AC Milan clinched their ticket to the semi-finals of the Champions League thanks to a 1-1 draw against Napoli at Stadio Maradona this evening. Down below are the player ratings for the heroic Rossoneri men.
Starting XI
Maignan (8): What a performance from the magic man in goal this evening. Confident from start to finish and the penalty save was the icing on the cake. It’s just a shame he didn’t get to keep a clean sheet.
Calabria (8): Monumental display from the captain this evening as he kept Kava so quiet, even if the Napoli winger clearly didn’t have a good night. Calabria has certainly earned back his spot in the starting XI.
Kjaer (8): He won a great number of aerial duels this evening and kept Osimhen very quiet. His ability to play a good pass even when under pressure is also extremely important for Milan.
Tomori (7.5): The Englishman was almost as good as his colleague this evening. The handball (which led to Napoli’s penalty) was honestly very unlucky rather than sloppy defending. Otherwise, a very good display.
Hernandez (7): He gets a high rating for the many aerial duels won on the corners, of which Napoli had a plethora. He clearly had more defensive duties tonight, but his contribution in attack was what it needed to be.
Krunic (7.5): The Pioli favourite covered SO MUCH ground this evening and always helped out his teammates when needed. And he wasn’t just a body, he actually made things difficult for Napoli with several interceptions.
Tonali (7.5): Just as good as his tandem colleague with a performance characterised by a lot of running rather than technical brilliance always. Both, however, did really well in playing it simple (which was the only thing needed).
Diaz (6.5): To be fair, we have seen him do a lot better this season (and against Napoli). His dribbling didn’t have the same effect this evening but that being said, he still offered a good solution on the counters.
Bennacer (7.5): The three midfielders, Bennacer included, put in the hard work this evening. The Algerian was great in balancing the game and offering an anchor point, bringing down rather tough passes.
Leao (9 – MOTM): Wow. He led Milan’s counter-attacking play all by himself today and that assist for Giroud was simply brilliant – a perfect example of his importance. He also won the penalty and just looked in a great mood.
Giroud (6): The goal saves his rating quite a lot but that penalty miss could have been a lot more costly for Milan. And he also had a great chance a few minutes after that Meret saved, but the finish could have been better.
Substitutes
Messias (6): He did well on the right flank, defensively and in attack, but he lost Osimhen on the goal.
Origi (5.5): He started well and for once, many of us thought he could have a decent impact. But his defending wasn’t good enough just before Napoli got their penalty, forcing Tomori to come out like that.
Saelemaekers (6): Solid off the bench but the game prevented him from doing much.
Origi 5.5 is an absolute joke he did what he needed to do
Agreed. That was just a spite rating
There’s no spite. I just don’t think he really did anything up front (nothing concrete anyway) and the defending really was bad, letting Di Lorenzo get into a great position.
You were actually too generous with your rating for him. Don’t mind them guys.
Nah the joke is Origi. He deserves a 4. Guy is literal trash. “He did what he needed to do”? Lol. Any human could have been a body on the field like he was. He was also the one initially marking osimhen in the box and didn’t follow him then messias was next and didn’t mark him.
That Messias sub was so Pioli 101 nice way to bring Salemakers confidence down again… Injured Messias who sucks even when healthy gets in a game before Salemakers who is actually in form … And then we wonder why we have no in form player on the bench… Oh and that goal was kinda on Messias …
Origi rating is too kind. Don’t mind these origi lovers. Guy is trash and that’s being kind.
I don’t get it, were u expecting him to score while the game called for defending a slim 1 goal lead? The game plan that was required was a defensive one. And even in that case, he broke plays up, pressed and won balls. I can provide a full breakdown. I’m no Origi fan but u have to give credit for the work done. As a Centre fwd he did what was needed in a tight game, as a left mid he could have done better sure but he isn’t a left back or a defender.
On the goal, this was more on Pioli than anyone. He let Theo man mark Lozano. This created a zero left back issue which Napoli exploited when Lozano move centrally bringing Theo with him. Sure u can fault origi but he isn’t a defender, you can only do so much as a forward playing as a left mid. Positionally he was correct in his placement, it’s just the left back Theo was missing. Notice it was Tomori coming across to help the lack of defender in that spot. Theo made it hard for him.
It’s like the Messias being down rated for not defending Oshimen when both Kjaer and Tomori who are actual defenders were right next to him and should have man marked him knowing his threat.
Or Giroud receiving a 6 when he literally is the reason we’re in the semis. He could miss 10 chances, u just need to put away the one that makes the team progress (of course he did other things really good)
Seeing the comments regarding “player ratings” ,one must consider two things, first they have to an average of the players performance, guys are going to get beat, the game plan is to attack the other teams weakness, as an example Calabria would have gotten a lower score if not for Krunic helping mark Kafa. and secondly when players work as a team, after all it is a team effort, as an example Kjaer and Tomori end up both recieving higher marks playing together than they would than let’s say Bakayoko subbing for one of them. Regardless of who gets higher or lower ratings a win is a win , team gets a 7
What game did you watch?, Origi is complete disaster on the whole season, and very very bad in this game. He’s the one letting Napoli player unmark before Tomori handball. If you say he’s a striker, just compare to Giroud did defensively in this match. Ill give him 4.5 max at 5 for this game
Wow. What a feeling! At a loss for words. For all their deficiencies, this team is SPECIAL. I hope all the fans are enjoying the ride. Forza Milan!
