AC Milan bounced back with a narrow win against Hellas Verona this afternoon and Adrien Rabiot was the big hero. Below are the player ratings for the Rossoneri.
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After the embarrassing defeat to Udinese, Milan definitely needed to prove themselves at Stadio Bentegodi this afternoon. While it wasn’t a brilliant performance, they clinched all three points in the end, with Rabiot scoring the only goal of the game.
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.
Short Version
🥇 Rabiot (7): The goal obviously plays a massive part, but I thought he was really good even before he broke the deadlock. His movement (especially on the counters) was just what Milan needed to find a way through against a Verona side that defended a lot. Calm finish too on the goal.
👎 Athekame (5.5): Truly a hit or miss performance, with more emphasis on the latter I’m afraid. He got in behind once in a nice way, but didn’t really have any success with his dribbling attempts aside from that.
👔 Allegri (6): He made all the right decisions today, from the starting XI to the substitutions. One way to describe it would be that he relied on the basics. Athekame was perhaps the only question mark but given Saelemaekers’ yellow card risk, it was the correct call.
Starting XI
Maignan (6.5): He made a huge save in the first half to deny Verona an equaliser. Considering that it was a proper 1v1, we have to give him a lot of praise here. The rest of the game was also very solid on all fronts.
Tomori (6): Nothing spectacular, but a very solid one from the Englishman. He used his pace on quite a few occasions, blocking some efforts from Verona’s left flank, and he was okay in the build-up too.
Gabbia (6.5): Crucial block from him at the end, somehow stopping Orban from making it 1-1. He was also very unlucky not to get a goal as an offside in the build-up caused the assistant referee to raise his flag.
Pavlovic (6): We saw a few trademark runs from him, mainly in the first half, and that opened up a lot of space when Milan needed it. Defensively, he did what was required too.
Athekame (5.5): Truly a hit or miss performance, with more emphasis on the latter I’m afraid. He got in behind once in a nice way, but didn’t really have any success with his dribbling attempts aside from that.
Fofana (5.5): It might sound a bit harsh, but I think his passing let him down a little bit today, because the movement was really good in almost every situation. There was one pass for Rabiot that he really should have done better.
Modric (6): Started the game with a run past several defenders to prove that he doesn’t act his age. After that, he controlled the tempo of the clash well (even if Milan perhaps should have been a bit quicker) and was solid in both phases of the game.
Rabiot (7 – MOTM): The goal obviously plays a massive part, but I thought he was really good even before he broke the deadlock. His movement (especially on the counters) was just what Milan needed to find a way through against a Verona side that defended a lot. Calm finish too on the goal.
Bartesaghi (6): Just like his defensive colleagues, it was a good performance overall. He showcased some good understanding of the game with his runs up the pitch, and he made use of his length a lot to get involved in aerial duels.
Pulisic (5.5): Okay, hear me out. The usual running was there, so that’s good, but he really didn’t have much success on the ball. The intention was there more often than not, attempting turns and so on, but the execution wasn’t good enough. Given how Verona played he also had a tendency to disappear a bit.
Leao (6): There’s no doubt that he should have made more use of some of Milan’s counter-attacking opportunities, but the assist was at least nice. For once, it was good to see that he didn’t overcomplicate things, playing the pass in just the right moment.
Substitutes
Ricci (6): He did take a few risks, but managed to work things out by attracting a couple of fouls. It was a smart performance, in other words, and he also added a lot with his work rate towards the end of the game.
Saelemaekers (6): Given the yellow card situation, at risk of missing the Juve game, it was right to bench him but when he came on, it was a really lively performance. And much better than Athekame who, as said, didn’t have much success.
Gimenez (6): I’m a bit torn on this one, as I gave Pulisic a 5.5, but I do think one thing separates the two. While the first minutes were perhaps a bit ropey, the Mexican did well to act as a reference point and even helped set up a couple of good chances. The offside call was minimal.
Nkunku (N/A): I didn’t see enough to give him a rating.
The manager
Allegri (6): He made all the right decisions today, from the starting XI to the substitutions. One way to describe it would be that he relied on the basics. Athekame was perhaps the only question mark but given Saelemaekers’ yellow card risk, it was the correct call.