games of the season (never mind that we didn’t get the players to play any of the formations but let’s see first how Fonsy can manoeuvre that mine field)

          1. Thanks bro. I was on vacay. Was great. Also hilarious the last few weeks just enjoy reading the comments, itching to comment but I said no, my break was just going so well 😁.
            Hopefully I can add some words to the chat here and there that makes sense haha 😂

  4. We lacked clinical finishing in front of the goal, which ultimately led to our loss. Although Leverkusen dominated us in the first half, we applied significant pressure on them in the second half.

    The team’s performance is better when Morata plays because of how he covers ground and presses. Fofana had a great game as well.

    But the referee won Bayer Leverkusen the game.

  5. FIRST OF ALL THE REF WAS ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS.
    Let Bayer get away with murder.
    Secondly, all the people saying why don’t they play Reijnders at AM, that he’s so much beter than RLC there, now do you see? If you remember Pioli tried him there in the preseason and the first couple games of last season but the dude can’t finish to save his life. That’s why Pioli moved him back. How did he not score today. Wide open 3 yards from goal and he can’t even pull the trigger. Can’t even get his shot off. gets caught under his feet, then has to cut it back. It was infuriating to watch.
    Morata is an amazing player. I knew he was good but I’m even more impressed by how complete a player he is and how much effort he brings every game. A great example for the rest of the team to follow.
    It was a good response by Milan after conceding but where was this team in the first half?
    I think our fullbacks play too central, every time they switched fields on us they were alone in acres of space. That seems to be a continuing problem.
    Some good signs in the second half but we can’t wait until we are behind to start playing like that.

      1. Other than the fact that RLC has scored more goals for Milan in fewer games and had a successful career which includes winning titles, tonight he was poor but he still made himself available for the ball, won free kicks, moved the ball quickly, and had that volley.

        Reijnders just did his usual thing – nothing.

        But the apologetic rating above shows the level of bias towards this player who since coming to Milan has presided over our non-existent midfield.

        1. I’m sorry, man. I just honestly don’t have much else to tell you unfortunately. I’ll do us both a favor and just skip your comments so we can keep this civi.

      2. Reijnders missed so many opportunities in this game , for himself and for others. Right from the start of the game where Leao put him in and Reijnders first touch hit it right to the keeper. Or the missed chances in front of goal, which has always been his problem and why Pioli moved him back.
        Not saying RLC was so much better in this game, but my point is just look at the amount of negative comments RLC gets vs what Reijnders gets on here. It’s not justified. If RLC had missed the amount of chances Reijnders did they would be running him out of town right now. Reijnders can’t finish and if you can’t finish you can’t play up there.

        1. The fact that RLC get the criticism has nothing to do with what Reijnders does or doesn’t do. You’re deflecting.

          Both Reijnders and RLC had chances and missed chances. Both drive the ball forward. But Reijnders range of passing and vision is far superior to RLC’s, especially in the final third.

          It’s not to say RLC is poor. They just have different characteristics. Should Reijnders have buried his chance in front of goal? ABSOLUTELY. Should RLC have been involved more? ABSOLUTELY.

          RLC’s criticism comes from his inconsistencies since last season, especially since we’ve seen what he’s capable of against PSG. But you deflect his criticism onto Reijnders. Not sure why.

          1. It’s got nothing to do with chances!

            It’s the fact that Reijnders keeps us stuck in our half because he won’t make himself available or move the ball quickly!

          2. Nobody is deflecting anything. RLC was our best midfielder last season by almost any measurement you want to use.
            Reijnders was excellent against Inter, the best game he has for us, I’ll give him credit for that. Can you think of another game where he was great for us? Because I can’t. I can name a number of games off the top of my head where RLC was our best player including a Champions League game against PSG where he was the best player on the pitch.
            Yet, you’ll rarely see any criticism of Reijnders on here. Never has someone done so little and gotten away with it.
            He’s played more minutes than anyone and has virtually no goals or assists to show for it, and he’s not particularly good defensively either. He’s a good dribbler , can make some good passes, but he cannot finish. SO you like to say RLC is not an AM, well neither is Reijnders.

        2. The biggest issue I have with RLC is his inconsistent displays. The fact that he scored 10 goals last season is impressive, but that’s simply due to his late runs into the box. That’s also how Jovic and Okafor scored as well – does that mean they were impressive? I wouldn’t call them that.

          RLC, for his physicality and pace, drives forward well, but he doesn’t create a chance at the end of it. Of all the goals he scored last season, none came as a finish to his own drive, you know what I mean?

          Reijnders is far from a finished product, but his calcio verticale is the best on this team, bar none. Like I said earlier, these drives won’t always result in a goal, but more often than not, he will lay the ball on a pass to a player resulting in an opportunity. He’ll do that more than RLC any day of the week.

          I’m not sure Fonseca has fully figured out how to use the combination of RLC/Fofana/Reijnders and will probably tinker more with it until it’s better. But on any given match day, I would take my chances with Reijnders behind a striker rather than RLC.

          1. I’ll take unimpressive goals over missed chances and impressive dribbles that lead to nothing everyday of the week. Those unimpressive goals are the same chances that Reijnders could have and should have scored today. If you are impressed by fancy dribbles that lead to nothing I know a RW you’ll love… He’s on our team already.

          2. ” missed chances and impressive dribbles that lead to nothing”

            I can think of quite a few names that cross my mind here.

            Compare those to how Leverkusen attacked. They played as a team and passed the ball quickly. Only Boniface tried to make things happen by himself at times. But 90% of their attacks were team play. That’s what I want for Milan too. Players helping out each others and not just try to do everything by themselves.

        3. “RLC was our best midfielder last season by almost any measurement you want to use”.

          RLC didn’t even play as a midfielder last year, he played as a 2nd striker right next to Giroud

        4. “RLC was our best midfielder last season by almost any measurement you want to use.”