This!
Yep, but we have to be realistic if we want to beat Inter this team needs to raise their level Napoli is a mentally weak team and we took advantage of that I don’t think we can shithouse our way past Inter. Inter will be like: oh we live here in the world of shithousery bring it on …
Lol. We’ll cross the bridge when we get to it. In the end, who expected us to be playing a CL semi-final in 2023? Everything from here on out is gravy. My biggest concern is finishing top 4, which means finishing above Inter AND Roma, since we need that buffer in case Juventus get their points back.
Right now we just celebrate 🍾
I was sooooo nervous even with 5 mins to go. Yes tomori a bit unlucky with the handball, but once Origi comes on, we can lose any game.
So proud of the boys and some outstanding individual performances (Magic Mike, Captain Calabria, even Krunic was superb)
We have to be more clinical in the next round, can’t get away with all those missed chances. Pleased for Giroud he got the key goal eventually.
Origi (or CDK) coming on is almost like getting a red card 🤣
He is like Bakayoko, When he or Origi comes on, I feel like they have 12 on the pitch and we have 10…..they are like lightning rods.
Imo CDK would have been much much worse to bring on. At least Origi is somewhat mentally aware of what’s going on on the pitch
Perfect tactical performance by Milan.
Napoli might have dominated possession, had a boatload of shots, and a ton of pressure, but never real had any real scoring chances.
Milan had more of the real chances. Between missed penalty and another Giroud chance, thus tie would have been over in the 1st half.
Outstanding run by leao on that goal, also horrendous defending by Napoli players especially di Lorenzo. You gotta take a foul and a yellow there.
Glad that none of our players are suspended for the next round.
Until minute 92 I didn’t even notice that Osimhen was playing, Kvara was mostly keep in check by Calabria, often helped by Krunix and Brahim.
And for me the MOTM is Maignan, the best GK in the world right now.
What he did today by saving the penalty and his saves in the 1st game, he is the MOTM.
Bring on inter/or Benfica.
I think Tonali will miss the next game? He was booked so he is suspended I think
That was a mistake by the TV people. They changed that later.
Theo was assigned that yellow not Tonali
That is correct. And all the yellow cards are now being cleared for semis, so we don’t have to worry about that either.
Good to know guys, it was indeed a bit confusing. Thanks for clarifying this.
really, thats great to hear
“Horendous defending” common Just give Leao his respect, I know you don’t like him, but he is clearly the game changer and unarguably motm
Mike Calabria and Kajer are the reason we won this round! Lets be real others were just fine with flashes of briliance but mosty they outplayed us they lost because they are on a mental level of a 5 year old girl… Agains Inter will be actually more dificult because they will not lose their heads when a slightes thing goes against them
Gud boys kip it up
We are de Champions
We’re bak
WE’RE AC MILAN
Ref should have called encroachment on Napoli on the Giroud penalty kick and have it retaken. That was the rule they apply these days. Not sure why it wasn’t applied here again.. just like.that we could have been up 4-0 in the tied with the two other pens. Smh, UEFA really need to improve in this aspect
Anyways fantastic performance and great defensive display. That Leao run reminded me of a Kaka run. Holy that was speed!
My faves were Calabria, Krunic, Kjaer, Tomori and Mike. They were exceptional.
Yes we sawpped 10 players the game before, deal with it 😂😂😂 and I hope we do it again if we have the same shot at a UCL final😁
Ref analyst on CBS said that Napoli players feet weren’t on the ground during that encroachment. They were in the air inside the box but not on the ground and she said foot has to be on the ground in the box to be encroachment not just in the air
Just a messenger. I Didn’t know that was the rule either
No way. I did not know that. Thought was body past the line but I guess that makes sense or else they’ll call all pens back 🤷♂️
That being said, they also almost miss the pens from the first game
Well if we swap them out again at least the B Team will have had one competitive game under their belt!
Lol 😂
Kaka would have scored himself after that run Leao made to set up giroud 🙂
forza ❤️🖤❤️ I’m so happy.
Beautiful kaka 🤩
Was such a joy to watch. I still remember that solo run vs Celtic. Game decider right there
Calabria is like Gandalf got kvara. You shall not pass. Exceptional effort defensively today. I’m absolutely loving this version of krunic very understated but getting the break up play and recycling the ball very well. Forza Milan 🔴⚫️
FORZA MILAN! No one believed in us yet here we are…
Milan played very poor tonight so these high ratings are unjustified. They did get the job done, but it wasn’t a 7, 7, 7,8,8 performances.
