AC Milan came away with all three points in the Derby della Madonnina, beating their city rivals Inter by the odd goal. Mike Maignan and Christian Pulisic were the big heroes, and you can find ratings for all of the players below.
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 (9 – MOTM): Outstanding performance from the goalkeeper, keeping out Calhanoglu’s penalty in the second half with a great save. It seems his penalty skills are back in business (after Dybala save a few weeks ago too). In the first half, he also made two great saves on Thuram and Lautaro.
Tomori (6.5): He was beaten a couple of times, it has to be said, but overall helped preserve the clean sheet with some late interventions and clearances. While it perhaps borders on rash at times, he also showed some derby spirit in the duels.
Gabbia (7.5): Despite the strength of Inter’s attack, they struggled to create chances in the heart of Milan’s penalty box, only breaking through a couple of times. The academy product was a big reason why, with great positioning, strong challenges and timely runs up the pitch to intercept.
Pavlovic (6): It was clumsy defending on the penalty, albeit unlucky as he really only put his foot back on the ground and didn’t make a huge lunge or anything. Still, it cannot be overlooked in such a big game and the fact that he did well otherwise saves his rating here.
Saelemaekers (7.5): In the first half, he was often available on the right flank and had some decent crosses. The big contribution came in the second half, though, with the brilliant shot that led to Pulisic’s winner. On top of that, he did well in defence and continued to be a threat in attack for the rest of the game (a very good cross towards Leao, for example).
Fofana (6.5): The Frenchman certainly could have done better in the first half, as he didn’t really look switched on and skied a shot from distance. Everything changed with his involvement in the goal, first winning back the ball and then playing the right pass to Saelemaekers. After that, he was fine.
Modric (7): A lot of the talk before the game was about his passing and vision, but given how Inter played and limited him at times, it was more so about defending today. We got to see a lot of key defensive interventions from him tonight, especially in the second half. And as always, the fact Inter wanted to keep him quiet opened up space for others.
Rabiot (7.5): It’s no coincidence that Milan restored some of the balance that had been missing in recent weeks tonight. His ability to constantly make smart decisions is truly impressive, not to mention that his size and strength helped the Rossoneri at least draw the midfield battle.
Bartesaghi (7): Perhaps that was to be expected with Carlo Augusto on the right, but Inter never really believed in their right flank, which made things easier for Bartesaghi. That said, we shouldn’t take anything away from the youngster as he did very well in defence and also had some good crosses in attack.
Pulisic (8.5): You could tell already in the first half that it was going to be a good evening for the American, if not team-wise then at least individually. He was incredibly lively and always found space even if Inter almost always had more men. Then, of course, the goal was another example of his impressive movement. Really really good.
Leao (6.5): The No.10 definitely struggled a tad in the duels with Acerbi, but you could also argue this helped open up space for his teammates. Sure enough, he was involved in the goal with a nice flick. He just didn’t play a massive role tonight, but it was an important one in terms of work-rate (which, for once, he didn’t lack).
Substitutes
Nkunku (6): If it hadn’t been for the derby win, it probably would have been a 5.5 as he struggled to pick up the loose balls and didn’t really have an impact in attack.
Ricci (6): He did what was necessary, taking on more of a defensive role in the dying minutes of the game.
Loftus-Cheek (6.5): He provided what Allegri needed, winning some aerial duels and using his strength as well as pace to kill some time at the end.
The manager
Allegri (7.5): What can we say? It was classic Allegrismo with low defending and one, two or potentially three good moments in attack that were enough to find the back of the net. Milan got a bit lucky in some situations, so we can’t give a super high rating, but the tactics were good overall and the decision to start Bartesaghi was also right.
Maignan obviously the MOTM. Great performance and made the difference.
Allegri had prepared the game well, and I had predicted Milan’s win. Chivu struggles against direct rivals. It will be an interesting Scudetto race.
well your an inter fan but u guys should have won if it wasnt for that one great play to get the goal , but said that its the chances you take not always what u create and thats what happened today. better luck next time (6 or 7 games undefeated from that 5-1 game?)
In the end the only thing that matters is how many goals you score more than your opponent; not how many chances you create. Inter’s players this season are very good at creating chances, but most of them are wasted away.
Our last win was 2:1 when we got the 2nd star in spring 2024. It has been such a long time since then. haha
And it will be another decade before you win anything lol
Well even though you guys had a lot more shots its not like you had a lot more directly on goal as you had 5 and we had 3 so its not a huge difference and several of them should be saved by even lesser goalies than Maignan or for that matter Serie A goal keepers.
Stats wise you might have had the upper hand in posessison and amount of shots but overall I think it was a fairly equal match but as a Dane I certainly understand your centiments as we basically dominated Scotland and got hammered 4-2 a few days ago so yes its definitely about who scores.
In the end though if Acerbis header had gone in or/and the Barella shot the match might have developed differently but that is how derbies are, either team can pretty much always win.
Yeah inter deserve to win, everyone knew it but still inter just couldn’t, 3 point is all matters… Better next the
Deserved to win? Nope. They couldn’t score and this game is decided on the goals. Even if they had deserved to win, Inter NEVER deserves to win. 🙂
looks like a 6 team race, not just for the top 4 but for the scudetto!! Still the best league in the world for me!!
Oh please Give Mike a 10!!!!! If a goalkeeper ever deserved one..
Phantastic performance. I really hope they convince him to stay!
Agreed.
agreeee
leao -7 pavlovich -5.5
leao did really really well as a striker which he hasnt adapted to well , he created some chances here and there but his pass to fofana which opened up salad to score and his passes to pulisic and positioning was good, a few more passes to him in a no.9 spot he would get a goal . pavlovich cant be giving penalties like that for free – also lost the ball in the first half a decent amount and really his side conceded many shots liek the lautaro one which shouldve been a goal if it wasnt for magic mike
I know you love Leao but please, get real. Leao did next to nothing in this match. Even in 1 v 1 scenarios where he usually wins akanji was shutting him down. And Pavlovic had a very good game , other than the one play where his foot came down on Thuran’s after the ball was kicked. More unlucky then anything. Try to keep your bias out of the equation.