          Oh you’re setting yourself up because you’re heated..just say you like the dude but dont over play your hand.
          Any measurement? Of all’s midfielders, as.sume RLC is one too, Reinjders had better passing completion rate, better key passes, better passes into final third, most assists (all mids did poorly), better goal scoring actions, shot scoring actions ….I could go on…

          1. “There’s them lies, damned lies and, what’s the other one?”
            Let’s try it in another way:
            fbref: the higher the percentile the better
            last 365 days:
            attempted passes: Deers 62 RLC 6
            % successfull passes: Deers 92 RLC 65
            progressive passes: Deers 78 RLC 23
            progressive carries: Deers 95 RLC 95
            Successfull dribbles: Deers 85 RLC 91
            touches inside the opposition’s box (whatever that means): Deers 73 RLC 96
            Tackles: Deers 11 RLC 13
            Interceptions: Deers 33 RLC 01
            Blocks: Deers 07 RLC 06
            Clearances: Deers 15 RLC 04
            Aerial duels won: Deers 2 RLC 84
            Non-penalty goals: Deers 65 RLC 98
            npxG: Non-Penalty xG: Deers 51 RLC 94
            Shots total: Deers 78 RLC 85
            Assists: Deers 49 RLC 09
            xAG: Exp. Assisted Goals: Deers 63 RLC 71
            npxG + xAG: Deers 55 RLC 88
            Shot-Creating Actions: Deers 98 RLC 71
            Datamb: the higher the percentile the better
            2023/24 season:
            Duel winning %: Deers 52.1 RLC 41.6
            Succ.Defensive actions: Deers 24.5 RLC 14.0
            Prog.carries: Deers 91.1 RLC 91.3
            Forwards passes: Deers 64.6 (accurarcy 92%) RLC 2.5 (accuracy 82.9%)
            key passes: Deers 61.3 RLC 49.9
            progressive passes: Deers 42.8 RLC 2.2
            These are datas from 2 differentes websites, and we’re talking quantitative stuff, not whatever one likes or dislikes.
            I think the numbers speak for themselves but I’ll elaborate.
            Outside of scoring, progressive carries and aerial duels, Reijnders is better in every metric. He is by far a more creative player, more progressive passer, has more forward and key passes with also more accuracy. Both are poor defensively, but Reijnders is still on a higher tier.
            RLC played last season mostly as a second striker NOT as a midfielder. He did a relatively good job scoring many goals being so close to the opposition’s box, but his involvment midfield wise was almost non-existant (he is in the 10th worst percentile in some parameters). He wasn’t a better midfielder than Reijnders and was certainly NOT our best midfielder last season.

          2. LMAO 🤣🤣🤣 @giga u listed the “I could go on” part hahaha
            Sorry K, not bashing on u or anything.
            RLC shows up once every 5-7 games. Not saying Deers is like the next Seedorf but he’s consistently average. Pick your poison I suppose. I also don’t like how he gets overrated on the site too 🤷‍♂️

          3. Maybe I should ‘ve said any important measurement.
            You can cherry pick any meaningless stat that you want, but I don’t really care about goal scoring actions, I care about goals. I don’t care about shot scoring actions, whatever that means, I care about what you do with the shots when you get them. And Reijnders flat out can’t finish.
            Not to mention some of these stats that GIGA comes up with are highly skeptical. According to his stats RLC has had 1 interception in the past 365 days? ANd 6 attempted passes? Deers has 49 assists? Is that a percentage? Even that doesn’t make sense.
            Other than the Inter game this season I can’t think of another game where Reijnders was one of our best players. Yet he always gets a pass. Even in this game according to this rating and others Rejnders had a worse game, but all the hate goes to RLC on here. It’s somehow RLC’s fault that Reijnders blew so many scoring chances in this game.

        5. Do you understand why people can’t have a proper discourse with you? First you said by any measurement. Ok…Measurements were provided to refute your claim (you didn’t even notice not all stats favoured Deers). Now you’re saying any “meaningful measurement” because it doesn’t fit your narrative…while accusing others of cherry picking when you literally picked the only stat that favours your argument (goals)….which in and of itself is the definition of cherry picking.
          Ok RLC has more goal contributions last year….and this year he’s what? Worse than Deers so your very own logic disproved what you’re trying to say.
          Btw it’s not hard to think of what a shot or goal scoring action is, or Google it. Like we can’t put in all the work. Fbref has a glossary.
          I’ll do you one favour:
          “Goal-Creating Actions
          The two offensive actions directly leading to a goal, such as passes, take-ons and drawing fouls. Note: A single player can receive credit for multiple actions and the shot-taker can also receive credit.”
          You also missed critical points posed by other people I dunno if it’s due to haste or frustration about details that’s not really core to the main argument. You don’t even realize that ppl here agree with your sentiments about Deers, it’s just not at the expense of RLC. Those two things are mutually exclusive

    1. Morata is amazing.

      I can’t believe the impact he’s having on the team where he single handily raises the level of everyone around him.

      This is what we needed from our midfielders.

      In fairness tonight Fofana stepped up.

      1. Why do we always need an Ibrahimovic, or a Giroud, or a Morata, to “raise the level”? Why do we have a bunch of players who need to have their level raised by some kind of veteran? The bulk of our players are in their mid 20s, have been playing for the club for years and have even won a championship here. It’s incredible that we still have to rely on finding some father figure to get people to do their jobs.

        1. Because there aren’t many players on the planet that can do what these guys do.

          And this is precisely why, rather than wasting time and money on pointless signings, we should be focusing on signing truly world class players in key positions.

          1. I’m not disagreeing with you on that one, but I guess my question was more rhetorical. My gripe is against these players who lack motivation, commitment and team orientation (as opposed to individualism). This is something we can identify in scouting. Yes, it’s entertaining to watch a player (let’s say like Leao) dribble three defenders and score a goal, but only a very few can do this successfully on a consistent bases. Meanwhile, you have a TEAM like Leverkusen that moves like a unit, doesn’t have any star or “big” names (putting aside that any are becoming stars at Leverkusen), and they win. When we bring in players, not only should they have the right “characteristics” or be targeted signings, attitude and personality need to be criteria that should be considered much more than they generally are. The evaluations need to be more holistic.

  6. Please just sell leao. Beat Emerson. And sell chuwkueze to domino so he can be delivering pizzas. Cause this guy’s don’t add. Nothing to the team.

    My joy in this game was gabbia. I’m so happy for him and how he is growing in his performance.

    He has bleed and suffered for and with this team for years now. I’m happy for him

    Milan should be ashamed to play leverkusen the way they did today. Even Lazio won’t play this way.

    Yes it was beautiful after leverkusen scored. They play wonderful game. What would have happened if they played that way from the beginning. We’ll never know.

    Please we should just sell leao. It hurts to believe in someone so much and yet they put up this kind of show. Every single time. I thought he will grow. But he has grown already. He is a dead weight to this team.

    Fonseca needs goal. He brought in chuwkueze. When we have Okafor. I’ll. Prefer keeping pulisic.

    1. You are so dramatic, like a teen girl. No matter how many threads you post this comment on, it’s still dense and lacking any insight.

      Leao has contributed as much as Lautaro and Puli since the beginning of last season. Don’t see you huffing and puffing over Pulisic about it. Food for thought.

      Go scream in a pillow.