Also Giroud was a legionary tonight. He def deserves a 7..
The 0-4 victory, now that’s how Milan playes and gets high ratings.
But whatever, let’s just enjoy being in top 4
If you think Maignan and Calabria doesn’t deserves a 7 or 8 then either you’re blind or you a salty Napoli fans.
I do think they get a ln 8.
Blind are the people who didn’t see all the individual mistakes that were made today. Far from a good performance..
Tomoris mistake leads to a penalty and he gets a 7.5? Hehehe.. miss me
Tomori didn’t made mistakes. He made the correct tackle but was unlucky the ball deflected into his hand. He deserves 7.5 or more because he was a wall for Osimhen and any Napoli players.
Player made one or two mistakes are normals especially in this match when the field is slippery because of rain and near the end of second half.
You think players as robots who can’t make mistakes. You should stick with video games. Keep salty Napoli fans 🤣🤣🤣
I think all cards are reset….which is a good thing
I think there is a standard, that the players put themselves and when they don’t reach it I’ll say it.
I think overrating is unprofessional and people who can’t be objective are better of keeping it for themselves..
I also think you don’t know shît about football
Calabria did well but he almost always had a second man helping him, and still got beat twice but Kvaratshkelia shot it over the goal twice but it could have been two goals.
He (Kvara, the most inform player in Serie A this season) ran at Calabria at least 20 times tonight, and got away twice. Still people complain. Unbelievable! Some of those one on ones he had no help, controlled him by himself.
He deserves respect for all three matches he put Kvara in his pocket.
NO ones complaining. He did a very good job, but Saying he pocketed him is a little too much tho. He almost always had a second defender helping him. And still Kvara broke through on multiple occasions.
Agreed with you Milan Fan 🤝
Twice is nothing when Calabria put Kvara in his pocket over 40-60 times for 3 matches. And it’s crazy this K still complaining 🤦♂️
I agree @Milan Fan, I knew he got beat twice at least but who wouldn’t against the one of the best left wingers in Europe in hot form. And of course he would need help. Everyone wanted Kvar. Seemingly it should now be everyone wants Anti-Kvar or Kvarptonite aka Calabria lol 😂
How come you can say it could have been two goals when the shot was straight to Maignan’s direction. Maignan could catch or parry Kvara shot just like he did with the pinalty.
Also twice against what, fourty or sixty times where Kvara failed to pass through Calabria? So yes Calabria put Kvara in his pocket and he deserves that high rating.
If you don’t like what you see then go cheer Napoli.
Again, calm down and listen to what I’m saying. I said Calabria did well. But saying he pocketed Kvara is an overstatement. Had Kvara converted those two chances from close range instead of missing the net and Milan lose, people here would be having a very different reaction to Calabria. So basically we are saying he pocketed him because Kvara missed two clear chances. Ok. If that’s how you want to look at it.
Yeah, I kinda understand what point you’re trying to state, and it is a right way to look at things.
At Milan, the moment we win, as long as we win, it’s like we become clouded, we don’t seem to point out how things could have been different had the opposition capitalised.
That has been our tradition, and I think the Italian or Milan media support are largely guilty of this.
However, for this particular match, we were spot on. Any team rightly setup, would have deployed similar tactics just to neutralise their attacking play and stop their goal machine. We were efficient at executing this.
The problem was still our attack, they were vaunurable especially with the absence of Kim, but we couldn’t properly capitalise.
Either you’re a Napoli fan or you have no understanding/appreciation of tactics. I’ve been calling for Pioli’s firing for a while now and even I must admit it was a very well executed game plan. Sure nobody was perfect today but everyone played well, in a huge match, on the road, against the champions of serie a. that definitely deserved praise and a night of celebration. Don’t be such a Karen!
the champoins of seria a are Milan, brah… They got the job done last night, thats all. As for the game plan.. sitting back and waitng on counters is no innovation nor is it anything special.
It got the job done, thats great, but I as a Milan fan expect the team to play better modern football.
Maybe its just me but I like winning in style.
If yall like tactical football so much maybe try atletico, that might be a club more to your liking or the Merde Juve
Rafa’s amazing run and assist was a great response to the racist Napoli fans who threw monkey chants at him coming from the hotel, and to the misinformed Milan fans here who keep bashing him. That was brilliant and sent us to the UCL Final Four which is no small feat. I love you Rafa!
Thanks for appreciating Rafa, whailing wailers Rafael Leao the best
Love Rafa, but the man who sent us to the UCL semi final is Mike Maignan. His performances throughout the both games is the reason Milan is thru. He saved about 3,4 goals in the 1st game and saved a penalty in the 80th minute today that if he didn’t save who knows how this game ends with 15 minutes left.
It might be the popular thing to shower Rafa with praise but by far our most important player vs Napoli was Mike Maignan.
Leao and Maignan ratings should be swapped. 9 for Maignan and 8 for Leao
Well, I love MIke too! Saint Maigan! Magic Mike!
Poor shots by Napoli really did not test Mike, BUT when the few that were on target the “Big Cat” delivered, his save on penalty shot took the wind out of their sails. His presence on the pitch gives confidence to all , truly believe if not injured A.C. would be in the Scudetto race.
I’m speechless T_T
The last time Milan reached semi-final back in 2007, i’m still at college. Now 16 years later, i witness Milan reach semi-final again. It feels magical!
Great job for Pioli and the boys. We deserves the semi-final more than Napoli!
Forza Milan!
Great win. Kjaer is a warrior. All those doubting him and saying he was too old and slow feel free to apologize. He was brilliant, as was Leao.
We did to Napoli what other small ana average serie a team always did when playing Milan. They sit deep in their half and the counter us.
Am happy for Us the fan, the players and Almighty Milan for today’s victory but don’t let us forget that we still have the same problem and issue with team and top4 is still the main target, for Milan to be in champions league next season.
FORZA MILAN
As Serie A goes , Napoli has won it, but do not be surprised if they sandbag against teams that are at , or even with A.C. in the standings to keep us out of the top four in the remaining matches.
Waited too damn long for this…FORZA MILAN
Weren’t a few people on here a few days ago calling for Pioli to be sacked….
… And Leao to be sold for 60 mil lol
I wanted Pioli sacked. I still think we can do better. But I always said we should pay Leao what he wants, he is too good to just let go.
Seriously? You think another coach can do better with this lot?
There is always room for improvement. In all the time we had Pioli with us, he never was able to do what Spalletti did with Napoli this year. Motivate them to win small games. games that win you scudetto. Granted he is not without his faults either, he timed their form to win Serie A but didn’t count on UCL, so he too is far from perfect.
But Pioli definitely needs to do better with integrating new, especially young talents and he needs to lean how to motivate his team against relegation fodder clubs. Because we’re constantly dropping points there.
He didn’t?! Didn’t Pioli just win Serie A last season? How can you win the Scudetto without beating most of the smaller sides?
Napoli have arguably a better squad and definitely depth than Milan. Their squad is more balanced.
We’re we’re coming off the banter era. 10 years of misery. He’s the man to turn it around.
You understand! Totally agree @Milan Fan There’s no coach that can do better with the lack of quality that our team has. The only two great outfield positions we have are left wing and left back. We got no RW, No CAM, barely two pivots, no defensive mid, no back up LB, no backup goalie, no backup striker and they think another coach can do what Pioli is doing? Come on now
That’s based on not renewing and having 1 year left on his contract dude. It’s not unrealistic if he doesn’t renew. Would you prefer he leave for free?
Some people here fail to understand how 40-60M€ is bigger and better than zero. Just ignore them. *SMH*
Pardon me, which game fid you watch? Milan played poor tonight? That’s a joke right? We had a fantastic game staring from Mike to the defence line which was impeccable. Not to talk of the midfield which closed down Napoli from creating any waves. Upfront was good. So whats poor in the game?
If this was a fantastic game then i worry for the future of this team.. didn’t even win. Do you people even know what football is about?
Don’t bother. That flyingturtle is a salty Napoli fans 🤣🤣🤣
Tbf, it isn’t a fantastic game for us if it does star mike.
No this was a fantastic match with all players played well. You only say Mike is a big disrespect towards Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Theo, Tonali, Krunic, Leao, Diaz, Bennacer, Giroud, Alexis, and Messias who also worked so hard in defense and offense.
You should shut fok up with this salty napol fan comments. What are you 14? Can’t say anything else?
Said the 14 years old who’s angry his Napoli lost three times against Milan lmao
Fantastic night! Everyone put in a great performance. The best in my opinion were Krunic (at least an 8 come on) and Calabria, but Leao and Mike decided the game with magic moments. A special shoutout to Giroud who didn’t lose his head after the penalty miss, combined well with everyone, held up the ball, helped defensively, got his chances and eventually scored. Scudetto winners last season and now CL semifinals, AC Milan is back! Great work by Pioli
Leao reminds me of kaka. Maybe it will happen again like in 2007. Forza milaaaan
Not even close my man. Kaka was the smartest player I’ve ever seen. They are nothing alike and whole leao has those great long runs kaka seemed even faster with the ball at his feet rather than without. A rare rare talent. Not to slight leao. But cannot be compared to kaka.
The way we got Maignan for 15mil will be a conspiracy of the highest order in this century. Imagine if Donna put that kind of performance and mentality. He’d start to ask about getting Milan’s share on top his sky ceiling salary.
Froza Milan, it was a good game. Mike my MOTM makes me wanna beat Tata up 😭. Anyway the take home still is we have no 9 if Giroud is out
The real question is what players do Milan need to sell and buy if they are to have a chance, any chance at all, of reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League?