Most brain dead comment here. Finding anyway to glaze leaos meat, and slagging off our best defender. Clown moves
He’s just trying to score some points from his fellow cult-members. 🙂
Next they’ll say Pulisic wouldn’t have scored if Leao hadn’t been on the pitch absorbing 3-4 Inter-players to him and that opened up the space for the poor, poor American to score. We’ve seen this before so many times already. 😀
And don’t forget the attack on people for being “haters”. 🙂
And that’s the reality, you just admitted to the facts
Maignan was huge tonight, MOTM easy. Rabiot back in the line up and a clean sheet. Pulisic is the ultimate at creating a goal from thin air and never giving up. Outside of Magic Mike I loved Rabiot and Saelemaekers fight and team spirit. Pity Jashari didn’t get those last few minutes, I was excited to see him at the touch line.
If Jashari scores on his debut will you change your handle to Jashari’s Progenitor?
(I was keen to see him come on but couldn’t see who he’d replace)
My handle is a troll at Maldini heir so it will never change.
Wow, sora makes me want to change mine to Pioli’s Hair!
Formerly Maldini’s Heir, he’s now Como’s Heir 😂
🤣🤣🤣
I think you’ll find MH’s support moved with Patrick Cutrone to Parma. Making him now the “Parma Pariah”.
Oh they one who criticizes actual fans for being poor fans while he turned his back on the club he claims to support? Yeah, he definitely should change his name to Como’s Heir. 😀 😀 😀
I thought it was actually good Jashari didn’t get that chance, as the substitution at that stage could have broken cohesion & defensive momentum the team was producing at the time.
That’s fair. I know Jashari would have loved to come on and feel the victory as a participant.
I thought Fofana sucked but 🤷♂️
Fofana had a good game for once.
Yeah, he just looked slow and kept losing the 2nd balls. He had much lower intensity than the two players just back from injury or the 40 yo… good thing Rabiot and Modric were both excellent. I was wondering if Fofana was sick.
Yesssssss fck yeaaaa 😁😁😁eat that Shinter!
My boys Leao, Salad and Puli with the goal and Mike to preserve the result!!!! Beautiful !! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Classic park the plane and then counter by Max.
Once again, cannot underscore how beautiful it is to see the tears of Inter players and supporters 😁😅
I find for this game, scoring was harder than defending a goal so would give the attackers MOTM but not mad at Mike getting the MOTM.
Fofana a 6.5 is hilarious…dude needs to sit on the bench for a long time
Fofana did the most of any Milan player on the goal and not only he excludes him when praising the other players but he also craps on him at the end.
Fofana during a build up just basically skied the ball to tow triple Z with his teammates looking at him like wtf. in another build up play, he had 3 players on the far side waiting to score… Any pass including a misplaced one would have ended up with a goal but he chose to shoot once more. His footballing IQ is horrendous as well as his shots. He does cover, I’ll give him that but his decision making and footballing instincts are poor
“My boys Leao, Salad and Puli with the goal”
Still won’t give him credit for the goal.
Was Fofana not the one that recovered the ball and pass ot wide to Saelemaekers on the goal?
All that other gibberish you wrote we can say for Leao as well. He isn’t someone who is known for his footballing IQ, shots, decision making and footballing instinct.
Oh that’s what u meant
Yea sure if you want to put Fofana in there sure the good for you, but he’s not MY boy lol. Hence MY BOYS Leao, Puli and Salad. When Fofana learns football he can be my boy. Right now a pylon might be better
Why do you hate on Leão after every match? Fofana did recover the ball and got the attack started but at the same time Fofana is average on both ends near goal and that’s a problem.
Since Pioli left these dudes just can’t beat us anymore… Despite them hitting the post a couple of times, missing a penalty, dominating possession, 20 shots compared to our 7, their bloodhound taking a fistful of Leao’s hair and not getting carded, Lautaro elbowing Gabbia and not getting carded, we walk away with the win… Salad and Pulisic were decisive again, Rabiot’s return was pure class, and Mike… please just give the man what he wants. There’s no way we can let him leave on a free in this form. What a performance from him and the whole team. Saying all that we’ll probably draw with Lazio at home next week…
Mike is playing for a Chelsea contract. He’s 30. It’s probably his last big chance of playing in the EPL and for a top team. That’s why re-signing is unlikely.
And no one can blame him for it. Time isn’t on his side. Or ours. Let’s just hope he helps us win the 2nd scudetto and we’d salute him properly for it. 🙂
Exactly.
Of course time is on our side. The club will be around for much longer than Maignan will even be alive. There will be another GK. Like you said, let’s enjoy his work this season and if we get the 20th he will have been a big part of it, and then life goes on.
Pavlovich deserves higher as he played a good game. Yes, he caused the penalty, but to be fair he was putting his leg down after trying and failing to block the cross. There was nothing deliberate about the foul. Also ridiculous to give him the card. If that was worth of a review, a penalty and a yellow. What can then be said for Lautaro’s elbow on Gabbia?
Outside of the pen, I thought Pavlovic was our second best player. In the past, he has had issues with Thuram and other big athletic strikers.
I wanna mention Bartesaghi. For his age and little experience he has a derby like this with a lot of tension and emotions is a very difficult game but our boy did very well tonight. I think we can say now he’s a fully established first team player, no longer just a backup.
Our team was playing very solid tonight , very compact , Allegri knows very well to prepare important games. For aiming scudetto we must repair poor attitude with “small” teams and approach all games with fully concentration and seriousness. We have a very good team , with Rabiot, Modric and Pulisic healthy we are really hard to defeat. I hope in the winter will get a good central defender and a reliable striker , plus Jashari will be fully fit.