      1. LEAO is such a huge disappointment !!! PLAYS THE ENTIRE GAME STINKING UP THE PLACE ! LAZY LAZY LEAO. YOU GUYS HAVE TO STOP LIVING IN THE PAST! SELL LEAO ! HE HAS PEAKED AND IS NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR THE REST OF THE TEAM. SELL LAZY LAZY LEAO !!!!!!!!!!!

  7. Obviously disappointed with the result, draw would have been the fair outcome, but encouraged by the performance of the team.
    I think they started a little scared or reserved, allowing Bayer to dominate the possession, but after the goal Milan was absolutely the better team.
    Boniface caused them a lot of problems. The way he played today reminded me of Lukaku during his 1st stint at inter. He was just too big, too strong, too fast.
    Besides Maignan, who was great, Fofana looked very good. He gets better with each game. Reijnders had a very good overall game but he was poor with his finishing and final ball on some occasions.
    Don’t usually talk about the refereeing, but it was very one sided today.
    The schedule didn’t favor Milan, but after the Liverpool and Bayer games they should have very winnable games in UCL and the team looks better ans better with each game.
    On to Fiorentina.

    1. What was Reijnders ‘good overall game’?

      Was it his over hit pass to Pulisic which made the latter run into the corner or the overhit cross in the next move?

      Reijnders has this amazing ability to make his teammates run more.

        1. Another great bit of insight?

          You could hear Abraham’s scream when Reijnders over hit that cross.

          He’s killing his team mates.

          Compare his contribution to Morata’s when he dropped into that role against Inter, or even RLC’s in the better games he’s had like against PSG.

          Name a single match winning performance he’s given?

          1. What are you talking about, our most consistent player last season was Reijnders. He hardly had a bad game. As someone else said you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, you should take the Maldini name off your profile, you’re a disgrace of a “fan”, as I told you before you don’t belong here, go support City.

          2. So you suddenly decided to be all over Reinjders? I have to say, you sure are a very strange person. What happened to defending the players who play for Milan?

            Now Reijnders is not Seedorf but he is actually a good midfielder and a starter in Netherland national team. Loftus-Cheek as a player is not here nor there and is not allowed within 10km of England’s training ground.

  8. This is bias rating on Chukweze. He was more involved than Leao that played the overall 90mins.

    Although he made some rash decisions but, Atleast it was intended for going forward.
    Tomori and Gabbia were decent.

    Emerson was a waste of money to be honest.
    Leao should be sold now, let him go to a club he can walk causally while other players are working their a:::es.

    Chukweze should have come in for Leao and Musah had every reason to come on to replace RLC
    I wish we still had Tonali in this team. We need that Gattuso energy in the middle and allow reinjers play the Pirlo role.

    1. Nice joke. As far as I’m concerned, Chukwueze is more suited to do what Messias used to do for a living, certainly not playing football. Awful player.

    2. Are you for real, Chukwueze was poor and should be compared to Emerson “slave” nothing Royal about him, what a waste, Boniface just kept making a mess of him, in fact I had my heart in my mouth each time Bayern Lev attacked down the right, cos it’s a free pass

  9. We were awful defensively and offensively until we concede and we were awful in converting chances when Leverkusen were awful so we were more awful and rightly deserve to lose despite ref were on the other side.
    Morata: two easy header put one wide and other straight to keeper’s hand.
    Rienjder: confuse at decision making, two missed chances, one simplest of tap in and he decided to wait for defenders to come and hit straight with in reach of keeper.
    RLC : hit straight to keeper

  10. Sucks we lost but the improvement from the Liverpool game was exceptional. Hope to see more against Real Madrid.

    Im done with Royal and Chuk. Hope they improve but I’d prefer to only see them when we have a lead and no youngster to sub in ahead of them.

    Mangion reminded me why is is considered world class today.

    What I found most encouraging was that we had the same identity today we have had since the derby. We clearly have a way to go to stay on the pitch with Liverpool, Leverkusen and RM, but we have a clear identity and that is more than we had last year.

    I would say Leao gets a 6. He lost the ball and worked to get the ball back immediately. He played his role on defense. He needs to improve individually in those areas but he is doing dirty work.

    Looking forward to Fiorentina to prove we can win a game we are supposed to after a tough loss like this.

      1. Decent? Two successful dribbles ending with pass to the opponent and he was “decent”? The requirement levels have really gone done for this guy… I thought an MVP and the best-paid player should be able to do more than that but I guess that’s what the fans will settle.

        No wonder people get upset when people ask more from him when they are absolutely thrilled him making two successful dribbles per match.

  11. The team is clearly improving and playing better and that’s the key takeaway here.

    I think Milan woke up too late because if we applied this much pressure more throughout the game we could have scored. We gave them too much respect by staying deeper in the first half, weathering the storm and to be honest held up pretty well considering how much of the ball they had.

    Second half was much better. Second half of the second half was best, but again a bit unlucky with the finishing. One moment of inattention at the back cost us a goal. But overall the team didn’t mentally collapse going down a goal.

    People criticize Reijnders in front of goal, and I admit that his finishing is lacking. But I was more shocked at how Morata missed an open goal.

    Fofana looked really good today. RLC was spotty – on again, off again. Emerson survived Rt Flank, although Calabria would not have done much better.

    I would like to see Leao involved more and take his players on more. Not sure what Fonseca is working with him on defensively. I don’t think I saw Leao take a single shot on goal today.

    I was curious why didn’t make any more subs outside of Chuk and Morata…

    Overall, again, I was glad to see the team actually respond mentally after conceding. Much better showing than the first game …

    1. It’s not about the misses but the fact that he once again takes too many touches.

      Whereas Morata was involved three times before he missed the open goal including passing it quickly across to Theo.

      It’s the speed of thought, play and movement that is lacking in Reijnders. I’m less concerned with his lack of goals but it is amusing how people criticise others who have scored more in fewer games .

      1. RLC Scored more than most players last year because PE basically played him as a second striker. Nobody’s denying how good Rlc is at Finishing as chances when he disconnects the entire play, it comes at a price.

      2. Morata is 32 having played in many Top clubs across Europe learning from players better than him in every way.

        Reijnders has played at AZ before his move to Milan learning from no one of note so far. Sprinkle Reijnders for 7 years in Morata’s clubs and watch him run circles around anyone.

        And you don’t evensee any flaws in your argument … Scary

        1. Isn’t that the whole point?

          We should signing champions like Morata rather than waiting for players from mid table Dutch teams to reach some imaginary ceiling.

    2. Reijnders is a central midfielder and his partnership with Fofana has worked, so it’s the coach’s fault to try and move him up the pitch. Leave the midfield pairing alone. Put Cheek up front if you have to but obviously best case scenario is Cheek on the bench, Fofana-Reijnders in midfield, and Morata-Abraham in attack.

  12. I don’t like to do this but the ref today was AWFUL. There could have been at least one penalty in each half and the amount of fouls leverkusen made where their players stopped knowing its a foul and he waves play on.

    I actually think we’re finally playing like a team. Much more compact and creative compared to the first 3 games. Leao needs to figure it out because he was such a weak point today. Reijnders too was poor.

    Fofana was immense. We have figured his role out in this team. Had Morata been healthy and started this Game I feel it would have gone different. But way too many missed chances, Need to be clinical infront of goal.

    Hate being 0-2 in champions league but we have had a hard start and we just need to beat the bottom teams and we can advance.

    1. After the ref was a disgrace.

      Fofana was a huge improvement and it was a shame we didn’t start Morata who is essential if we are to leave our half.

  13. First, Leverkusen played at home. Second, the referee refereed shamefully. Thirdly, in the first half, Milan showed us that they know how to defend, while in the second, they showed us that they know how to play positional attacks, not just counterattacks. Anyone who doesn’t see positives from this match knows nothing about this game 😉

    1. I agree there are positives as well as further confirmation that Reijnders is our number one problem in midfield with his lack of presence and we need Morata to give us said presence.

      1. Deep breath for 4
        Hold 4
        Exhale 4
        Hold 4

        Repeat 10 times

        Okay, are you back to the more sensible guy who insists as fans we don’t bring an agenda against our players?

        Good, I liked reading that guy. Learned a few things.

        1. I’m perfectly calm.

          I’ve no agenda and I’ve consistently said I want Reijnders and all Milan players to succeed .

          I’ve not insulted him, called for him to be sold (although probably will in the summer if things don’t improve ), and have called out specific failings which are systemic NOT one or two missed chances .

          Fundamentally Reijnders doesn’t do anywhere near enough to demand the ball in midfield, to move the ball quickly and decisively, to open up sides with expansive passing, to defend, to show strength, to make dangerous runs forward, or anything really.

          If you want to know what I want from Reijnders look at Morata. Look at the difference he’s made.

          I’ll admit it grates that he is consistently praised and excused, whilst fans lay into others many of whom are suffering from his lack of contribution: defenders left exposed due to his lack of defensive cover; attackers lacking service because he slows down attacks or under or over hits passes.

          There isn’t a universe where the same person can criticise Leao or Calabria and not this guy, since he lacks the impact of Leap and the work rate and commitment of Calabria.

          I’d like to see him dropped this weekend to see if Musah can improve things.

    2. This team is different from pioli team but many can’t see the difference. Look at the game against pool, I wasn’t happy with the scores but I was amazed to know we could play few touches pass to beat a high press as pools own. The play pattern keeps improving game by game. I believe this team would do better and go further than previous seasons

  14. Complain all we want about the refs but our players were falling around for no reason thruout the game to the extent that the acting even pissed me off. Yes some calls were questionable but When you act too much you lose credibility. Asking our players to play for set pieces was a terrible game plan ffs. Leao,RLC, Theo, Emerson all did it too much. Pulisic was the only one that wanted to keep playing even when he’s being fouled.

  15. Leverkusen were better but Milan did well and had a lot of chances in the second half. That’s three matches in a row with a lot of positives in terms of performance so credit to Fonseca and the players. There’s still a lot of work to be done, chemistry will come with time, but a long-term plan needs to be put forth (something lacking since last season’s mercato). Is 4-4-2 now the way for the next two-three seasons? Who are the players we’re building the team around? Which areas need reinforcements? A clear plan was the key to our success under the previous management.

  16. Emerson’s speed is a problem, teams are coming after him every match. Rafa is talented, but if he doesn’t get the pass he likes or something doesn’t go his way he just stops and stands complaining and that is getting annoying. Leverkusen have been beating teams 3-0, 4-0, only lost one game since last season started. Scored 144 goals last season til date. I see why they play quick passes and have a fast team. All that being said I think there are signs of improvement and we did scare Leverkusen, definitely should of been 1-1 at least with Morata missing some headers and reindeers sitter he didn’t pull the trigger on until it was too late, Pulisic should get a shot out for playing that pass to reindeer’s so saying he just about gets a pass with a 6 could of been he gets a 6 for a decent shift and teeing up reindeers for a sitter, and he held possession well. The ref sucked also, wouldn’t even give VAR a chance to review fouls that didn’t get called.

    1. Everything about Emerson is a problem. Moncada managed to find us the most non-technical Brazilian ever to play the game. He’s actually embarrassing the whole country as fans will begin to wonder if they can even play football in Brazil if that kind of players make it as a pro.

  17. Yes, referee was poor. But WHY did Milan need to concede goals in order to be allowed by Fonseca to take the initiative in the match?! They sat deep, invited Leverkusen to take charge before reacting. Naïve and cowardly. Best performance?! Get him out. Only a loser plays like this and blames the referee afterwards.

    1. Well, if we had played offensively from the beginning, who knows what would have happened? Maybe we’d win… but we might also lose 5-0; even when we were playing defensively, Leverkusen put a lot of pressure on our defense.

      So, Fonseca was in a difficult position. I’m sure that if he had ordered the team to press more in first half and then we had conceded 3 goals in first half, people would be crucifying him for not taking Leverkusen seriously and not being more defensively prudent.

      It seems like Fonseca was going for a draw, playing away, against a very solid opponent; they’ve been a well-oiled machine under one coach and one system; we are not there yet. So, going for a draw at their stadium is not the worst of ideas. When we conceded, then, lost by one, lost by one thousand, it doesn’t matter, so he signaled to the boys that they should attack. Yes, the offensive volume we then produced indicates that maybe we’d have been better off if we were attacking from the beginning… but maybe not, maybe we would have just conceded two more goals. It’s hard to say.

  18. With a less biased ref we could have collected two PKs and Leverkusen could have played with one man down.

    Mike and Fofana were our best players. Morata had an immediate impact but damn, he should have buried that header after Theo’s crossbar hit. Theo was our third best player. These four did well.

    Neither Rafa nor Puli contributed a lot, tonight. The former seemed to regress after the good performance against Lecce, and the latter is probably exhausted from all the effort he has produced since the beginning of the season.

    Reijnders was actually detrimental; he wasted a couple of good opportunities. RLC paradoxically was more decent tonight than Reijnders.

    Abraham looked exhausted and got a bit banged up. Not his fault.