I mean clearly these actual players who have actually made the semi-finals of the actual Champions League are not actually “good enough” to actually make the Champions League semi-finals actually….
I mean their FIFA ratings are just not good enough.
We must immediately start putting together a wish list of what other manager and other players we’d like to support next season if we are to have any chance whatsoever of making the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Because that is what supporting a team is all about. Constantly pining for a completely team to support!
(Sarcasm alert)
MH, I appreciate your point of view. Always have dating back to the FI days, but let’s also keep perspective. Tottenham and Napoli aren’t Madrid, City, Bayern or even Chelsea. Inter and Benfica aren’t one of those either. Fact is we still need a younger forward, we could use an offensively more effective RW, and probably another good CM for depth. Not a lot of buying and selling, just a few tweaks.
A win is a win, and semi-final is a semi-final….
We don’t need ratings when team give best of themselves…
Forza Milan !
What a match by the lads in a very difficult atmosphere. Nobody believed in us. Even after the first leg win, I was watching cbs, canal+, sky sport and they were all saying that Napoli will pass to the Sam final.
Rafa made me think of kaka. Hope we make to the final but we will be clearly favorite against benfica or inter. Forza milan.
Calabria was an absolute beast. Mike proved he’s the best in the world rn, our midfield was tremendous and Leao left me speechless (again…). It’s also amazing to see how much Brahim has grown and how disciplined he is tactically. And the best part is that we did the job today without having to need Theo’s crazy and unstoppable runs. I guess he was saving energy for Inter.
In the Champions league, We are a team of winners. We have heritage and teams that play us know this. The up and down nature of this great club is what makes it so special.
I just hope Pioli doesn’t rotate the whole team again in the league!
You can never satisfy some fans here, 😀. For all those who say Leao is not capable of deciding matches on the big stage, I guess you can now eat your own words.
Great game by the team and Pioli, Congratulations!!. They seem to be handling the UCL in their own way, doing just enough to get to the next stage, which is what we’ve seen from this competition in recent times. The most important thing is a win, not high scoring, but just doing enough tactically to edge out the opponent. Bravo 👏🏼!!!
Kvara won’t forget this matchup. Calabria certainly claims house position on that flank, he’s in such good form defensively.
The midfield tweak by Pioli seems to provide better solutions going forward and cover lying deep. 👌🏼
Let’s enjoy the win guys, it’s been so long we got this far, it’s such an emotional feat. Never underestimate the Power of Belief 💪🏽.
Forza Milan!!!
Leao is the best player in the world and Mike the best goalkeeper in the world. Basta.
Mike is without doubt the man of the tie. He was fundamental both games. Dollarumma is just a distant memory now.
Who?
Masterclass by Pioli vs Spalleti.
3 games in 15 days vs one of the hottest teams in Europe this year and only 1 goal conceded that came in extra time in the 3rd game.
Helluva run by Leao on the goal.
Milan had the better chances throughout this game.
Kjaer and Tomori shut Osimhen out of the game, be did nothing until the end of the game.
Outstanding performance by Calabria.
Everyone was awesome. Pity for Giroud missing the penalty, but he never stopped working on the field.
Also very important our players kept their cool throughout the game and didn’t make any silly fouls that would get them suspended, so we are going full squad vs Benfica.
Benfica will beat inter on penalties tomorrow
Forza Milan
It really is phenomenal but it is a not a fluke and this is the level of these players..
Milan have been on an upwards trajectory since the end of the Covid lockdown in June 2020. We were in the top 2 teams in Serie A by form from June 2020 to January 2023 including top by form for the last 11 rounds in 19/20 and of course champions last seasons
And we’re now in the semi-finals of the champions league.
Who in 19/20 would’ve predicted that Milan would achieve all this?
And yet people regularly criticise the owners, the directors, the managers and the players, and are constantly looking for alternatives.
Constantly complaining that we’re not owned by some despot will trillions, constantly demanding a never ending supply of new trinkets for them to enjoy.
Is this what being a fan in 2023 is really like?
Let’s put a collective hands up and admit we don’t have a clue what we’re talking about and our opinions are not actually that important or insightful.
The thing that makes football and life interesting is how unpredictable it is.
Why Milan can currently keep clean sheets in the champions league and not in the league is anyone’s guess.
Why Milan can best Napoli consistently but not Salernitana is anyone’s guess.
As Ronan Keating (yes) once sang: “Life is a rollercoaster you’ve just got to ride it!”
Very nicely said indeed. The big picture is what you describe.
And yes sure, nothing will ever be perfect, things (transfers, sales, formations, tactics etc) could have been better in several occasions (mostly in the hindsight). But the overall picture shows a great progress.
When Calabria empties his pockets tonight he will take out his wallet, keys and Kvara!
It was a while ago i saw Calabria in this good form and i hope hee keeps it going until the end, we will need him if we are gonna stop Vini. Jr.
