AC Milan completed an incredible turnaround in the second half to beat city rivals Inter and thus keep the Scudetto race alive. Mike Maignan and Olivier Giroud were the big heroes and down below are the player ratings.
Starting XI
Maignan (8 – MOTM): An incredible performance from Maignan who seemed to be determined to keep his team in the game. Despite conceding a goal, he can keep his head up as he was by far the best Milan player on the pitch.
Calabria (6.5): A disappointing performance from the right-back who gave up so many balls and was often overwhelmed in defence in the first half. However, the defender managed to turn things around in the second half, delivering an assist to Giroud on the second goal.
Kalulu (6.5): Not a bad game from the youngster who looked sharp from time to time. His calmness and high pressing in the second half was crucial in keeping the opposition away from his goalkeeper
Romagnoli (6.5): Solid for most of the game but too reckless at times. The captain has had far better games, however, his display tonight was good enough for his team to have some solidity in defence for a good part of the game.
Hernandez (6): The left-back struggled to push forward as he focused more on his defensive duties. The biggest problem with his performance was that he was overtaken too often by his man. Not a performance to remember, also a red card in the end.
Bennacer (6): A quiet performance from Bennacer who failed to impose himself in a very crowded midfield. At times, though, he showed some good initiatives in defence, helping recover the ball in crucial parts of the pitch.
Tonali (7): A typical performance from the extremely talented Sandro Tonali in a game that turned out to be tough to handle for his team. He was everywhere on the pitch and even came close to putting the ball in the net a couple of times. Yet another imposing performance from the young midfielder.
Saelaemakers (4): A chaotic night for the winger who looked completely out of his depth. Slow in attack and completely non-existent in defence. More of a liability than an asset to his teammates.
Kessie (5): A very passive display from the midfielder who looked uninterested most of the time.
Leao (6): The young winger was unfortunately taken out of the game by the opposition as he failed to create any threat for most of the game. However, he did look solid in the build-up and helped create space for his teammates.
Giroud (7.5): While quiet and clumsy for the majority of the game, Giroud showed up when his team needed him the most, scoring a brace in the second half to allow Milan to come back from behind.
Substitutes
Messias (6.5): A very intense and dedicated performance from Messias who showed a lot of grit after coming on in the second half. His constant pressing particularly allowed Milan to get behind the ball and regain possession.
Diaz (7): An heroic display from Brahim Diaz who brought much-needed technicality, agility and quickness to his team.
Krunic: N/A
READ MORE – Inter 1-2 AC Milan: Giroud stuns league leaders with brace in three minutes
Bro Rafa ran all game, I love this kid. Great game from the lads
Holy hell!! Forza Milan!!!! 😍
The odds were stacked against Us. There was no way Milan was going to win this one. We didn’t have the firepower to match Inter’s form.
Giroud took the initiative and converted the deflection, and he rolled back the years to beat a complacent De Vrij for the winner. Nice work 👍🏼!!
We lack the touches and spirit in the first half, but Pioli fired the boys up in the locker room during the break, and we saw a different Milan in the second half, fighting for every ball and taking the ball forward, that was refreshing to watch. Brahim came on with the reinvigorated spirit, and won important fouls in the opponent half that gave us some presence in the attack, that’s what Kessie failed to do. Great choice by Pioli.
Dumfries was a thorn in Theo’s and Leao’s flesh. He pegged them back and his presence limited our attack from the left. Messiahs didn’t fight for the balls on the right just like his friend Salemeekers being his usual absent self. Tonali did well, though Bennacer’s poor ball control in the first half limited genius of our double pivot.
Our defence struggled in the first half, trying to peg back Inter’s attack, with Romagnoli playing high in defence, that was really tense to watch, and at some point I felt he was going to lose the ball for inter to counter. Maignan showed up today, instinctively sharp, making some brilliant saves. Donna is hardly missed.
Theo’s late Red card was taking one for the team, I haven’t seen such a Tactical foul in Serie A for a long time. The man was a card away from suspension, and he was probably tended waking a tight rope, he was fed up with the nuisance of Dumfries, and nothing was going to get in his way of giving up a precious Milan win. In the middle a game like this, that probably would have been a Yellow card, but well, it was a heated point in the game.
We had some good fortune today, and I’ll definitely take it. It’s not everyday things go your way in Serie A. Let’s enjoy the win boys. The road ahead is long and hard. Forza Milano!!!
Theo Hernandez’s foul is an insta-red in any part of the game.