Bartesaghi came of age tonight. Yes it was their weaker flank (one of them has to be) but he was a genuinely useful outlet in the first half and very calm player deeper (albeit mostly due to his own caution) in the second. Some vital blocks at the end. He’s surely first choice left wing back now.
Bartesaghi > El Stupido
Saelemaekers played great D and helped create the goal. The wild horse Rabiot only goes to ground when he wants to. Other than wasting shots, Fofana is solid and somewhat creative.
you gotta love all those guys. Forza Milan
Oh, those Fofana shots…!!! He could have put it on a silverplate to Leao or Pulisic in the 2nd half but decided to “pass” the ball to Sommer instead. Such a wasted opportunity. Allegri should forbid him from shooting. Ever.
Great win.
Tough game, neither team showed much. Everything inter did was from corner kick crosses.
Great tactics by Allegri.
Great game by Maignan. Probably his best as a Milan player. 3 outstanding saves, especially the one on Lautaro, which i liked even more than the penalty.
Great to have Rabiot and Pulisic back. Totally different team with them in the starting lineup.
Milan owns inter over the last year and a half. 3 different coaches too, after they owned Milan under Pioli.
I don’t usually pay much attention to the ratings here, but Pavlovic was great today, and the penalty was a bang bang situation, not some dumb foul. To give him only 6 because of that is ridiculous, especially when you give the same grade to Nkunku and Ricci, 2 players who did almost nothing.
Pulisic, scores a goal and leads Milan in distance covered while on the pitch. I’ve been told so many times here that forwards shouldn’t run. Thankfully this forward runs.
On to Lazio. Keep Pulisic and Rabiot healthy and Milan wins the scudetto.
Honestly a horrible performance where we had no control and created nothing.
Thanks to Mike for saving us.
We won’t win much playing like this and getting some good luck.
Leao worked hard and kept them busy. Puli was in the right place as always. Rabiot was good to have back.
I hope we can get some chemistry going now we have the squad fit.
Always nice to beat Inter!
Finally some sense. This is awful, unsustainable football.
So u rather play attractive football and lose?
Why can’t we play attractive football and win?
because statistically in Serie A the team that concedes the least goals will win the Scudetto. I don’t know if you have watched the past 2 years where we played more “attractive” football and scored a lot of goals but we conceded a ton of goals. Allegri is known for this defensive boring playing style and he has won A LOT of championships. That’s why.
Talk about an ugly, lucky win, but who care ?
Tactically, especially in the first half, I thought Inter was the better team. They pressed, their combinations were better and created a good number of chances. We almost never managed to build anything substantial because none of our players was ever in a good position to attack since they were pressed and the only goal came from a ball we won and then a quick transition. Tonight, I’d say individual brilliances and mistakes made the difference.
Maignan: 10/10 for me. Saved a good shot from Lautaro and Hakan’s penalty. The win is on him tonight.
Gabbia and Tomori were pretty solid tonight IMO. they didn’t lose many aerial duels. Pavlović was also solid during most of the game, but that silly foul has to deduct points from him.
Saelemakers was good and provided our only goal for the game.
Bartesaghi did well, but he didn’t play against a natural right wingback so his task was bit easier IMO.
Modrić wasn’t as good as earlier this season although you can excuse him considering how much we were pressed, but his vision and his defending was always a class above the others.
Rabiot, my man, I missed you.
Fofana always annoys me with his tendencies to shot each time he is within 30 meters of the opposite goal and in the first half, I thought he should have done a better job marking Acerbi who almost scored from a header. However he didn’t play badly and the goal we scored was from a ball he won.
Pulišić: he did seem to struggle in the first half, but he did try and of course, he is always clutch and he stole the win for us.
Leão: perhaps the worst player on the pitch on our side tonight, but again, he is not a striker. Unfortunately, he and Pulišić can’t start together in Allegri’s system.
Overall, I don’t know how much I should compliment Allegri. This game could easily have ended 2-1 or 3-1 for Inter, but again he can’t be hold accountable for individual mistakes. We looked solid, didn’t lose many duels, were well positioned,… and that’s on him.
We don’t need your dishonest ratings
LMAO 😂 😂😂 who are you? Giga is a long standing poster on this site. And one the few most people can agree on a consistent basis. Once more he has given basically a solid post which largely agrees with consensus. And your contribution is something that doesn’t even make sense.
Anyways thanks Giga, great post
I’m not sure your conclusion is sound about Leao and Pulisic.
This is their first time together. Pulisic is back from injury. Inter’s back line is excellent.
A few games together and we might find they find a way to work together and with our excellent midfield.
Tho, to your likely point, getting Santi back and a true target #9 (Scamaca maybe?) is likely to make both better.
The problem is that if they play together, one of them will be a second striker while the other will be a striker and neither of them is a striker. We saw this season and multiple time last seasons that Leão prefers to be on the wing.
Were we watching the same match?
Tomori basically saved the defense. How is he getting lower than Gabbia?
This bull$hit agenda against Fikyao has to stop.
Gabbia is Italian. That’s how it works here. You get an extra point added to your rating always. Gabbia did get bullied by Thuran a couple times and maignan had to make a great save on one of them.
Pulisic saves Milan again. Along with Maignan.
Great win. The only problem I see for Milan is that Pulisic and Leao together is not a great pairing. Leao is not a CF. Gimenez despite his lack of goals is the better option meaning only one of Pulisic or Leao should start. And it should be Pulisic as he has proven himself the better player time and time again.
LETS GOOOOO!!!!! We were outplayed but we were good enough at the back to deserve a clean sheet, and good sides need the ability to win smash and grabs and we showed we have that in us tonight.
Bartesaghi was better than given credit for here – he was excellent in both phases in the first half, then stayed back more in the second but to good effect.