Great performance by the lads tonight! However i lost my shit when i saw Messias being subbed in and my gut feeling was correct, he left Calabria alone and lost his marker several times.
Well well, so fucking happy that we are back in the semifinals again
K R U N I C
He played really well 👍👍
Well deserved, the team played very well. I share the same sentiment with most of you here. Whenever, Pioli bring in CDK, Origi and or Rebic the team become really unbalanced. I am not sure about Diaz substitution, looked like he took a knock when he was walking off the pitch. The team really deserved a clean sheet, but it wasn’t meant to be, this might be the last goal we concede in the champs league.
Agree with most of the ratings except..
Maignan. Should be a 9. His contribution is equal to leao’s if not more important. Just because he is a GK he doesnt deserve to be underrated when his contributions are just as crucial for us as Any MOTM. If a GK saved a penalty and was flawless in a win, he should get the best rating! Just my opinion.
And Tonali. He doesnt deserve even 7. He was dead average. Average performances should not be glorified in my opinion. Saele Contributed better than tonali in 5 mins. But again, my opinion.
But besides that, good ratings Isak.
Forza Milan.
Agreed that ratings are a bit overhyped….
Great achievement to go past (no doubt!) against a very well-drilled team. This Napoli displays the best free-flowing, offensive, accurately passing game I have seen in the last few years or so.
Well done ACM to tame it; well deserved and such an achievement against all odds
Looking forward to the next one, yet our passing should be way better and more accurate to have any realistic chances no matter who we face
Where are all the Leao haters????? You know the ones who said sell sell sell – for like 40M and replace him with Noa Lang??? Hahahahahaha!!!!! Pls do us all a favor and just stop w the nonsensical hate and ENJOY having such a player that can change a game in an instant. There are only a handful of them in the world and thank god we have one. That is why you need to continue to play him even if he is frustrating at times. Now let’s pay him and lock him up for a few more seasons (then we can sell for big $$) and hopefully in that time Ownership can spend some fkn $$ and who knows with this core team we have a chance to win it all in a few years. Excellent team defending all around in a difficult environment. Mike is just fkn spectacular can only imagine where we would be in the table if he was healthy all season. Kajer a warrior. Calabria again (with Diaz excellent tracking back) shut Krava down. Congrats boys! Forza Milan!!!!!
You are absolutely right, Juro. Leão is a game-changer and this kind of player is very rare and of course also VERY expensive. And it is exactly in decisive moments matches that this become clear, the difference between an excellent player (Kvarasthelia) and a game-changer like Leão. Kvara can turn into a crackin’player, sure, but nowadays he still isn’t. Leão already is and we must have this in mind.
The ratings are maybe a little inflated, but come on, it’s a celebration day haha..
And kudos for Pioli too. The man is a master tactician. And to think there were fans who wanted him to be sacked… Stupid morons, and also unfair people.
Milan and Pioli is capable of these results when all of our 11 starters are fit, which has rarely happened in the Pioli era. Somehow, by some miracle, no one’s getting injured and here’s hoping it continues. One injury to Giroud, Leao, Theo or Mike and we are done.
Great team effort tonight from everyone, kudos to magic Mike and defenders, but as always, you won’t win in football unless you score, and that’s what Leao does, he creates goals ALL BY HIMSELF. He won us Serie A last season and sent us to semi final of CL this year, but let’s sell him for peanuts because he’s lazy. How about we bring back Hauge to replace him? 😂
The January downturn happened when we started getting players back from injury.
We were playing like champions with injuries until the last 5 minutes in the Roma game.
Can we please stop talking down the team?
How did I talk them down? I just talked them up!
Our depth is not good enough in attack. You think we’d be here celebrating if Origi and Rebic had started instead of Giroud and Leao? See the last two Serie A matches.
“One injury to Giroud, Leao, Theo or Mike and we are done.”
Origi and Rebic don’t just have a record of scoring goals but they have records of being match winners at the highest levels.
Rebic for a long time was performing more consistently and more clinically than Leao.
The reason for their struggles this season is a combination of injuries, and a lack of consistent playing time. The latter is a direct result of Pioli not rotating enough (and then resting 10 players at the same time).
Plus we would have beaten Bologna (even after resting 10 men) had the ball not bounced off Rebic’s face.
The thing I absolutely cannot stand is this constant “rating” of players like it’s some kind of computer game. Milan won multiple titles with the likes of Stefano Nava, Christian Brocchi and Marco Simone on the bench. Milan literally just won the title with Rebic being a key player.
The best way we could improve our squad is to cut it down in size from 30 to 23 and focus on a core of 16-17 who will play in every game barring injury. It really doesn’t matter who the players are as long as they play regularly in a clearly defined system.
Yes, Eden Hazard used be a cracking player too, once upon a time. Injuries and form do make a difference on the career of players and choices of clubs. The reality of a top club like Milan is that if you don’t perform for a long period, you will leave for a smaller side a new player will take your place. Football is crazy competitive that way. I know you don’t agree, but that’s just the way it is.
