AC Milan clinched three important points against Monza despite a performance that was far from fantastic. A couple of players stood out while many struggled, and below are the ratings for the Rossoneri.
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 (6.5): He made a great save on Pereira in the first half, showcasing great reflex, and was also good with his feet in those first 45 minutes. Truth be told, he wasn’t tested much in the second half but did what was necessary. Nevertheless, that save in the first half was really good.
Terracciano (5.5): Overall, it was a decent display from the 21-year-old but he did lose the ball in a very exposed situation in the second half, which could have been very costly. He also wasn’t overly convincing on Monza’s disallowed goal, so the rating might be a bit harsh but still justified.
Thiaw (6): Milan struggled overall defensively above all in the first half, but it was more due to the structure than the individuals. The German was calm and composed, had some good passes forward and also won many aerial duels.
Pavlovic (5.5): Just like his colleague, while there was chaos in defence for a bit, individually speaking he wasn’t horrible by any means. Having said that, he didn’t quite show the same skill with the passing or in the duels.
Hernandez (7): The captain, finally, behaved like a captain. He led the team from the back with collected defending and multiple great runs forward. He always seemed to put Monza in trouble, denied by the goalkeeper once (good shot) and sending several promising crosses into the box.
Fofana (6): His positioning was a bit questionable at the start of the first half, but he improved a lot and had okay passing throughout the game. He certainly did a lot of the ‘dirty work’ and thus deserves a pass here.
Reijnders (7 – MOTM): The goal ended up being crucial, of course, but how he combined with his teammates is also a huge part of the rating here. He was almost always available and helped create chances. It was also very nice to see him adding numbers in the box, leading to the goal.
Chukwueze (5.5): Unfortunately, while the Nigerian at least looked comfortable on the ball, he didn’t have much success with it in the 1v1 situations. He also had a couple of opportunities for a shot but didn’t connect properly with the ball. He can do better.
Pulisic (6): It was a relatively quiet first half from the American, but he came to life towards the end with a great cross for Morata on a counter-attack (which led to the goal). In the second half, he perhaps faded a bit but managed to attract some fouls and keep the ball in possession.
Okafor (5): He missed two very good chances in the first half, especially one of them was fantastic, and wasn’t really that involved overall. Slightly better in terms of combining in the second half, but a subpar display for sure.
Morata (5): He had a couple of good opportunities inside the box in the first half, one of which led to the goal, but he missed both of them no matter how you spin it. He gave the ball away too much and had some sloppy moments, but improved a lot for the final 30 minutes with flick-ons, fouls won and so on. That rescued his rating a bit, but we still need to see a lot more striker instincts from him.
Substitutes
Leao (5.5): Incredibly tough to judge, seeing as there weren’t actually that many chances for him to show his skill. However, he got a chance almost immediately after combining with Reijnders and failed to connect properly. Then, after getting through with a bit of luck on another occasion, he hit the effort straight at the keeper.
Loftus-Cheek (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating.
Calabria (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating.
Musah (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating.