AC Milan never got their miracle but at least managed to beat Newcastle by two goals to one at St. James’ Park, securing their spot in the Europa League. Below are the player ratings for the Rossoneri, with the substitutes shining.
Starting XI
Maignan (7): He made an incredible save at 1-1 and that ultimately helped Milan secure all three points in the end. On the first goal, there wasn’t much he could do and he was also solid when coming out tonight.
Calabria (6): It was a shaky start from the captain, we all saw that, and he was far from brilliant on the ball in the first half. However, he recovered slightly in the second half and actually ended up making some decisive 1v1 interventions.
Tomori (6.5): A solid game from the Englishman at the back, throughout the match really, but his rating is heavily affected by the missed chance at the end. You just need to score that. He did, however, make a crucial goal-line clearance at the very start.
Hernandez (6): It’s hard to blame any of the centre-backs on the first goal, but perhaps the Frenchman could have done better there. He recovered and did well in the second half, but he also had a big chance missed at the death.
Florenzi (5.5): He wasn’t good enough on the ball tonight and often found himself in rather strange positions. You could argue that he was decent in the second half, but we need to consider the entire game.
Musah (6): The American looked a bit lost in the first half, struggling to perform in both phases of the game. However, he was involved in the build-up to the first goal and had a few decent sequences. It cannot be considered more than average, though.
Reijnders (6): He’s clearly very comfortable on the ball and he had some wonderful moments on the pitch tonight, with smart movement. However, he also had a few rather poor actions in which he didn’t pass in time.
Pulisic (6.5): He got the goal, the crucial equaliser, but struggled quite a lot aside from that. Given just how important that strike was at that time, he gets a slightly bumped rating here. But it could have been a 6 for him too.
Loftus-Cheek (5): The Englishman won a few battles tonight, making his way forward with his trademark runs. However, the end product was severely lacking and you would expect a lot more from a player like him.
Leao (5.5): The winger did well to help create the first goal but he wasn’t all that convincing in the 1v1s tonight, and also missed a huge chance at 1-1. If we consider just how good and important he is for the team, the rating is justified.
Giroud (5.5): He managed to get an assist tonight, which was nice, but overall he struggled with the duels and didn’t really have an impact on the game either.
Substitutes
Pobega (6): It was pretty obvious what Pioli wanted from him and he got it. Lots of battling and a good amount of duels won tonight.
Jovic (6): He continued his good form, as he was comfortable on the ball and also pivotal in the build-up to the second goal. Nice to see, but he had a chance he maybe should have put away too.
Okafor (6.5): It was a lovely run to start the attack for the second goal and he made the right decision to lay it off to Chukwueze. That’s exactly what we want to see from him.
Chukwueze (7 – MOTM): What a finish! That was some way to respond to the recent criticism. He needs to continue like this, and the MOTM title is certainly justified after such a winner.
Bartesaghi (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating.