Throughout this season, whenever even one of those four players I mentioned were absent, we lost points.
Hey don’t go criticizing Marco Simone! I was a fan. 😀
“The best way we could improve our squad is to cut it down in size from 30 to 23 and focus on a core of 16-17 who will play in every game barring injury.”
I agree. Quality over quantity, please. You don’t need 3 good players for each spot – you need a few krunices and florenzis who can fill in when the 2 “good enough”-players aren’t available.
And by krunices and florenzis I mean players who can adapt to pretty much any position when asked as there are some people here who fail to understand anything unless spelling things out loud.
The ratings are not high. This was a UCL QF, not a Serie A match against Empoli.
An away UCL semi-final against one of the best teams in Europe this season.
I dont know why people are saying the ratings are high!!! They are low in my opinion. Everyone ran their socks off( maybe next year a better physical coach) leao just wow, world class, makes it look so easy. Ben great match, fought and covered a lot of ground. Krunic amazing as dm, put a lot of stops today. Kjaer a beast, his experience and heavy presence indefense is irreplaceable. Tomorrowi also did very very good. Unlucky on the pk. Maldini copycat calabria played absolutely fantastic these 3 matches. Theo like a boss on the left. Diaz great tracking back and contribution. Giroud, despite the misses, fought like crazy for everyball. Unlucky on the 2nd chance on the goal. Pioli put spalleti in his back pocket. Great performance by our lions. We played against perhaps one of the favorites to win it and we dominated them.
“How about we bring back Hauge to replace him? 😂”
I burst in laughter and almost spit my hot coffee all over me reading this 😂😂😂
Had to compose myself before posting. Haha.
What a great satisfaction it was, finally we’re in the semi finals of the CL again.
Still at loss of words! What a great work by everyone involved. This team, barring Mike/Theo/Leao/Giroud are probably nothing compared to the Milan side who won CL in the 2000s, but we’re allowed to dream, aren’t we!
The team that won in 02/03 were nothing until 02/03.
Milan were struggling since Baresi retired and apart from 99 had not won anything. Then suddenly a young midfield of Pirlo in a new role (who had struggled everywhere except Brescia) and Gattuso established themselves as greats.
The rest is history.
That team also had Dida in goal (who was awful), Simic, Kadladze, and even Rui Costa (who struggled after his record signing) with the likes of a Martin Laursen, Roque Júnior, Ambrosini, Serginho and Brocchi on the bench.
They were not all world beaters. It doesn’t take world beaters to make a great team. It takes a great team.
Your last statement is so profound and true look at $€ Chelsea and Galacticos era Real Madrid
But come on that 2003 squad was stacked as f 😂 only full backs are not hall of fame players..
Milan had un unbelievable team in 2003. You forget the World beater Shevchenko for one. Clarence Seedorf? Nests? Maldini? Come on. All household names already.
Dida was awful in his later years, but pretty decent otherwise.
I do see your point though. We could be talking about Maignan, Theo, Tonali and Leao in the same way in 10 years time. Unlikely, but only time will tell.
Maldini was already established as a great by then and Nesta and Shevchenko were at their peak but Seedorf (who had had a moments at Real) was struggling at Inter when Milan signed him.
I remember watching the first group game against Deportivo when Milan 4:0 and being blown away by how we completely dominated the game, and we then surprised Bayern.
This turnaround had come from nowhere after we’d struggled for years.
If this team gets to the final (which is now not entirely unrealistic) then we’ll be talking league winners and Champions League finalists. It doesn’t really get a higher level than that. At some point we actually have to start looking at reality rather than fantasising about some other players that are somehow more capable of winning titles or getting to Champions League finals.
Let’s go Inter tomorrow.
What could be better than a derby for the UCL semi finals?
KJAER,KRUNIC,MAIGNAN,LEAO,DIAZ are great players.I prayed that none of them wil get injured for the remaining champions league game.Tomori normally makes silly mistakes that can lead to penalty.kjear is a warrior!
had to get a nap after that match completely exhausted and drunk 😀 what a match and what a result. Just remember what i said before we drew tottenham, drawiing them and a favourable draw in regard of the iitalian teams could pave our way to the semis or further.
Then forget that i also said that we would be back in the serie a race when we reached mid to late february which clearly didnt happen 😀
Marvelous, even if we might not win the cl or maybe we will but i at the very minimum iexpects cardinale to open the floodgates in regard of our next transfer window compared to other years whcih will further propell us forward in our strive to conquer the world
We need to make top four or it’s all for nothing. It will be very complicated if Juve get their points back.
I pray your right Martin about Cardinale opening up his checkbook – but I unfortunately wouldn’t get my hopes up that high. This is not the business model Redbird has in place.