Nothing to say about Maignan thats not been said – phenomenal! Gabbia had a massive one, Saelemaekers, Rabiot, Tomori, all brilliant. Fofana is an absolute liability. Ok he did his job on the goal, but didn’t turn up for the other 70odd minutes.
I feel like we haven’t even really gelled yet and we are 2nd (Allegri ball still works)! When we start firing, we are going to be a serious threat. If we beat Napoli I’m really going to have to start believing we can win the league!!!
Rabiot is the key.
True.
Bartesaghi … Anyone notice him? Good, me either. How refreshing to have a wing back that just does is f-ing job.
Gabbia is a warrior. That was quite a shot he took from Lautaro. How that wasn’t a yellow I am unclear. Imagine the pain in his nose for every header he took after that.
Leao played a good game. Acerbi did get the better of him. But Rafa made the effort in all phases and provide danger going forward.
Saelemakers and Pulisic. The goal wasn’t pretty. It represents both players running hard and being in the right place to make a difference.
Fofana wasn’t terrible. He even got a shot on target tonight.
RLC winning balls and rumbling up the sideline wasting time. Good effort. We will see more of him at the front before January.
Nkunku was the disappointment of the match for me. I want this guy to succeed, and I am willing to forgive the lack of form. But the utter lack of effort defending a lead in the Derby was inexcusable.
Glad for the win.
Forza Milan
What a commanding game from Maignan. But surely – it has to be 10/10 rating, what else can he do?
I don’t know how everyone can get high scores when we were basically overrun during 70 minutes of the match. We lost the midfield battle, and both Rabiot and Modric often looked tired and ineffective during Inter’s attacks, especially in the first half. Of of the midfield three, Fofana actually looked decent. And Leao was basically a no-show today. Kudos to Mike for bringing home the 3 points. Not a good performance, but great result obviously. Scudetto luck?
I think the high marks come given we just recovered many players, Pulisic and Leão finally starting together, and Allegri’s counteracting system this match would have to play out as it did for us to collect all three points. We haven’t been the protagonists against Inter in a long time and playing smart and capitalizing on our opportunities is how we’ve beaten them the past two seasons. I get your point but I also see the scoring from Isak as well.
Seems like fairly reasonable stats in my view, + – here and there.
Maignan – MOTM by far. Two phenomenal saves next to the post which was a weakeness of his but he seems to be improving on that; plus a PK save, playing mind games against the nasty Turk, which worked. Good with the feet too, and secure in crosses and corner kicks, interrupting some. In his PK save, not only he stopped the shot, but also took the rebound out of play. Perfect, just perfect. You can’t expect anything more from a goalkeeper, then I will grant to him the maximum score of 10, something I very rarely do. Too bad our incompetent management botched his renewal. We’ll miss Saint Maignan!
Pavlovic – 5. Naively conceded a PK. Just that is sufficient to drop at least a point in his score. Not a great game otherwise; not incisive in supporting the offense like he usually is. So, there wasn’t much to save him in terms of this score of 5.
Tomori – 6.5. The best one of the back three, no major mistakes, rather secure.
Gabbia – Seemed a bit dazed after Lautaro smashed his nose with a nasty elbow that absolutely should have been a red card; not even a yellow was given, and most incredibly, the play resulted in a foul given to Inter!!! If this didn’t scream bias against Milan by the referee, nothing else does. Anyway, Gabbia wasn’t as solid as usual so, but he didn’t put the result in jeopardy so he gets a pass from me. 6.
Bartesaghi – Simply phenomenal. Destroyed Carlos. He seems to be improving in the defensive phase. Excellent performance in a Derby no less, from a very young player. Great stuff; should start from now on as he is showing clearly that he is better than Estupiñan. 7.
Saelemaekers – Very good game. Defended well, limiting DiMarco. Attacked well too and was instrumental for our goal. Another great game by Alexis. 7.5 (Bartesaghi was just as good defensively but Alexis gets a half point more because of his participation in our goal)
Fofana – The sole goal in a Derby resulting in a victory, is so important that Fofana’s great participation, recovering the ball then setting up Alexis, deserves a passing score even though Fofana did very little that was right, otherwise. Wasted two attacks by trying to score which he shouldn’t do because he is notoriously bad at finishing. In one of those, I don’t know if people noticed it, but Rafa was wide open to the left of Fofana and the goalkeeper was fully committed to Fofana and very far from Rafa. Instead of trying to score, it was sufficient to just easily pass the ball to Rafa who would only need a tap in to score 2-0 for Milan. That’s pretty damaging for Fofana and should decrease his score below a passing one if we had lost or tied, but since we won and he was instrumental for our goal, I will still grant to Fofana a 6. Still, I wish now that we have Rabiot and Jashari back, Allegri wouldn’t keep starting Fofana.
Modric – Started the game cold, missing three passes. Then improved and contributed to managing the game and to making the midfield more solid. Not a great game but not bad either, so, 6.5
Rabiot – Back after long absence, we couldn’t expect the same physicality from him, but still did well and while not as dominant as before the injury, he was still instrumental in containing Inter’s midfield. 6.5
Pulisic – What a great player, who is now the number 1 in Serie A over the last three seasons in goal participation, above even Lautaro Martinez. Almost scored with a great shot from a distance, then scored the winner. And he’s still just back from injury so it increases his merit. 8.
Leão – A weak game from the number 10 who lost most offensive duels and was unproductive. 5.5. His score could have been saved in the only play in which he was almost certain to score, had Fofana passed the ball to him. Still, that did not happen so Rafa doesn’t get a pass (pun intended). He did try a bit of defense, not unsuccessfully so he doesn’t go as low as a 5. Collected a yellow, which is another negative but in a game in which we had to defend a lot, at least Rafa didn’t shy away from trying to defend, something he’s not good at but at least it’s good that he tried, and like I said, sometimes he even got it right, defensively, recovering a few balls. Still, we need and want a lot more from him in a Derby.