That’s not correct bro, he tweaked the defenders legs from behind. It wasn’t a dangerous tackle. He didn’t have his studs up, and he didn’t stamp on the players legs. In a normal game time, he’ll be given a yellow card. Don’t get carried away with the dynamics like referee did with the time wasting and the heated emotions at that time in the game.
Yep. Definitely a yellow but a red? No way. Especially after Dumfries made two fouls in one second just before the tackle.
Clever move by Theo. Much appreciated.
Shut up!!!!!!! Don’t you know what is tactical foul, afterall Dumfries fouled both theo and tonali but the refferee was adamant till Theo made he tackle…Milan should apeal for that, it’s a technical foul and noting more.
No. This is a blatant red card for a sliding tackle from behind, with no intention of hitting the ball.
Before typing on the keyboard, first learn some manners & once you do that, learn football rules as well.
Brilliant game from the guys…only one guy looked like he doesn’t want to be here anymore….and it’s time to stop playing him seeing that he wants to go. His name doesn’t deserve to mentioned. And he can take Saelemaekers with him. #ForzaMilan
🤣 true
No, Cashie can leave but not Saelemakers. The young lad had a bad day. Next match he will be better.
Terrible performance by Saelemaekers. At this point probably the most useless player in the squad. Give Samu a chance…
Also Bennacer was much better than yku give him credit for. One of the few guys playing with intensity all game.
Castillejo already wasted his chance. He doesn’t want to play football either by rejecting CSKA Moscow & Sampdoria.
Samu should never play a single minute again. How can he reject a move to Sampdoria when it was a loan? He would still come back at the end of the season, but he blatantly refused.
I thought Bennacer was great, nothing flashy but really came alive in the second half and freed up Tonali and unlocked the midfield.
Saelemaekers is totally out of form. Maybe needs a sit for a while to figure himself out. They way he played today was reminiscent of Samu.
Bennacer was quality assured and composed and transitioned out of defence really well. Defo more deserving of a higher score.
Let all ac milan fans give thanks to Chelsea for taking away lukaku and giving us Giroud
this!
if that boy still around,def gonna hammer us
Change maignan’s rating to a 10. In a game like this I’ve never seen a goalkeeper more involved. He so reminded me of neuer with not only being a goalkeeper, but a defender and going face to face with the players… Something I’ve never seen from Donnarumma. Congrats to Milan!! Honorable mentions to maignan tonali and Diaz! Leave Kessie, we don’t need you anymore.
Great to see Tonali and Bennacer start in midfield which would be our actual pairing next season. Kessie can be dropped to the bench now that we have only half season left and we can’t risk playing him as he can’t be committed anymore he would be playing for someone else next season. Diaz was great. Giroud was phenomenal
Both Bennacer and Tonali played a great game. Kessie is not a number 10. The attack got more creative once Diaz was in. Diaz just needs to be stronger physically. He falls down way too easily.
Brahim stepped up when we needed it. Bennacer good defense. Tonali amazing as always. Giroud thats why we have him! And omg maignan, he had the game of his life! Way to bounce back. What a way to show we are still in this fight!!!
Well said @keo… Milan show we the fans today why they are Milan , MAIGNAN 🖤❤️🙌🏼 best in the world… calhanoglu, donnaruma and kessie you can go to hell for all I care . Milan will always be Milan .. FORZA MILAN…!!!!!
Let’s keep it in perspective and Milan had an extra player on the sideline……… his name is Inzaghi.
The Inter manager was decisive when taking off the No.10 and Brosovic
Pioli on the other hand should give himself an upper cut, and his days at Milan are coming to an end. Playing Kessie at No.10 what a joke!
Stay tuned Milan it gets better
Stop talking nonsense. Pioli’s reign will last longer than Ancelotti’s.
Please! Next time don’t mention Pioli’s name next to Don Carlo, until Pioli wins something. Ancelotti is a legend both as a player and manager.
Pioli is growing and I hope he stops being scared as a tactician. He can become great too.
Meanwhile, let’s not spoil tonight. Congratulations to Pioli and the boys. Forza Milan!
Please? Look at Milan’s ‘s roster from back in the day and compare to nowadays.
With the team Ancelotti had in his possession he supposed to have won Scudetto every & each year whilst he did it only once in 2004. That is a pretty modest statistic, if not disappointing.
At the very least Pioli is capable of making substitutions other than on 90’th minute.
the ‘risk’ was calculated, one stone for both Kessie and Diaz.. that swap literally changed the game. Diaz played tonight lot better than previous games and Kessie knows now the team can do without him.
interesting was the word ‘uninterested’ up on the article though.