    Tomori and Gabbia weren’t terrible but nothing great either. Emerson was again atrocious; couldn’t win duels; ineffective in offense. I don’t know what we should do for the RB position. Emerson is clearly not the answer; Calabria is in frank decline. Jimenez can’t defend. Maybe Musah as RB. We shouldn’t have lost Kalulu.

    Chuk was equally ineffective. By now I think of him as a bust.

    We played better than in the Liverpool game, despite a very poor first half. On this, I blame Fonseca a bit. We were too low block in the first half, too timid and afraid. After we conceded and finally decided to attack, we created problems for Leverkusen. Maybe if we had attacked all 90 minutes we could have tied or even won. But this is easier said than done; Leverkusen had sufficient firepower in first half to really crush us if we had played too offensively; Mike had to work hard.

    Overall Leverkusen did merit the win, but maybe, for what we demonstrated after minute 55, it would have been fairer to draw this game.

    Still, there is nothing to be ashamed of. We played a good team in their home and we were badly damaged by an incompetent (or biased?) ref.

    1. Pulisic has been the best player this year(also probably last year too) but he played hard and teed up Reijnders so I’d say he was one of the better players today.

  19. Isn’t it time to give Calabria and Okafor more space. I mean the argument that Royal isn’t worse or something is starting to sound ridiculous. Calabria canceled out Mbappe and Kvara in the last two seasons. Sure, he is capable of some very bad games, but he is more passionate and tactically aware that that lost soul we wasted money on.
    As for Rafa, he is not irreplaceable, not with that attitude. Okafor would’ve added more danger in last third since he doesn’t only stay on the wing.
    Reijnders always trying to complicate clear chances is officially becoming a thing and the coaching stuff should spend extra time on that.
    Mike, Matteo and Fofana were the best on the field. A quiet game for Tammy and Pulisc, had to luck to play in the first half when we approach the game too defensively. Theo had annoying moments like trying to beat the keeper from our half, but also some decent interventions against a tough customer like Frimpong. Tomori – the usual inadequacy after a strong cross from the flang, got lucky with the offside call. Takes part of the blame for the goal, though. Morata gave us a huge boost, Samu did the opposite.

    The overall reaction was quite encouraging, but we should’ve started the second half that way, instead of waiting for their goal. What about those referees, they did all they could to help Bayer. Nothing should surprise us at this point. It’s going to get a whole lot worse in Serie A if we stay close to Inter for a longer period of time. Sadly, the same incidents happen to us in Europe as well.

  20. Not bad, considering we are practically playing with 10 players each time RLC starts. Lets keep healthy as we have nothing exciting on the bench. I miss Saladmaker, never know when he will surprise you, while Cukwatze is a waste.

  21. Ref was a disgrace.

    Overall it was positive and Fofana especially was a positive as we now seem to finally have a midfielder. We’re still lacking someone beside him since Reijnders offers nothing and RLC is not good defensively.

    Morata is improvement on RLC in the attacking phase and needs to start every game.

    We need to find another solution to Reijnders. Musah seems to be the only other option which is utterly bizarre given how many midfielders we’ve been through in the past 2 seasons.

    People criticise Emerson but Fonseca leaves our full backs exposed.

    He did put in a good cross. Obviously we need to get the captain back.

    At least we have another 26 games to turn it around with the new format (sarcasm alert).

  22. SofaScore ratings for Milan players vs Bayer:
    Maignan 8.5
    Theo 7
    Tomori 7
    Gabbia 6.9
    Emerson 6.8
    RLC 7.1
    Fofana 7.5
    Leao 6.5
    Reijnders 7.2
    Pulisic 7.2
    Abraham 6.7
    Morata 6.9
    Chukwueze 6.7

    1. These ratings are too generous. Yes, Maignan and Fofana were our two best players so I agree with the ratings for the two of them, but I don’t see why Puli and Reijnders should have collected a 7.2; and 6.7 for Chukwueze, for doing what, exactly? Emerson 6.8? For me, more like a 4.

      1. What about your favorite player who is the lowest rated Milan player in a game AGAIN?
        No comment about his rating?
        You were triggered the other day when someone said that Leao plays 1 good game out of every 4 games. Let’s check Leao’s last 4 games. Vs Liverpool a$$ cheeks, vs Inter a$$ cheeks, vs Lecce a good game, vs Bayer a$$ cheeks. That’s 1 out of 4, and the only good game happened vs a relegation serie A team.
        You should go and tell that person who said that about Leao that he was right and you were wrong. I think it was @Vero Rossonero

        1. I’m perfectly capable of seeing Rafa’s shortcomings. If you look at my very post here in this thread, you will see that I said he didn’t do anything tonight and I also said he was disappointing.

          And no, he isn’t my favorite Milan player. That would be Pulisic, whose name and number are on my Milan jersey. I defend Leão because of the unreasonable and exaggerated attacks he suffers. If you start attacking Pulisic, I’ll defend him too.

          I won’t blindly defend just any Milan player for the simple fact that he plays for Milan. For example, you won’t see me defending Origi. But Rafa? Absolutely I’ll defend him. He produces about 30 goal participations by season. Origi? Zero, one, or two at most.

          Yes, Rafa disappears in many games. But he is also decisive in many others and by season end he consistently becomes the highest or the second highest Milan player for goals and assists. It was the case in all three of the last three seasons, and so far it’s been the case this season too: currently he has 4, only below Pulisic. No player is good every game, not even Messi.

          So, no, that person was not right and I was not wrong. Rafa is a very helpful player for Milan due to his numerous goals and assists, and in most games, even when he doesn’t do well, he still creates scoring opportunities. In one of these games you are bashing him for, the Derby, he headed a great ball, saved by miracle by Sommer, had another good shot saved by Sommer, and gave to Reijnders a great pass that should have been an assist if not for Reijnders wasting it. So, often even when Rafa doesn’t do well (which I acknowledged in my comments about the Derby) he still creates scoring opportunities.

          Why should I apologize to people whose life online is consumed by bashing a Milan player? I’m a real rossonero, so, I don’t go into these hatred frenzies regarding one of our most prolific forwards. I don’t even go into crusades against someone like Origi, so why should I do it regarding Rafa?

          Listen to Kaká; the other day he said that he considers the criticism of Rafa to be excessive. Tell me, who should I rather trust? You? “Vero Rossonero”? Or Kaká?

          I’ll stay with Kaká.

          1. Why should I apologize to people whose life online is consumed by bashing a Milan player?
            You certainly have no problems bashing Emerson even when he actually played a decent game. Higher rating than Leao, but you said he deserved a 4.
            Also, Kaka is a nice guy who never says anything negative about anyone. How about the other great coaches and players that have and still are criticizing Leao? How about Capello, Sacchi, Costacurta, how about Carlo Ancelotti saying that he would hit Leao every day if he was coaching him?
            So tell me who should we listen to, you, a leao fanboy, Kaka, a.nice guy whose wife left him because he was too nice, or all these other great coaches who have no problem telling the truth without being worried about Leao or his fanboys feelings?