Substitutes:
RLC of the three subs, he was the one who had more positives, smartly running the clock down, adding a bit of physicality, and bumping around Inter’s tall players in their corner kicks. Did well what Allegri must have asked of him. 6.5
Nkunku, invisible as usual. 5.5. For me he is officially a bust.
Ricci, nothing wrong but nothing right in his limited minutes. S/V
Mister Allegri – I blame him for still starting Fofana but otherwise he prepared the Derby well, in Allegri Ball fashion, that is, score the winner, then defend well. The low block obviously worked although it did more because of Maignan than because of Allegri. Still, winning the Derby is certainly worth more than a passing score, so, 6.5
I find your take on Pavlović to be particularly harsh.
It’s true that he conceded a stup!d penalty. Defensively he was overall good aside from that and made Martínez look bad is some sequence. You can’t blame him for not being as offensive as usual when the whole team was forced back due to inter’s press.
You do have a point.
Well… To defend Leao for his yellow card, there was no contact whatsoever and Barella did what Barella always does: cries rolling on the pitch. Never a yellow as the legs didn’t touch.
And yes, Fofana definitely should have passed the ball to him instead of the awful shot.
You are right about Leão’s yellow being undeserved. I changed my mind on this. I posted in another thread stating the same. Thanks for your observation, which is correct.
So finally max 100 win for Milan came against inter, what a win. Forza Milan! Good work boys
Great win agaisnt shinter, and another 3 points won. However, I didn’t like the fact that allegri took out both leao and puli. If inter would have scored we had zero attackers up front. Nkuku still looks lost. Now that we have some depth in the midfield, I would like to see modric have a much needed break. He is 40 and has played every game while running his heart out. Like to see either ricci or jashari replace fofana. Radiotherapy being in the line up gives room for some try outs. Really like bartesaglis performances. For such a young kid very calm and confident. Allegriball at full force. I would like to see some more guts from him, but not instructing the team to play deep and rely on counters.
A few thoughts…
1. This game was so Allegri. Get a lead and defend with everything you got and squeeze out a win. No way we win this type of game under Pioli, or Fonseca, or Sarge.
2. Why have talks broken down with Mike? Just give him the money.
3. Why have talks broken down with Pulisic? just give him the money
4. I know it a Derby but Allegri better be careful with Modric’s minutes. I thought he was wearing down. He doesn’t have to play 90 every game
5. Gabbia was huge today. It seemed like Inter had hundreds of touches in the box with very little to show for it and a big part of it was Gabbia
6. The way Inter pass to each other is scary. Great job by the defense to always get back to form after what looked like a line breaking pass
7. Ruben LC! Great run with the ball late in the game.
8. Beat Napoli, Roma, Inter…we are looking very strong
9. I will say what I always say. If we can get peak Laeo and peak Pulisic playing well off each other, we are going to win the scudetto
2: Milan had promised him a bigger deal and then backtracked on the agreement in the spring and then offered him less apparently leaving Maignan angry at least if media reports are to be believed.
3: Milan has an option to extend Pulisic’s contract with 1 year but wants to extend it beyond that so it is probably in the details where the issue lays. Either way his contract expire in 2027 but the club can easily extend it to 2028 even if the player didn’t want to stay with us as its part of his initial contract with us.
2) Plus he wants EPL. He’s 30 and it’s his last chance of getting to a top club there.
3) Why distract Pulisic’s great form with unnecessary contract negotiations? Plenty of time for that later.
That seems to be the case but quite frankly the only 2 clubs in england I would consider historically in somewhat the same league as Milan is Liverpool and Utd. so I really dont see much point in him joining the epl but you are probably right that he sees it as an option.
Yeah no reason tom worry too much at the moment.
Pulisic is not primarily motivated by money. He will not sign a new Milan contract for just more money.
He won the Champions League with Chelsea and wants to repeat with Milan. That is his prime motivation. If Milan is perceived as a organization
that is not highly motivated to winning the Champions League, he will leave after the World Cup.
Good vital performance tonight. Only critique ill give is someone needs to sit down with fofana and explain to him that he’s not allowed to shoot unless he’s 10yds or closer, because maaaan he cant shoot
a tap in get u 8.5 rate lol u pathetic ! keep on the bum american overhype campaign going lol !! a tap in gets u 8.5 u baseball fan what sport are u watching ! this dude f’d up every pass in a counter attack! pass the ball sideways when it’s supposed to be upfront. there was one counter attack where Leao spirted on the left and all the baseball dude was supposed to do is to have the ABILITY to give the right pass forward but he couldn’t even do that! a tap in lol gtfoh
Puli HAD to be where he was or else the game would have been a draw at most and two points less instead of 3. Given that the game was decided by said goal then yes Puli has to get credit for bringing home those points…right place at the right time.
Funny you mention baseball as small details matter when Blue Jays literally lost the world series because of small details… If Falefa was just one more step ahead of third base…. Toronto would be celebrating a WS and not LA. If you know you know …
🤣🤣🤣 you know that guy doesn’t watch baseball or even know what a Toronto Blue Jays is. He only knows the Yankees because of turd bird.
Just ignore that dude as he recently complained about simple criitique of Leao being racist and then went on a full rampage being racist against white people and basically calling white people four legged animals crawling out of caves. Don’t get me wrong I can easily come up with some critique of the shadier parts of history or come up with even hate towards trump but that dude doesn’t even understand his own hypocrisy. Either way he is a dumb arse, troll or a hypocrite as he seems to have an agenda to spread hate and this is coming from a pretty left wing guy who doesn’t judge by color.