Just here to sing praises of Kalulu again! That young man is for the future. Solid CB performance against Inter. We must keep guys like him.
The only thing that bothered me after the game was the fact that they didn’t show Calhanoglu or Inter’s crybaby Barella. I would have looooooooooooooved to see their faces after the sweeeeeet victory.
Calhanoglu: once a loser, always a loser.
INTER WHO?????????!??
Didn’t see d game, but kudos to d guys. This opens up d race for d scudetto. Nice one.
Hi, Milan plays Napoli first week next month, please dont watch it too.
Mike was 12 out of 10. Absolute monster. I’m a pasty white straight dude and i want to have his babies. Amazing.
Isma deserves higher rating, he was a joy to watch, Tonali and him bullied poor Inter like it was nobody’s business.
Kessie… From a tactical point of view, I mean if Pioli wanted Inter to think we’re completely disorganized and our offence cut off, then yeah Kessie was a perfect choice. He was absolutely abysmal. This might fly as a genuine tactics against relegation fodder, but let’s not do that in a derby match again. Kessie is already someone elses player imo.
Alexis, my expectations were low, but god damn. Actually worse than Kessie. Messias was a tad better, but still one dimensional. Wasn’t really a danger to their goal, either he is still looking for his form, or… he may never find it.
Giro… drove me insane the entire match. I was screaming at the top of my lounges for Pioli to substitute him and put Lazetic in. But boy is he a class of his own. Good player Is always there and helps his team, a great one turns the tide when everyone else around him is s*it. He still has that spark.
Leao sadli didn’t have too much room nor did he get too many useful balls tbh. I knew Inter was gonna put a lock on that side so no big surprise there.
Entire defense solid, though Mike was there to cover for them so he probably gave them a big confidence boost and he did pick up after them so a very decent performance.
It’s amasing to see Milan won without Ibra, Kjaer, Rebic and Tomori, and also less contribution from Kessie. We can see the Milan real core for next season like Maignan, Tonali, etc. I think Milan will be okay without Kessie and even Ibra as first striker (still can be in the team as 3rd choise). In the development of Kalulu and Gabbia, I think Milan only need to add Botman next summer, event in the leave of Romagnoli. The return of Pobega and Adli, also the acquisition of Sanches, it would be enough to forget Kessie to have a stronger midfield next season. In front, the addition of a better right wing and young-experienced striker like Noa Lang and Isac or David would guaratee a sharper front line.
Giroud is _________
A) Phenomenal
B) Phenomenal
C) Phenomenal
Giroud is a beast inside the box. The moment Kessie was off, Giroud started receiving these deliveries and he delivered on them. Maignan is an overall upgrade over Donnarumma. In 2 fixtures, Inter have managed only 2 goals both coming in set pieces. Diaz looks to be gaining back his pre COVID form. We have a solid midfield now, hoping Tonali and Bennacer start more often together. Kessie can watch his last few games from the stand. One thing is clear, we need a RW, a young striker and a CAM who can alternate with Diaz as we are not sure if Real Madrid will let us permanently sign Diaz.
I would like to leave a note of appreciation for this website.
I was just over on sempreinter’s and the amount of ads is horrible (overall design and layout is bad).
Keep up the good work.
What happen with Saelemaekers? It’s okay for Kessie, since his mind has been in somewhere and plays Bennacer more than him in the rest of the season.
Next week will be vs Sampdoria, while Inter in away for Napoli. We hope Napoli will draw this week and win or draw next week, then Milan will in the top.
Saele. overmatched by the stronger Perisic, Messias showed his toughness today, Diaz showed up working to the middle where he should . There was a lot of energy burned up on the field today, and congrates to Pioli for making a bold and EARLY change, game evolved offensively from that point on . Leao and Theo sucumbed to great defense…..Taking out Brozovic and Perisic was a mistake, they were in a groove. Tonali took some great shots …..and for once we moved away from the “header” mentality to shooting more narrower angle direct shots, the rebounds and deflections play into our hands with our smaller line up of Diaz and Messias. Giroud (with his feet) and Maignan (Domma who ?) really really happy for Giro no more an “outsider”, won the game for us. Refs helped us a little as well. Pioli should get some credit as well for changing stategy regarding corner kicks, their backs were just to tall and strong for us…. last 15 minutes was an eternity. In retrospect, THE game might have been too big for some, indifferent for one or two, and a podium for others regardless, we will be much better, Scudetto is now withing reach. Viva Milano
additionally next Serie A game for Inter is Napoli, a must win for the Gli Azzurri as well. Back to the game, I commend Pioli even with a great header such as Giroud for at least mixing it up with our corner kicks.