          2. This is the problem. In no other team Leao would be allowed to walk on the field like that.

            He should have been given a boot a long time ago. Useless egocentristic brat he is.

  23. Just beaten by a better team. I hate saying that, especially in European ties, where Milan are legendary.
    We obviously need time and work and are going in the right direction. I just don’t know how far this team can go with Emerson, RLC, Chucky. We are low on midfield options, defense is certainly Gabbia/Tomori now and we still are lacking a clinical striker.

    Feels like we have gone back 3 years in our development

      1. Yes we are moving in the right direction, again. Unfortunately we are back at the level we were 3 years ago, losing to Liverpool and Athletico but giving it a good go.
        At that time our team was maturing and we only really needed a striker and a AM/RW

        Now we are on a similar level, still need a clinical striker in their prime, a RB (despite having had Kalulu on the books), and certainly another midfielder.

        The structure of the squad is not right or doesn’t reflect the formations we play

  24. Crazy comments from some crazy people, the second half was more than decent. But we can’t play this style of football during European ties. We need to spread the play instead of trying route 1 all the time. We could’ve gotten more from this fixture no doubt. But the some people are losing their minds here, they think this is FIFA on your playstation. The same people calling for Reijnders and RLC’s heads are the same people that defended Tonali and Bennacer for getting ripped apart by said RLC. Calm down. Need I remind you l, our previous deep laying playmaker in Bennacer has 8 goals and 11 assists in 171 games for us, and Tonali sitting on 7 and 13 in 130 matches. Reijnders is sitting on 4 and 8 in 52 matches despite playing in a role that isn’t is natural role, and RLC sitting on 10 and 2 in 48 games. For guys not used to playing in a double pivot they’ve certainly done their job. If anything if Fofana develops into what we expect him to be it will give them much more freedom to be creative. Let’s not pretend as regista/Mezzala that they are worse what we previously had because those two were massively carried by Franck.

    1. I don’t care about goals and assists from CMs, I care about our ability to control games.

      We haven’t controlled midfield since Reijnders arrived. It used to be our strongest area.

      Just look at the way Tonali or Bennacer demand and move the ball in midfield and it is light years away from what Reijnders does.

      Morata is currently our best midfielder, and Fofana really stepped up tonight.

      1. “I don’t care about goals and assists from CMs, I care about our ability to control games.”
        Yet you always mention that RLC scored 10 goals last season.

        1. I mention them because I find it hilarious he gets criticised even after scoring 10 goals in his first season.

          Had he not scored those 10 goals I’d still defend him because he actually offers an outlet in midfield.

          As for your stats (or are they damned lies) above/below (depending on your settings) I really do not care about those.

          They tell us nothing because they fail to deal with the fundamental issues I have with Reijnders:

          – when deep he doesn’t demand the ball from the defence;
          – when higher he floats in between the mid and opposing defence and cancels himself out;
          – he doesn’t make aggressive runs upfront (like RLC);
          – he doesn’t offer enough in defence;
          – he takes too many touches (and his ‘progressive carries’ aren’t helpful because, unlike, Theo, RLC and Leao they’re not direct enough so just slow down attacks);
          – he takes too many touches;
          – he gets knocked off the ball too easily;
          – he doesn’t cover for the defence;
          – he can’t tackle.

          I don’t what stats exist to capture the above but they are observable facts if anyone bothered paying attention.

          I couldn’t care less about his lack of goals or assists. Many great midfielders haven’t scored many goals.

          I am looking for what he contributes to the actual game of football.

          And it’s not very much and in fact he leaves other players exposed and ruins their opportunities. And then gets praised whilst they get criticised.

          1. Dude, you seem to have decided that Reijnders is bad whatever he does, and that RLC is good whatever he does and that you are right about them and everyone else (us posters, the media, the magazines,…) is wrong and that stats don’t matter. You are the truth and no one can convince you otherwise.
            I’m not saying that Reijnders is an exceptional midfielder, in fact overall he is pretty average. But since 2023 he has clearly been our best midfielder. No one is the team currently has his passing range, vision and accuracy (and those can easily be quantified). All the points you mentioned can be blamed on all of our current midfielders and our best/fastest carriers and passers are not midfielders (Morata, Leao, Theo and Pulisic).
            I find it funny that you defend RLC even outside the goals while he has been pretty transparent when he doesn’t score (with the exception of few games here and here). I criticize RLC because when we play against teams against whom we need 3 midfielders and not just a 4th forward, he simply cannot play that role. The man can’t pass in either direction, doesn’t have a high workrate and can’t defend. He’s good at running because his size and strength make him so hard to bring down and is an accurate shooter, but that’s it.

        2. Found this quote about Krunic from Pioli (the Scudetto winning coach) which perfectly deals with your stats argument…

          “I don’t care if he’s not praised enough, I know he’s important. There are things that cannot be explained through numbers and images. He makes those who play near him play well. He is smart and occupies spaces properly, with and without the ball.”

          That is what I am looking for.

        3. Surely the fact that I defend RLC and others shows that I haven’t got these huge expectations.

          If a player misses a chance, or has a bad game, or a defender gets beaten, or a midfielder misses a pass, I don’t lay into them.

          It happens.

          The things I am listing aren’t exactly out of this world.

          Is it too much to ask our midfielders to move towards the defence, demand the ball, do one of those quick turns where you sort of turn into the ball to face the opponents, and then move the ball quickly/

          Is that too much to ask?

          If he did that once I’d jump off the couch with joy.

          Right now I am screaming at him because he’s driving me mad.

          But I still support him and want him to do well.

  25. Milan’s mistake was that they did not play an attacking style from minute one. Leverkusen harm you if you stay defensive, that is why they have scored many goals after the 90th minute. They are not the team of the last season. In fact they started to weaken their game in the last stages of the last season. Bad decision from Milan. Should have studied Atalanta vs Leverkusen and this season’s Leipzig vs Leverkusen.

    1. Easier said than done, because when we are too offensive, we concede too many goals. Fonseca was prudent while playing away against a very good team. It could have worked with a tiny bit of luck (we produced some really near misses), and with a competent and unbiased ref – Leverkusen should have played with one man down as there were ample grounds to expel one of their players, and not just one, but two PKs could have been called for us.