Oh goodness me smh 🤦♂️
And I didn’t even put in the stat that Puli has the most goal contributions over the last 3 seasons in Serie A. That would have tangled his noodles lol 😆
Indeed 😀
Well the American ownership deserves some critique and I wont shy away from that but Pulisic most definitely is worth the cash we paid and are paying for him. In my book the most consistently performing player for several years and now stats wise also in Serie A in regard of g/a combined for the last 3 years 🙂 His work ethics is also a thing people shouldn’t forget as he is often an energizing bunny running throughout the matches helping in both phases of the game when necessary.
Oh MilanMatters has it in his response below
Should have read his first
LOL the guy who missed a month and still has the most goals in the league as a dude playing out of position.
The guy with the most goal involvements in Serie A in the last three seasons.
It’s like you spent the whole game looking for you tiny … Remote … Or something.
Mic. Dropped. Well done! 🤣🤣🤣
The “bum American” is simply the player in the ENTIRE Serie A with the highest number of goal participations (goals + assists) in total, considering the last three seasons. That is, higher than the second-placed player, Inter’s Lautaro Martinez. So, the “bum American” is simply the BEST attacker in the entire Serie A (out of more than 600 professional players), and you call him a bum???
And mind you, Serie A is one of the best leagues in Europe (only behind the EPL and La Liga). He also has a Champions League title, having been instrumental for Chelsea’s win, including, scoring a decisive goal in the semifinal. So, being the top player of one of the top 3 European leagues and a Champions League winner is the VERY definition of a World Class player. Still, you call him a bum.
If Pulisic, the top Serie A player, is a bum, what would you call the other 600 Serie A players? Are they all bums???
Is this just because he is American? What would you be saying about him, with the same numbers, if he were Italian? By the way, for your information, he does have significant Italian blood (25%). His maternal grandmother is Sicilian. He is therefore, according to our current laws, entitled to Italian citizenship.
And don’t even think of calling me a “baseball fan” because of my comment. I’m Italian.
————–
This said, I shouldn’t be feeding an obvious troll. You are not a Milan fan, and should not be posting here. Go away, troll.
Pay Maignan what he’s asking for, he deserves it
It wasn’t pretty and inter dominated the match but it was exactly how allegri tactically deployed his team.
Maignan, probably his best game in a milan shirt and this is the Mike I’ve been missing. Allegris team have rediscovered maignans brilliance and I hope he realizes that and signs an extension. It was a brilliant display.
To have a youth player at 19 in bartesaghi play well in his first derby once again I have to give credit to allegri for trusting him. Solid defensively, good passing and some decent crosses, well done. Can’t bash any of the defence as once again they kept a clean sheet against inter. Nobody praises gabbia but I have to. He is so we’ll positioned and he cuts out everything his way, I don’t know how gattuso can’t think about him being a potential starter. (especially over Mancini)
Fofana and modric started off slow but they came more into the game, more so modric. Rabiot was absolutely crucial to get in the mercato. He just fits the team so perfectly and he’s so intelligent. Our midfield has to be one of the top.
Finally the pairing of pulisic and leao and its what I wanted to see. They never got many chances but pulisic is amazing and leao actually worked hard for once. They will grow together and be dangerous.
This goes to show that these players ARE a team and they believe in the project allegri has set out. We need to figure it out against the ‘smaller’ teams but against the top 5 it’s been impressive. We can challenge for the scudetto!
Maignon was Magic Mike again 😁 But even a great clean sheet only gets you 1 point. Pulisic’s goal banked all 3 ❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🔥
Besides everything, always an absolute pleasure seeing Hakan doing a face plant in a derby game. Always a pleasure. I’ll never stop getting enjoyment from seeing him fail.
Overall a solid game of dexterity, tactics, and solidity. Perhaps we were more solid in defense than in attack, but we had a number of chances to double the score.
Did anyone notice something about fofana, especially in the first half? if a pass comes to him short, he would not bother making any effort to retrieve the ball.
He spends the first few seconds glaring at the player who gave the wayward pass. then reluctantly jogs back to our half only after someone else chases after the inter player.
this happened at least 3x in the first half.
Then, there’s his senseless habit of trying to shoot when others are in better positions.
This game confirms again that without the space to run at his defender, Leao is very limited.
the commentator kept saying that inter had the highest possesion rates along with como. The hard lesson for them? possession without goals is not football. we took our chances, and they did not. Love the look on calha’s face on the bench when he was subbed after losing the penalty. Maignan rightly goaded him and the took the bait.
Very satisfying to watch indeed.
Fofana started to do better in that second half. But he needs to switch on for the entire game. Not just half of the game.
From now on we should use orange ball. I think maignan eyes react well with this color
Y d savage now lol haba😁
Pavlavic yellow card, yes, penalty ,no way , there was no intent on his part to step on their foot. Refs and VAR opening up a future can of worms.
Sorry, that is a penalty. Intent is not the determining factor. If a player doesn’t hit the ball first (or at all like in this case), and instead steps on the opponent’s foot, causing the opponent to go down, and it happens inside the box, that by rule is a penalty regardless of intent. The ref was absolutely correct. If you think otherwise, it just means that you don’t know the rules of football.
I will criticize the ref when it’s warranted, and Italian refs are often biased against Milan. Just look at Lautaro elbowing violently Gabbia and drawing blood, a red card-worthy offense, and this ref not only didn’t give a red, but also didn’t give even a yellow to Lautaro, and most absurdly, awarded the foul to Inter!!! Incredible error, and I wouldn’t even call it an error: incredible intentional bias from the ref.
But unfortunately, that PK was indeed one. Thankfully Maignan took care of it.
The refereeing expert from DAZN, Luca Marelli, said exactly what I’m saying. I just read his opinion right now, and he basically stated what I told you.
Was never a penalty.
It’s Thuram’s fault his foot landed under Pavlovic’s boot after he successfully crossed the ball.
Don’t throw this “don’t know rules” bs around; it is a matter of opinion. Start learning to respect that.