Meh ratings. Some accurate, others quite wrong. Romagnoli was excellent and super driven tonight. Hate him because of the contract but he was rock solid today. Kessie was bad, Saelemaekers bad, Theo and Calabria meh but Calabria got a lot better in the second half and really showed his quality later on. Giroud was asleep until he became an instant legend. Tonali and Maignan were amazing 👍
Giroud scored a brace. With his bad touch, bad pass, and just running around cluelessly. But scored a brace is what matter, Pippo never had a good pass, a good touch, but scoring is all that matter for #9 striker. No matter how bad you played, if you scored goal, we will forget.
Grande #9
Giroud’s work is not passing, touching, or running. His work is to find the right spot to score. That’s not his fault that other guys couldn’t deliver the ball properly. Once delivered he did his job perfect.. Twice.
Giroud didn’t get much ball all game,
Leao played really well when he got the ball, but he didn’t get much ball, I think Dumfries, perisic, and brozovic were inters best players. Kessie did not quite seem to understand how much inter wanted to get brozovic on the ball, and he wasn’t good going forward. Perisic got to do whatever he wanted to in the first half because saelamakers really was terrible, and Calabria was off, Dumfries was incredible, the offside was lucky. Bennacer wasn’t great in the first half, but he was godly in the second, tonali was just tonali, messias had a much better game than normal, Diaz was good again, and that resulted in a very different game.
Brahim Diaz is getting back on form… This was aajpr improvement in his performance against Juve
Kessie should know that Milan can do without him.
Congratulations to Pioli for the substitutions. Elliott should now know the importance of quality depth in the team.. we need a few reinforcement for more quality performance next season.
Brahim Diaz is getting back on form… This was a major improvement in his performance against Juve
Kessie should know that Milan can do without him.
Congratulations to Pioli for the substitutions. Elliott should now know the importance of quality depth in the team.. we need a few reinforcement for more quality performance next season.
I have to give my comments on some of Milan’s players.
1- Theo, should be sold while he is expensive, the guys is not good defensively and makes a lot of mistakes. By someone with 30M with solid performance or deploy Florenzi in the left.
2- Florenzi, they should keep him, he is very solid defensively. He would make a great backup to Calabria.
3- Kessie, Krunic, Samu, Saelemaeker, Romanglioli should leave. They don’t have the quality.
4- Sign Dybala and Zaniolo, to be starters and back them up by Diaz/Maldini and Messias respectively.
5- Finally give more chances to Milan’s youngsters. These guys will grow up monsters.
What does that guy F Kassi still doing in Milan,pls maldini send him out he has nothing to offer that’s my take Tanx forza milan fooorzzzzzzaa
Forza milan, what a happy moment for us, this is an important point for us, maignan, Giroud, kalulu, the, calabria, and the two super substitute messiah & Diaz. The coach is also superb. Forza milan
We had a bad first half tactically which has made bennacer/tonali not doing much with Kessie absolutely waste.
Romagnoli/kalulu had a good game, Bennacer/tonali should be the starting pair for double pivot, also Bennacer should be trained trained to increase his muscle, he is falling down easily sometimes against big midfielders.
Maignan is excellent all over the match, he can only improve, I think he is already a best goal keeper in Serie A and a future starter for France national team after Hugo lloris.
Giroud, Diaz has done well. Theo, Calabria, Leao, Messias has done reasonably good.
Congratulations to Pioli on winning the Derby which is not just a 3point match.
It’s a good weekend for Milan Fans
Sempre Milan
Forza Milan 💪💪💪💪💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤
How only 6 for Bennacer!??!!?! Ridiculous. He made 2 fantastic tackles early 2nd half — one just outside the box stopping a dangerous Inter attack and one in our attacking third where he then passed to Tonali who had a good effort on goal.
then 56:10 mark, he anticipated and intercepted a pass headed to Dzeko in a dangerous area.
then 62:25, he took the ball off of Barella, great tackle.
and again 69:55 another fantastic tackle.
He keeps winning possession for us, stops opposing attacks and when he gets the ball, he is solid in possession shielding the ball and making good accurate passes. He deserves a ton of credit and after Maignan and Giroud, I think he was 3rd most important player for us in the derby.