AC Milan played close to the perfect game on Wednesday night, beating Inter 3-0 in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final to win 4-1 on aggregate.
After playing a bit-part role for most of the season, Luka Jovic is the man who rightly has his face on the front pages today as he scored a brace to get the rout going. Tijjani Reijnders netted late on to put the result beyond doubt, booking a place in the final next month.
The player ratings
Looking at the ratings in today’s newspapers, La Gazzetta dello Sport give Milan’s overall performance and Sergio Conceicao’s management an 8 out of 10. Jovic, for his match-winning brace, got the same score as his coach.
Reijnders got a 7.5 and then there is a flurry of players who scored 7: Mike Maignan, Fikayo Tomori, Strahinja Pavlovic, Alex Jimenez, Youssouf Fofana and Rafael Leao all got that mark.
Matteo Gabbia and Theo Hernandez received a 6.5 from the paper, then Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic, Malick Thiaw and Tammy Abraham (the latter two substitutes) got half a point less.
Corriere dello Sport agree that Jovic (8) was the best player on the field, while they dished out a 7 to Reijn dress then 6.5s to Maignan, Gabbia, Theo, Fofana, Jimenez and Leao. The only player that struggled a bit in their eyes was Pavlovic, with the rest getting a 6.
Finally, Tuttosport went a bit further by giving Jovic an 8.5. Reijnders and Jimenez received a 7; Maignan, Gabbia and Fofana a 6.5; the rest a 6 and only Pulisic (5.5) below a passing grade.
🔢 The player ratings for #InterMilan from @Gazzetta_it, @CorSport and @Tuttosport.
🤔 Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/yj5IF6ubNt
— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) April 24, 2025
I’m happy this new system enables us to control the midfield and thus control the game but, I have to admit that I’m very concerned that this system neutralizes Pulisic. It’s obvious that the system is tailored to go through Theo, Leao and the strikers. Correct me if I’m wrong but it seems he is tasked with too many defensive responsibilities and ends up outside of the 6 yard box too much. His brilliant, positional instinct, and quick decisive movements inside the 6 yard box is his forte. If you’re not getting Pulisic inside the 18 yard line you’re not optimizing his talents. It seems he’s more involved in deep midfield link-up play now and very rarely a part of the tip of the spear in the attack. Even though he’s one of the best in the world on the half-turn counterattack I still feel the system is making him sacrifice too much and doesn’t put him in positions that maximize his talent. It’s painful to watch how mediocre he is in this system
Yeah, pulisic does not benefit from the new formation but this system is relatively new, so some flaw and weakness is expected. There is still some room for improvement
Pulisic has been playing poorly for most of 2025 regardless of system. The injury did not help
He has been getting some assists and the odd goal but he has been no where near the dynamic forward he was in 1st half of the season.
This new system actually relieves him and Leao of tracking back as the wingbacks are there
You are spot on, even Leao is trying to adapt to the new system, as they invert a lot and much closer to the opponents goal, more like supporting striker, which Leao never likes but he is adapting, Pulisic will adapt too
Pulisic definitely tracks back. There were numerous times Jimenez was further up the field. Pulisic is best when he gets the ball moving within 25-30 yards of the goal. This isn’t happening. He tracks back to make a 3 person midfield when ACM is trying to advance the ball and Mike has it. With this system he is in the box trying to get a header- lol. RLC is a better option than Pulisic in how the team is setup. I notice that Pulisic has not signed a contract extension. I think he’s waiting to see how the manager and future plans play out. He’s entering his prime and I think doesn’t want to play in a system that doesn’t suit him.
Leao was terrible and I mean terrible last night. He got completely shut down on the dribble throughout the match. his touch was terribe on Pulisics’ through ball squandering a Goal scoring opportunity. He had one Good pass to TR for his brilliant Goal to back post.
I will praise his defensive effort at least. It was terrible but at least he looked like he cared.
He and Hernandez are so talented I would say world class level BUT….
They are both so terribly lazy when they lose the ball for Leao and the Marking by Hernandez that they are detrimental to a team over the course of the season. They have both caused multiple goals this season in transition.
Mike M has been the player of the season for me. without him Milan would have lost multiple games by much wider margins. His one- handed save off the line on the header last night was nothing but world class and he has usually 2 of those a game.
I think I counted about twelve times that Leao lost possession in the first fifteen minutes (maybe less).
Yes, I don’t understand how Leão gets a pass. In the first 5 mins I counted 5 loss balls trying to drive forward.
Re: SJF at 1:17 pm
I guess you and I watched different matches yesterday? Seems I saw Puli in our box almost as much as the back three. As coach said, he put in a lot of work!
Right, in the box waiting for crosses. He’s useless there. I think he scored one header in his life. I agree he put in a lot of work. He’s sacrificing himself for the team. But don’t expect to see him at his best then.