      Had Fonseca pressed too high in first half, and then had we conceded 3 goals, people here would be saying the opposite, that obviously we needed to defend more.

      It’s hard to know what would have worked best. He tried something, it didn’t pay off, by a hair. Maybe if he had tried something else, it would have been even worse. Or not. We just don’t know.

      1. I did not say they should have played too offensive. They should have taken the initiative from minute one instead of staying defensive until conceding. There is a big difference between. Either you keep attacking to score, or you stay defensive until conceding. Milan’s team is suitable for an attacking style, not a defensive one. For the latter it would need mildfielders who can hold the ball and control the rhythm of the game.

        1. Not sure about that. We defended relatively well throughout the game, and since our defense is our weakest department, it does seem like Fonseca is getting somewhere. Sure, it’s risky to play defense only against a high-powered offense like Leverkusen (18 seasonal goals scored by the start of this game) but have you noticed how close we were to a good result? Had the ref called the two PKs we suffered, we could have won 2-1 and then everybody would be calling Fonseca a genius. Sure, our midfield is not the defensive greatest but have you noticed how much Fofana defended effectively? So even the midfield is improving, defensively. We also did hold the ball quite a lot. Exactly 50% while usually Leverkusen dominates possession.

          Anyway, with Morata who has been the driving force as a de facto offensive midfielder half banged-up, Fonseca opted for a more defensive stance. It ultimately didn’t pay off, but almost did. We were hindered more by the ref than by our strategy. It’s not just the two PKs; also not expelling a Leverkusen player and allowing them to foul and interrupt our plays without getting sanctioned.

          It’s already difficult to get a result away against Leverkusen and three times harder when the ref is blatantly biased against you. Still, we almost did. Even with all that the ref did, we’d have tied the game with just a bit of luck, for example in our crossbar hit.

          I did see a number of positives in this game even though we lost. Certainly we did not look discombobulated like against Liverpool and we caused a lot of trouble to Leverkusen which only prevailed by being extremely helped by the ref.

          Frankly, that was more than I expected; I thought we’d do worse, actually, but we turned out to be tough adversaries for Leverkusen+ref.

    2. Hindsight bias.

      In choose to look at it as we can with our new identity and a plan adapted to the situation

      The team executed the plan. They did not execute it well enough.

      Since it is a new plan, a new coach and a few new players, I am happy to be patient as I believe it will work far better later in the season when it counts just a bit more.

          1. Same gringo under different nickname maybe we look more people supporting a fraud…You sound like you have your sugardaddys balls in your mouth…breathe a little

      1. Have you watched Leverkusen in a few games? If you stay defensive vs them, it is for sure you will lose. The coach should know the opponent before the game has started.

  26. Barring an injury crisis, there’s no one who can convince me that RLC should be at this club little-lone starting. But Moncada went into the season with just 5 midfielders and one is constantly injured.

    Fonseca didn’t play for a win from the start. When we had that mentality, we matched them.

    Lastly, the ref was abhorrent.

  27. The thing I regret is a bit of a déjà vue. Remember the numerous opportunities we missed in the first two games of the last Champions League, against Newcastle at home and Dortmund away? Had we scored only one of those numerous chances, we’d have survived the “group of death.”

    Now we have three of the best teams in Europe in our list, Liverpool, Leverkusen, and Real Madrid. So, we can’t afford missed opportunities which aren’t that numerous when playing against such good teams.

    Tonight we could have scored several goals but missed by a hair. I hope it doesn’t come back to bite us like last season.

  28. So why exactly isn’t Jovic on the bench? This is literally the situation he thrives in. We need a late goal and throw 2 striker up top. Why isn’t he being used? Painful enough we just let leverkusen walk all over us for 70 minutes…

  29. These ratings are so high for a loss in a game where we were second best for most of the game. We only really tried to take the initiative when they scored.

    This game unfortunately exposed some of the weaknesses in midfield and i can only hope it’s a one off so hopefully we can get it right in Serie A straight away. Im not taking stock in our European performance this season as it’s simply too difficult for our squad level right now. Best to focus on the league.

    On the game itself I’d say Reinjders and RLC were atrocious and the worse players on the night. The team needed the midfielders to work to both supply the forwards and defend and they did neither. At least Fofs was trying so hard. RLC looked lost in the pivot. At one time I simply looked at him only and seeing how unsure he was in terms of marking and where he needs to be. And contrast that to Fofana who just arrived and he knew where he needed to be. It’s a shame really. And Deers just couldn’t get a foothold at the CAM. Even if they switched positions they both won’t be playing at their strengths.

    Which leads to the direction and transfer strategy. The squad is poorly build so it’s why we see these square pegs in wrong holes. We happen to win vs Inter with a 442 but we weren’t built for that. Neither do we have enough players that can play the pivot…so 4231 is out as is 433 where we ddon’t be have proper DM or subs for DM. So on the one hand it’s frustrating that some midfielders performances suck but at the same time they were never functional to the team.

    Anyways, the defending (backline) in general wasn’t that bad. Puli obviously tried very hard and I have no clue what the instructions to Leao are. That the coach tells him to hold off on making a counter attacking run in the 45th+2 minutes to slow down the play was just odd.
    I also see Emerson can cross well so I’m starting to understand why Fonsy wanted him..but it’s also at the expense of some poor plays defensively. Once again, and I’ve said this a few time before, Tomori’s aerial ability is sus and his pace and ability to 1,v1 doesn’t make up for it. Gabbia was great as usual. Not much to say after. Let’s hope we get it right on the weekend

    1. “We happen to win vs Inter with a 442 but we weren’t built for that. Neither do we have enough players that can play the pivot…so 4231 is out as is 433 where we ddon’t be have proper DM or subs for DM. So on the one hand it’s frustrating that some midfielders performances suck but at the same time they were never functional to the team”

      This is my biggest frustration and regret since last summer when they decided to dismantle an ongoing project. However you turn it, this midfield is not functional for any system. Maybe 343…

      1. 343 is the only one that makes sense.

        The 424 thing is mad and worked against Inter but is not sustainable.

        Tomori Gabbia Pavlovic

        Calabria Fofana [Insert] Theo

        Pulisic Morata Leao

        Might work.

        1. Exactly, the trio in defense is spot on as you have two dynamic and quick defenders on each side and a brainiac in the middle who will give much cover with his good defensive positioning. Bartesaghi as Pavlo’s understudy and Kalulu as Tomori’s. Oh wait…

          The (Insert) is the tricky one here but Reijnders seems logical pick considering the crop of midfielders at disposal. Zeroli as his understudy.

          1. I’m honestly at a total loss as to who to play in [insert].

            They all have more downsides than upsides.

            Reijnders is on paper the best. And apparently he has amazing stats. I honestly just wish for the love of god he’d do something with his amazing stats.

  30. Okay. This is actually good performance I would say. We can see clear plan in our game even though we lost (to Leverkusen).

    What is catching my attention is Maldinis Heir!
    You have been defending bum Calabria till your last breath since 2022 (because he had one good season 2021 in his whole career and 2 good games against PSG and Napoli) and RLC for whatever reason you have… But what is your problem with Tijjani???

    It started look like you defend players who are getting most critics and blast players who are getting the love?

  31. So Fofana has leveled up. You thought this is RPG game? And ucl games are things to get him leveled up, so he could be paired with reindeers.

  32. Parting Shot:
    It was a mistake taking Abraham out for Morata. The Spaniard should have come on for RLC and Milan should have played with two up front. RLC wasn’t enough of a presence there.

    Leverkusen was trying to survive the end of the match to secure the points. At Home. Against a resurgent Milan.

    The last 20-25 minutes there were a lot of balls played into the box. Morata was the only one there. Abraham would have been helpful. We should have been pressing with two strikers and could have gotten a result.

    I’m a bit lost as to why Fonseca pulled Tammy instead of RLC or Reijnders.

    1. I also prefer Tammy & Morata together but Tammy looked a little winded (probably the most games he started in over a year) and RLC was by then settled.
      Reijnders makes the clock tick , he was always ready for the ball and always looking to create , sure he lost a very good chance but overall out most creative midfielder.
      RLC lacks involvement, he didn’t make mistakes but plays it safe and could do more especially off the ball . Maybe he is adapting to Fonseca.
      We could have drawn this game with a bit more luck and it was a massive improvement to the Liverpool game in a difficult stadium against a very dangerous team.
      So overall the boys deserve out support.

  33. For an hour Milan played very little, they only defended. After the goal conceded they played a good game, they freed themselves, took courage and created difficulties for a tired Bayer.

    Positives? We lost after being dominated for 60 minutes. Can’t call it a bad luck when you don’t play football for an hour. A better team won last night that’s for sure.

    And of course the goal came from Emerson’s side, what else. After all his sh*tshow since the start of the season, he’s still considered an upgrade over Calabria and Kalulu. Him still starting at this point is only to try and justify the waste of funds.

    1. It’s not a chemistry formlula. We’ve had plenty of opportunities in these 30 minutues and the referee’s bad decisions weighted on our shoulders additionally. A draw would’ve been more than fair.

        1. Yeah, but the game doesn’t end in the 60th minute. Need I remind you of a certain game in Instanbul? We created more than most teams would at the BayArena. The first half was rather bland, but I’m pretty sure we went for a draw and were slowly building towards possibly going for the win in the last minutes. Had we started offensively, we probably would’ve had a repeat of the first PSG game from last year and Pioli was massacred for that approach. Fonseca is not a world beater, but he played to the team’s strengths, it’s not his fault our midfield is lacking and doesn’t even seem to be fit for any kind of formation. Leverkusen had their chances, but Mike’s saves were mostly routine. Their best chance aside from the goal itself was that miss in the final minutes when we were going forward.

          1. Sorry but by the time Milan decided to play (that is last 30 minutes), they were already a goal behind. That’s the same approach we had with Pioli. Starting to play and trying to overturn it when it’s already a bit late and you’re behind.

            Hard pill to swallow but the team has no excuses for last night’s defeat and it’s a fair one.

          2. @Ted:
            I don’t know if we had excuses but have to admit we’re just inferior to Leverkusen and we don’t have a silver bullet that we forgot to use.
            They have better players, a better coach, their project started 3 years ago and you can how they seem to know where each player is and each player knows where he should be.
            We messed up on many occasions but I don’t think we had what it takes to beat them.

  34. Itzak you should start giving reviews for amazon products or at best curling.You are proving all the time with your” grades “you are clueless judging footballers.Tomori 6???really ??That troll is ruining all the defence scheme,he has no clue where he should be,when,why and specially who he is.Reijnders what a flop was in this game.Most of the grades are well inflated.Football in general is on a downfall regarding quality and sht eaters so called pseudo journalist have to keep it somehow on a positive note.Also I can’t spot Jerrys balls lickers like “soccer” water boy,goku and other nicknames disguised under same person,”they” are strangely available to l**k Jerrys balls only when Milan is playing Lecce and Cagliari.What a poor quality of a champions league game.Lame rythm ,no real determination showed,all the games looking more and more like friendlies.Which they are…poor actors…circus and bread

  35. Leverkusen were all over us like a rash in the first half and they eventually scored. If they hadn’t, it would have been more of the same in the second half. Instead, they sat back to see what Milan had to offer in attack and they managed to cope pretty well.
    Some strange subs from the coach – For a start he only made two, whereas most teams use their full allotment. Fonseca seems a lot like Pioli in that respect – substitutions that enable the team to carry on doing what is not currently working, ie no impact subs. Having said that, there wasn’t a huge amount on the bench apart from Morata. Terraciano should have come on for Leao and Theo pushed to the left wing and Calabria for Emerson, Morata for RLC and Musah for Reijnders.
    Leao was poor (once again); he lacks precision, in his thought process and movement; passing and crossing, generally aimless. He appears more concerned about his off-field image and music than breathing football.
    Chuck should be kept on the bench, just so that he is visible enough for us to get an offer next window.
    Maignan was standout MoM without whom etc. etc..

  36. So Reijnders and Leao got 5.5, but Emerson Royal gets a 6??????
    Your joking, right?
    I never thought I’d see a worse full back than Kevin Constant in a Milan jersey.
    Now, Emerson Royal joined us, and I can confidently say I’ve seen it all.
    As Spurs fans used to chant “he can’t defend, he can’t attack.. Emerson Royal is our fullback”.
    Worst performance I have seen from any Milan player in at least the past 5-6 years.
    A Brazilian fullback who can’t cross the ball??? are you kidding me??????

  37. In the winter or next summer at latest we must offload Ruben Useless-Cheek, first. And in the summer of 2025, Emerson…and Chuckwueze, Jovic, Thiaw…and maybe Tomori.

  38. So… We lost to a superior team. Only 0-1 and had more than enough chances to score. Sure the first 45min was awful and players looks as they had wet themselves.

    But… 1-1 or 0-1 defeat. One point difference. I doubt that that one point will decide anything. We still need to win the “weaker” teams to make it to the playoffs. Nothing has changed. The last 30mins should give us the confidence though. And anger. Just like a few players said. Build on this. It was all bad.

    Now use this disappointment/anger to beat Viola next Sunday.

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