Milan Fan sure, but im pretty confident in them to reach that goal
Juro i would at least hope for 70-80 mil if we do qualify for cl and depending if we end up selling leao if a renewal cant be found, then more. but we will see but either way i do expect cardinale to give us a somewhat better transfer kit regardless this coming summer.
Bravo ragazzi!
A truly hard fought win.
Calabria was incredible!
As were Mike, Tomori, Kjaer, Theo, Krunic, Tonali, Bennacer, Leao, Giroud
I do hope we can return to controling games a bit more like v Atalanta or League game v Napoli.
We really had to suffer last night.
Saying that we deserved to go through. With a 6-1 advantage against napoli over 3 games. Comprehensive.
I do think Napoli had nothing go their way in either leg and lost many players. Kudos to them for playing so well regardless.
Think Spaletti should be proud of his team and be quiet now!
We don’t have the depth of squad Napoli has, so hopefully we can continue to progress on both fronts and represent serie A with quality and class.
Forza Milan
p.s Gerry get your thumb out and invest in this team or we’ll get you out!
Isak Möller,can you please tell me your background?I mean you rate this players as a Milan fan,a copywriter or do you have some football related background?Im asking because I can’t figure it out if your articles are worth to be followed or not as some “grades” seems to me to be a bit off …Thanks
Crickets from the Leao haters LOL…why are we not surprised??? We all know who you are. Biggest win in a decade and those sad fools are dead silent. I guess it’s as they say: silence speaks louder than words. And they claim to be Milan fans??? Ahhh….we must be living in their heads! Hahahaha!
No different from when you are nowhere to be found when Leao doesn’t impact a game. Leao had a great quarter-final Juro, for sure. He, along with Maignan and possibly Calabria, was fundamental. And I will say yet again, that I don’t think anyone is or can be a “Leao hater”. People just expect more consistency from someone demanding EPL wages. HIS TALENT IS NOT IN DOUBT. It’s great when he shows up for CL knockouts or the Juventus games, but we need him for the Salernitanas, Udineses and Empolis too. We’re at serious risk of not even being in the CL next season. Nevertheless, enjoy yourself, since you seem to live to drag people with different opinions than you and only when convenient.
Hahahahahaha. I criticize when it’s warranted and I have criticized Leao in the past and said he needs more consistency. But that has nothing to do with the decision to protect your investment. BTW – Leao ISN’T demanding EPL wages – so get your facts straight. He’s demanding to be paid as one of the top earners in Italy, which he should. When he asks for EPL wages then we of course have to sell. As I have always said sign THEN SELL in a few years. He has been making1.5M for the past 3 seasons so I would say for the past few seasons we had him at such a bargain another 3 year extension at 7M/year is 24M total over 5 years – which is less than 5M a season and your complaining??? LOL. And for the record Leao always “impacts” a game – which shows how little you know of the game itself – just because he doesn’t score doesn’t mean he’s not impactful – he draws minimum of two players each time which frees up others. Which is why Pioli starts him every game – because even when he’s not scoring he still “impacts” the game. Every professional ex-football commentator says the same – but ya we should believe you LMAO. Stick to complaining about not having enough Italians in the squad mate. The rest of us will just enjoy the team, the win and look beyond the constant haters. Cheers kid
“The rest of us will just enjoy the team, the win and look beyond the constant haters.”
Yet you had to write a long story to bash all the “Leao-haters”. Look beyond. LOL. 😀 😀 😀 😀
“No different from when you are nowhere to be found when Leao doesn’t impact a game. ”
Exactly.
Hahahahahaha!!! There he is! The man who said to sell Leao for 40M lol. The all time top goal scorer of the co-ed under 7 church league – @bb! Where have you been donkey?!? Not surprisingly your first comment is not to praise the team on a great victory and progress to the next round on CL – but to stew in your misery lol. Pathetic! What happened son, did they cancel your paper route? Poor little boy that’s ok. Send me your address. I will send you a few nickels to get you by. Hahahahahaha. God bless!
Bro, you just can’t deal with the fact that this club has a budget. Doesn’t matter if Leao is the second coming of Maradona or Jesus Christ, there is a limit, and it doesn’t seem like they’re going to surpass it. Just get that through your thick skull “mate”. Do I have to repeat that I’m not against Leao? Don’t you think I want the club full of Leaos, and Mpabbes and Haalands? But this isn’t Fifa or FM. Also, using “HAHAHAHAHA” and calling people donkeys is not effective argumentation and suggests a profound lack of maturity. Your arguments would be much more persuasive if you actually knew how to articulate them. Oh and yes, he’s is asking for just about the average salary paid by the top clubs in the EPL😉:
statista.com/statistics/547090/average-annual-first-team-player-salary-in-football-clubs-english-premier-league-uk/
Actually I’m on a roadtrip from Nice to Andorra so I don’t have the time to argue with some teenager trapped in his/her parents’ basement.
But glad you’re enjoying yourself. I’m enjoying my 2 week vacation and Milan’s semi-final spot. 🙂
PS. Say hi to your mom from me.