Objectively, whoever doesn’t know that stepping on an opponent’s foot without the ball, despite of intention, is a foul, and if it’s inside the box, it’s a PK, doesn’t know the rules because that’s what the rules state. Refs don’t have crystal balls or mind-reading devices to gauge intent. It’s the action that counts. And it is a reckless challenge, too. Foul, yellow, and PK, all correct.
It’s NOT just a matter of opinion if you go frontally against the rules of the game. It’s simply not knowing the rules, period.
It’s Thuram’s fault? LOL. So it’s the fault of the victim who got stepped on? Yeah, right.
So, your comment only means that you ALSO don’t know the rules.
Refereeing experts, however, are saying it like me (such as, Luca Marelli from DAZN). These are professional refereeing experts, often ex-referees, and they know what they are talking about. You and the other user, on the other hand, do not.
Pointing to someone that he is wrong is not throwing BS around. It’s just a fact.
If I were to agree with you and the other poster, then all three of us would be wrong.
Sorry. I’m right, and you and him are wrong. Period.
if it is a foul in the box then it must be a penalty. I.e. it was nothing or it was a yellow + penalty. No possible way within the rules to issue a yellow card to Pavlovic and not award a penalty at the same time. Referee abuse is about the only way you can issue a yellow without a free kick occurring at the same time.
Fofana thinks his shooting skills are Kaka. At this point would make better sense having Gabbia and Mike taking long range shots away from our box
First year Mainan joined AC , he did kick deeper out of the box very successfully, had great forward vision…..that is how Deschamps used(s) him. The beauty of Allegri is the fact he is unpredictable, life long dream is to attend one of his practices. Regardless, and of course the Scudetto is the goal, but at least we are putting a dangerous opponent on the pitch. Sempre Milano
He’s not wrong though.
His shooting skills are indeed Caca.
Pulisic is one of those players who just seems to know where to be at the correct time…..instinctual……a lot of better players as to footwork,speed, passing but few seem to be at the right place at the right time.
That’s not just instinct. That’s high footballing IQ. Pulisic is a very intelligent player who reads the game well, and that’s why he is often at the right place at the right time.
It’s the same case of Modric. He also reads the game well and also is often very well positioned to implement worthy plays.
Rabiot possesses it too.
Pulisic, Modric and Rabiot are all three very intelligent players. There is nothing random about it; it is not luck, and it is not just instinct. It’s intelligence and skill.
People who call it luck (I know that you’re not one of them; I’m just saying it for the sake of the point I’m making) should understand that if someone appears to be very consistently and very frequently “lucky” it’s not luck; it is skill. Luck is random. Skill is not. So luck doesn’t tend to always repeat. Skill does.
I thought Rafa played a solid game. He was very active and could have had an assist for Puli but their timing is still a hair off from no time together this season. The main thing for me is I see a different attitude from him so far. When he came in against Juve, it looked like he immediately went to Puli and gave him encouragement after the missed PK. I don’t think that happens 2 years ago and no way in hell it happens last year! He did the same in a recent game (can’t remember which off the top of my head) and is one of the first to celebrate with his teammates. He could have been much better the last two years but I think I am seeing a much better teammate emerging now.
Am I the only one who is VERY worried about Modric playing the full 90 in every game? He is still amazing but has started to make some very loose passes in bad spots and I wonder if he just needs a little rest. No matter how great he is, he is still 40 and even with only one game per week, the legs will get tired.
I love Rafa. The haters like to call me a “fanboy.” Still, I do not think that Rafa had a good game. He lost almost all his offensive duels. Yes, he tried hard even to help the team defensively, with some success. But offensively he didn’t do much. Sure, he is out of position as he is not a striker. When he has more space to run from the left and he is not called upon for middle-of-the-box duties, he plays better. But regardless of the reasons, understandable or not, it wasn’t a good game from Rafa, who can be decisive; tonight he wasn’t.
As for Modric, you are absolutely right. With Rabiot and Jashari back to being available, it would be fair to give Modric some time off. He does seem to be more and more tired as these 90-minute games pile up for him, at his age. Tired players become more imprecise and make more errors. Yes, he needs rest and I’m a bit upset at Allegri for not managing his minutes. He is too precious to run down like this. Next, he’ll collect a muscle injury.
I agree that Rafa was not completely sharp and did have some issues. I am concentrating more on the interactions with the team and the fact that he does seem to be engaged. I am hoping that he will improve his sharpness as he gets more games under his feet and am much more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt this year than the prior two.
You said what I was thinking as I typed the first post. I’m worried Modric will pull/tear something and be out for a while if he doesn’t get a break soon. I really hope that with everyone coming back healthy, Allegri will give him some much deserved rest soon.
Rafa actually had a good game, he was the striker and puli was free to roam, Rafa roaming was better than been the CF, I don’t think Puli was that great other than the goal right place at right time. 8.5 for a tap in is excessive, waiting for the Italian presses ratings
I could sense my frustrations building with Fofana in the 1st half. He was just too timid in the 50 50 challenges and could not execute a decent pass if his life depended on it. He is regressing and maybe it’s about time we give Jashari a look in. Mike really kept us in the game. Big up to him. I am still a bit uneasy with Milan’s low block which allow opponents to control the tempo and impose themselves on us. We need to introduce an element of pressing to disrupt opposition play and create less pressure on ourselves. Dangerous play to invite opponents like that. Happy with the 3 points hope we can build the momentum from here. Ps, Leao had a quiet game by his standards. We seem to be relying a lot on Cpt America these days. Salas was incredible down the right, his defensive work really helped.
Me, I’ve been frustrated with Fofana for a long time. I do not understand why Allegri is still starting him. All other midfielders we have are better than Fofana. We have Modric, Rabiot, RLC, Jashari, Ricci, and Fofana. We only need 3 midfielders, so why is the weakest one if the 6 still starting???
Fofana is arguably the worst finisher among all professional players currently in activity in Serie A. He places the ball everywhere except the back of the net. Usually she shoots up to the moon, and even when he rarely shoots on target, it’s weak and at the goalkeeper. He decreases the number of useful attacking players by wasting these shooting attempts instead of passing to a much better positioned and more qualified companion.
Not only I’d like Fofana to be benched, but actually sold in January. It probably won’t happen since for some weird and unknown reason, Allegri seems to like him.
At the very least, Allegri should tell Fofana that he should not attempt to score because he is demonstrably bad at it. However, it seems like Allegri said just the opposite to him (and of him in press conferences): he is demanding goals from Fofana. That’s really bad judgment from Allegri, a coach who actually usually displays very good judgment, so I don’t understand why he doesn’t see Fofana’s shortcomings.
Two typos. I meant “the weakest one of the 6”, not if. I meant “the number of useful attacking plays”, not players.
Forfan did a dirty job just that most of you don’t understand football very well. He plays his role in this game very well and also very key to the goal as well.
LOL, you think I don’t understand football??? OK… whatever you say, dude.
By the way, you can’t even spell his name. It’s not Forfan… it’s Fofana. When you try to look smarter than other posters (obviously you’re not), then at least watch what you say, so that you don’t make stupid errors and… look stupid.
I don’t always agree with you all the time Luigi but very often nevertheless does but I certainly recognize you as one of the more eloquent and knowledgeable commenters around here so do indeed tell him 😀
40yr old Modric made more tackles, clearances, interceptions, dirty work then Fofana. And for all his supposed dirty work Fofana does not know how to lay on a proper pass or shoot at goal. All that effort goes to waste when he does have the ball. His football IQ is seriously wanting…
There’s a reason Allegri gave Fofana a huge hug after he came off. The only to really put pressure on Inter’s CBs (mostly Bastoni), and with Rabiot looking off, Fofana basically provided the only muscle we had in midfield. Modric was perhaps the least affective of the three
Don’t forget that Fofana harassing Hakan was how he lost the ball leading to Pulisic’s goal. The fact that he also went forward after stealing that ball back and was the one to lay the ball to Saelesmaker for the shot at Sommer shows that he has SOME intelligence.
This game was exactly what it was always going to be. Defend, suffer and counter. And Milan did that effectively.
In games like these, small errors or moments of inattention make all the difference. We had Mike and Inter had Sommer. And that was the difference tonight.
This is Mike is and always was – a GK with stellar reflex saves. On his worst day he will let a near post goal in and sprinkle in great reflex saves. On his best days, he will do what we all saw tonight – stellar reflex saves and a PK save. And that’s on top of the leadership and calm he provides at the back.
Our last GK is currently one of the TOP5 in the world. Our current GK is currently TOP5 in the world. Milan will not catch the lightning in a bottle the third time not would spend a lot for it. So unless they go all in for Svillar, Tare & Co would be wise to go all out to keep Mike here.
Mike had a great game, clearly MOTM. But calling him top 5 is tunnel vision at best. First time in a long long time that he’s directly responsible for getting us 3 points. Kudos to him. But he’s not the first gk to stop a penalty and another close range shot in a single game. Let’s not get carried away. We would do good to move away from him, to a healthier keeper at the very least
You don’t think mike is Top 5 in the world?
I don’t think any Milan player is top 5 in the world, unfortunately. Courtois, neuer, allison, raya, szcezny are five better keepers off the top of my head
“I don’t think these ratings are fair, because all three of our center backs should have been rated 7.5 – 8 point. They had a very good game and moreso, for someone that feels we had a very terrible game, I guess you are wrong. In football, atimes you play badly and win. That’s the game plan… What is important is that we haven’t lost to Inter in the last 6 to 7 games.
It’s never a game plan to play badly, what are you on about. It’s one thing to play defensively and close the game, it’s another thing to get run over and to rely on luck for not conceding
Still have hole in the defense and number 9 goal scoring. If it’s not bc Magic Mike, we sacked allergic. We need Thaigo Silva, and LewanGoal-Goal-Goal-ski.
Only 9 for Mike? Ridiculous!! What does he have to do to get a 10? Save two penalties, have a 100% passing accuracy, assist and score a goal? Absolutely ridiculous. Just admit he played a perfect match and deserved a full 10 for his perfomance.
Nkunku + El Stupido + El Bidone Gimenez
90 mln 🤡🙈
Correct me if I am wrong brothers but Nkunku seems lost in this team set or he is not interested 🤔
And wasn’t he supposed to be fast? He runs slower than Gimenez. 😀
How many 5/6 ratings LEAO will get in big matches
He is always lost…
$7M salary needs to show up in big matches
Yesterday he didn’t need to as we had Pulisic The MVP. 🙂
You can’t just stand the fact that he is earning just 7m, who else can singlehandedly decide a match other than Leao?
Far too high grades. Looks as if we dominated the game, which we didn’t. At least 1 grad down on all players, at least.
Maignan should be a 10! He single-handedly won this game for Milan.
I see some people say inter deserved to win – NO, they did not. They got exactly what they deserved, a loss. Just because they had more possession and shots doesn’t mean they deserved to win – Milan deserved the win because they defended well, score a goal and have a goalkeeper who played fantastic. Inter lost to all better teams this season for a reason – they keep the ball but don’t know how to score.
So ratings are ok, but half a point raised. Everyone but Maignan, Rabiot and Modric should get half a point less. And Maignan deserves a 9.5 because he not only saved a penalty to Calhanoglu that rarely misses, but saved 2 more goals. If the keepers were swapped Milan would lose 3-0. Modric did ok, but more defensively and Rabiot is exactly the beast I expected him to be. Not sure how did others not see how good of a player he is before he came to Milan. It was evident last season…