AC Milan managed to defend their 1-0 aggregate lead in London tonight and thus knocked out Tottenham of the Champions League, securing their spot in the quarters. Down below are the player ratings for the Rossoneri.
Starting XI
Maignan (7.5 – MOTM): What. A. Save. It would have been a disaster for Milan to concede that late and the Frenchman really saved them. He was great with his feet as well and commanded the aerial space.
Kalulu (7): A calm performance on the big stage from the youngster, who had no issues with Son on the right flank. He wasn’t afraid to move forward either when needed and Pioli can have no complaints.
Thiaw (7): He redeemed himself after the misstep against Fiorentina, more bold this time out with a few good long balls and a sense of calm in possession. Won quite a few duels as well.
Tomori (7.5): A lot was written about him before the game, given his previous club, and he really responded well. He was the leader in defence and allowed Theo to push forward a lot.
Messias (5.5): His positioning wasn’t too bad this evening but he had one big chance that he needed to at least get on target. Maybe he could have done something if it hadn’t been for the injury, but the sub was looming anyway.
Krunic (6): He had a tough start to the game and especially one moment comes to mind, when he lost the ball even though it looked like he was in complete control. Improved as the game went on and was important defensively.
Tonali (6): A lot of running from the midfielder this evening, covering a lot of space and making life difficult for Tottenham. He could have been a bit more effective on the ball, though.
Hernandez (7): He really was Theo ‘TGV’ Hernandez this evening, returning to his usual level of performance. He was great in defence but also helped Milan in attack, making sure Romero got sent off as well.
Diaz (7.5): He was by far Milan’s best player in the first 60 minutes or so. He was involved in everything created in attack and his movement gave the defenders, and midfielders, someone to pass with and break the press. He had one good shot saved and another that he should have hit first time. But kudos.
Giroud (5.5): He won many duels at the star of the game and was important in that sense but he failed too much in the build-up play after that.
Leao (6): It’s a tough one because he does create a lot for Milan, but it seems like this isn’t really his best position. In any case, his ability to kill time was important in the end.
Substitutes
Saelemaekers (6): Decent off the bench with several interceptions and some skills when moving forward.
Bennacer (6): He was probably instructed to calm things down but he could have pushed a little more at times.
Origi (5.5): Did well to sniff out a couple of chances but missed a great one, hitting the post from close range.
Rebic (N/A): He didn’t play enough to get a rating.
Congratulations boys!!
Mike Maignan, we miss you so bad
It’s TGV (train a grande vitesse) not TVG…
😜
Opps! I was too excited when I wrote this 😂
Tonali worked his legs off, he should get much needed rest, can someone explain what Krunic brought to this game cus he seemed invincible throughout.
We are down to our old self wasting chances upon chances, this game could have easily be 3-0 but our frontline can’t convert chances to save themselves.
Giroud, dude can’t seem to hold play, is always bullied off the ball even the little Briam has more holdup play.
It’s a good thing Messias is injured now cus WTF is he playing?
Overall, the defense, Tonali, Theo and Magic Mike gave us the win I don’t know what others were doing on the pitch especially Leao.
I had to read through your comment and then conclude that, you either don’t watch football regularly or just outrightly bias
Krunic controlled the Midfield.
Leao made critical runs and pulled a lot of fouls, yet he was played off position
Yea this guys does not know that how players play off the ball is as important when they’re on the ball. Krunic was a beast, calm and composed.
You’re right, I think he didn’t watch the match. Krunic was spectacular
Krunic was not spectacular, wtf. He was bang average. Everyone else was great, even Tonali, who I hate.
Right- the plan was to take the air out of the ball, so the match should be viewed through that prism, not whether anyone managed to create chances. In that respect, the performance was a master-class by the back seven. You can bemoan not taking the chances they had- I’m looking at you, Messias and Origi- but a goal was never needed.
Krunic was our unsung hero breaking up play especially in the second half and leao aside from Diaz was our major threat upfront
kind of funny when people are mad about making ucl qf after like 12 years.
Let’s be fair, krunic was crap first half lost the ball twice and was our weakest link. Did u guys even watch the game? Second half, agreed, his defense was important and he played a little better, but for u guys to be saying he controlled the midfield and a beast lol u guys make me sad
Very funny guys. Krunic was s*** for large parts of the game and only became better in the last 15 mins of the game.
Milan isn’t at it’s best.. but now is not the time to criticize. It’s time to celebrate mate. But Krunic did his job.. and that is to not allow spurs to attack freely with unrelenting press/runs. Nothing else was required nor expected of him.
Awesome performance by Milan.
So glad that Pioli came to play football instead of just defend the result. Milan played mostly in the Tottenham half.
Maignan and defense was awesome.
Midfielders control the tempo.
Attackers can’t shoot to save their lives.
Brahim was the best IMO he was involved in everything we did going forward, he does need to learn to shoot and release the ball faster.
I never want to hear Conte name connected to Milan. Unless he has the best team in the league he can’t win anything.
His team did nothing over 180 minutes vs Milan and he gets paid over 10 mil a year. Plus his teams play awful football.
As long we don’t get Bayern, ManCity and R. Madrid we got chance against the rest of the teams. Hopefully we get Napoli
Are you out of your mind? Napoli are practically unbeatable. Lazio game, if you watched it, was a 1 in 100 game. Everything aligned for them.
I’d take Inter/Porto or Benfica over them. We might have a better chance against Chelsea, too.
Napoli is not unbeatable. We usually dominate them when we play against each other. They got lucky in the 1st game this season. We missed about 10 chances and they scored on a penalty and 1 shot.
I don’t want Inter because over the last 4,5 years they are always dominating us even though on few occasions we got a positive results. The only derby over the last several years that we were actually the better than inter was this years 1st derby when Milan won 3-2.
Every other gane they were way better than us.
Napoli is a better match up for Milan than Inter. In the knock out stages of UCL its all about match ups .
I agree about the first leg, we were the better side but they have come a long way since then while we regressed. If we manage to improve massively from now until then, specially when dealing with the high press, then sure we have a chance. Otherwise I’m afraid we’re going to get spanked by any high pressing side.
We are more evenly matched with Napoli outside of the striker position, but Milan has the defenders to neutralize Osimhen because of their speed. He has done nothing vs Milan in his 3 years at Napoli. The rest of the line up is equally matched with Milan having advantages at left back with Theo.
Inter first need to go thru vs Porto.
And you say Napoli has improved since the 1st game, but don’t forget that Inter embarrassed us twice in 10 days just few weeks ago.
Between Napoli and Inter give me Napoli and Milan will go thru. In UCL they won’t play with 20 points advantage
Some of your arguments make sense, but those two Inter matches came at the worst possible time for us. I think we will have our chances vs Inter, specially with the new formation. We’ve won against all the opponents we mirrored (3 at the back) after Inter, and that 1-0 loss to Inter was the first match with 3 at the back for us. Pioli made a mistake when setting up the attack for that match, benching Leao and going with Origi and Giroud. They dominated but only scored on a corner. The next match, if it happens, won’t be like that. Never mind us, Inter are trailing Napoli by 15 points for a reason, too.
Don’t look at the serie A table.
And when u say inter games came in the worst possible time. That’s why I said at the beginning, over the last 3,4 years we play much better vs Napoli and Inter plays much better vs us. Also inter beat Napoli in their game.
It’s about the match up. Serie A tandings and points mean nothing in UCL knockout stages
I get what you’re saying, but I think we have a better chance against a side who sits back or take a mid-block approach instead of agressive high-press, like Napoli.
It’s in our DNA. I think Napoli would be good. Everyone’s saying they have a good chance but if we done them the belief going into the semis would be like the last 6 matches last season and from the semis anything can happen. I was there last night and despite the highlights favouring spurs we were composed and in control for most of it. Wasteful up front again and this is where we fall short.
Inter or Napoli it doesn’t matter, we know both and we know that we can beat both, but don’t pencil inter in yet. Porto will still uave their say.
Either is better than drawing Bayern , ManCity or RMadrid.
Wouldn’t mind Chelsea either but I think slowly but surely they are getting better, and Benfica can get wild ,especially in Lisbon.
@Milanfan, He’s not out of his mind😂😂😂😂 I’d want a revenge against Chelsea or any other team except Bayern
Napoli are not that good we dominated them in 1 match this year they literally got 2 shoot on target vs our 11 but because we can’t score to save our lives they somehow beat us. This year they didn’t play any good teams so far in CL and they look so good because this year Serie A is on a diferent level of shit Juve with 15 points deduction will get top 4 that tells you all you need to know about our league at the moment.
Tomori is player of the match
But when you see maignan saves, I agree with sempremilan
Great!!! Kudo´s to Pioli for his bravery in this game
A 6 for Krunic and Tonali?! I thought they were great tonight. Thiaw is amazing, Diaz is making a strong case for staying, and Magic Mike showed how vital he is to the team. We need to improve a lot in the final third but the boys had the right mentality and were great defensively. First UCL Quarter Final since 2012!
Krunic was our unsung hero breaking up play especially in the second half and leao aside from Diaz was our major threat upfront
Great win. I thought we’d have lost with that atmosphere Spurs have but thank goodness for Conte’s anti football. Was really surprised to see Spurs play a conventional counter attack setup meaning we got the ball at the start and then we built from there.
Giroud as an attacker, maybe a 5 or 6 sure. But as a defender 10/10. Holy he was integral dropping back esp in the first half and creating superior numbers in the middle with Leao waiting for the counter passes. The double pivot was very mobile. 6 for Krunic and Tonali? Come on now. Tonali may have been the runner but Krunic was absolutely spectacular in terms of positioning and tactical awareness. He was critical in the midfield and is such an underated player for Milan. Thiaw literally schackled Kane out of the game so much so Conte put Kane on the other side in the second half 😂. Huge huge game for him. I would say Thiaw or Giruod for work rate for motm but man did Maignan save us.. literally!
“Giroud as an attacker, maybe a 5 or 6 sure. But as a defender 10/10. Holy he was integral dropping back esp in the first half and creating superior numbers in the middle with Leao waiting for the counter passes. ”
Agree 100%. It is interesting to see so many criticize him for being ineffective offensively but given the effort Giroud put in on the press to free up Leao for the counter, it was bound to affect him in front of goal. He was critical for Milan’s defensive performance tonight.
Yessss!!! glad someone saw it too. He dropped back to help keep that 1-0 lead. The tactical battle was absorbing to watch
Good point about Giroud dropping back.
My main criticism of him is for someone with his experience and physique his hold play is really poor and he loses the ball way too much. He did a bit better tonight but we really do lose the ball too much with him which creates problems with better teams.
Great effort and Great win by the players. Diaz was great, and he deserves more credit here. Anyone who still crircizes him and says CDK should be playing instead just looks foolish at this point. Tonali is the team’s weak link now and I don’t understand why Pioli starts him every game. Yes, he runs hard but so what. That’s not enough, and he is terrible on the ball and constantly kicking it back to the other team. Finally’ Milan are going to have to be better at finishing as they have wasted many chances in these two games. I really wish Pioli would have put Ibra on the roster. He would’ve come in and finished this game off.
I don’t think you understand how important it is to run for two players, specially when you have a player like Leao in the team. By your logic Gattuso should never have played for the great Milan of the past. He was the crucial player in that setup, running for two to cover Pirlo’s lazy ass and let him do his magic. Now Tonali might not be quite as aggressive but he has far more skill than Gattuso.
A box to box midfielder who runs around like that all over the pitch is crucial. He’s a nuisance for the other team.
And I’m pretty sure he had over 90% pass accuracy this match. What are you talking about him kicking the ball back to other team? Also, his great long pass over the top for Giroud comes to mind.
Don’t judge players based on your former opinion of them. I hate Diaz but I admit he was great out there tonight. Far better than the rest of our attackers.
Stop pulling random numbers out of your arse. Tonali is one of the worst passers on the team , and there are a lot of bad passers on this team. What are these skills you speak of? I’m waiting to see them. I appreciate the effort but that;s just not enough. The team needs more. What Tonali does best is pick up yellow cards. It’s time for a change.
Milan fan is right. Tonali made 50 out of 54 passes or 93 percent pass accuracy for the match. Maybe you’re thinking about a few of the Serie A games he’s played
Yeah, back to the goalie or back to the defenders. Try going forward.
How many of those were back to the goalie or to the defenders?
I just checked. He had well over 90% pass accuracy. I thought it was obvious throughout the match. Maybe you need to pay more attention?
And I said he has more skills THAN Gattuso. For one, he’s a good passer despite what you think. Remember his interception and assist for Leao vs Inter. Another assist for Leao vs Salernitana was the talk of that week. He can take set pieces and score or assist a respectable amount of goals each season, something Gattuso was unable to do.
Tonali had 5 goals and 3 assists last season. Respectable numbers for a 21 year old defensive midfielder, while this season he already has had 2 goals and 7 assists so far. I’m not pulling these numbers out of any bodily orifices, they’re facts. He had a beautiful long shot goal vs Verona wrongly called off, too. Picking up yellows is pretty normal for his position and the way he plays.
Let’s not forget, he’s only 22 and is worth something like 50m. Stop seeing football only through your lens.
Like I said most of those passes were backwards. And the fact that he takes the set pieces are the problem. That’s the reason Milan has the worst corners and set pieces in football. He’s not good at it. AND while he runs hard, he doesn’t run smart and has often lost his mark and cost Milan multiple goals this season. He’s a good player to have as a 3rd option as he was behind Kessie and Bennacer but he is not good enough to be an every game starter. The midfield has been Milan’s biggest weakness this season.
Now suddenly you want him to be the attacking midfielder giving defense breaking passes? Jesus.
He won the Scudetto and was in the team of the season last year. I guess everyone must be stupid in Italian football, from the coaches who play him in Milan and NT to journalists and peers.
That being said, he can still improve and I’m sure he will. He needs rest playing non-stop for a long time, too. Other than that, he’s a defensive midfielder. He’s doing his job, and more. The numbers support it. I don’t know what else to say.
Yes. The Italian coaches and media overrate him because they desperately want Italian stars in Serie A and right now unfortunately Italy is not producing a lot of great players. The fact is Milan has been getting dominated in the midfield this season by almost every team , even the weaker ones. It’s a problem. There has been a big drop off since Kessie left and Tonali is just not up to the task. If he wasn’t Italian he would not continue to be starting every week.
Now you’re inventing things out of your ass.
You’re out of your mind if you think coaches would think about those kind of craps over actually winning matches which decides their futures. Being Italian doesn’t have anything to do with him starting matches. He starts because there’s no one better than him to play and I don’t see the rest of Italians in Milan getting game time. Get back to me when and if Milan signs someone better in midfield, but he played more than anybody else in that position even when Kessié was around last season.
Now you’re being foolish if you don’t think that the Italian media, teams and coaches don’t want to have Italian players on their teams and they get a little bit of a preference. I think they are even required to have a certain number. We probably do have someone better than him on the bench but we’ll never know unless he gets injured. The same way we’d never know how good Thiaw is if Pioli was not forced into playing him due to injury. I’d rather see Vranckx get a chance to start along side Bennacer. We already know what Tonali is , and that is a player who is not very skilled offensively, not a great dribbler or passer, often loses his man defensively, and picks up way too many yellow cards… but he runs hard. 🤦♂️
Great point about not judging players on previous performances.
We all do it. It’s human nature. It’s a great reminder of the role form, luck, tactics and not-being-a-Monday plays in these things.
“Great point about not judging players on previous performances.”
Say that to Leao-fans. He’s been soooo amazing this year, right? 😀
Dude you’re so clearly obsessed with Tonali.. It is amusing, it’s been months now and you see only Tonali, nothing else. Every Milan problem starts with him in your eyes.
We got it, you don’t like him.
The score line doesn’t reflect how much a dominant display this was by Milan. We nullified their attack and we were a constant thorn in their side when we had the ball. Brilliant performance by the boys, with Diaz, Mike and Tomori the standouts. Pioli also has to be given lots of credit for getting his tactics spot on.
We have problems in build up and decision making when we attack. We’re lucky Tottenham played the way they did without high press or we could’ve really struggled. Defense was great though, and Pioli’s tactics were the right ones,
Let’s enjoy this qualification for now, which is huge for our resources going into next season.
Theo was my MotM. The man single-handedly dominated Romero over the both legs and won us the tie. He ended up being the match decider, not Leao. Magnian and Thiaw were great too. Kalulu and Tomori very good.
Great job by the players and Pioli. Was never worried about going thru vs Tottenham especially after what I saw from them in the 1st game.
When it comes to the ratings I think Giroud deserves higher rating. He does so much work besides what people expect from a striker. He was dropping all the way back to our box and I think he intercepted and recovered more balls than our midfielders.
Giroud at almost 37 runs more during games than someone that it’s almost young enough to be his son like Leao. Pioli was livid with leao several times during the game for not putting much effort and he disappointed again in the UCL game..
Let’s hope we get a favorable draw. Avoid the 3 big favorites and Benfica. We can beat the rest
Where’s Harry Redknapp?
Lovely!! Well done to the boys and Mister!!!
Forza Milan
He can’t comment with his foot in his mouth! Lol
Nice one 😂
The boys played well tonight against a tough Spurs team. Krunic might the missing link in the middle. As long as he keeps playing like this and keeps improving his deffensive play I think he can become a world class midfielder.
I really hope we will get a new RW/RM and a world class striker in the summer. That is all we need. Sell Messias, Origi, Rebic and Tata. Also force Bakayoko to leave. No disrespect to Pioli, but I think he has reached his peak. I don`t believe there is much more to come from him. He has been incredibly lucky so far, but I don`t see any brilliant tactic from the man. Conte should be our next coach ✊🏼
Lol. he literally out played Conte tactically and you want Conte instead ??? Make that make sense
And while you’re at it, for all this time Conte has been in the UCL he’s never passed the first round knockout? This is Pioli’s second season in the UCL
Smh the things people write
If you actually see Pioli as a better coach then good for you buddy, but calm the f down. You don`t have to be an idiot about it
I think it’s pretty obvious who the idiot is in this instance, and it’s not him.
You want to fall asleep every match day and hear moans and complains afterwards in the interview then sure Conte is your guy.
Well… If Pioli with a far inferior squad continues the UCL journey – without conceding a goal – and Conte’s “red hot favorites” go home…. A lot can be judged based on that.
Don’t have to be an idiot about it? Oh my bad. Sorry for bringing facts to the discussion.
Conte can’t win without money (which we don’t have btw) and even with money he’s a loser esp on the continental stage. His record in UCL is abysmal. Never made finals or semis, once in quarters and the rest either dumped out or r16. But sure if you think he’s better than Pioli who just out coached him in two legs with inferior players and his team scoring zero goals. Sure go ahead ur entitled to that opinion.
Lmao you’re tripping if you want Conte as Milan next coach 🤣🤣🤣
If 0 golas is good enough for you then I am very happy for you buddy. Milan were defending with 11 men. It is very difficult to make any impact on a game if the opposite team has their whole team in deffence. To finish this, I am happy for you guys. Pioli needs fans like you
Milan Fan, how am I being an idiot? I am trying to be respectable here. I am not saying anything to offend you guys
You’re complaining about 0 goals and at the same time talking up Conte?
Surely, you can see the irony here.
Milan had more shots at and on target. 14 (3) vs 9 (2) and despite the fact we had a 1-0 lead to defend playing away to Tottenham.
I’m sorry to say this but you’re a complete moron.
You want Conte as the next Milan coach and complaint about 0 goals but him with better players CAN’T SCORED A SINGLE GOAL against Pioli’s team. And not just that but tactically Pioli OUTPLAYED Conte twice.
In both 1st and 2nd leg Milan could win with 3 or 4 goals if Milan players didn’t wasted chances and that wasn’t Pioli’s fault.
And there’s no rule where 11 players can’t defend. Better defends means better chance to build up in attacking phase.
I’m happy not just for Pioli but for the team as well because i’m a Milan fans. You on the other hand sounds bitter as fvck. You’re not a Milan fans.
Fvck outta here troll.
Dude you’re smoking crack
Alright kids. It`s time to take a chill pill. Fat ass kids sitting on the other end and talking nonsense. Go to your mommy and cry about it
Conte as coach?
That’s absolutely funny. You guys always deprived pioli of praise. Conte that can’t coach a team with substantial budget?
For pioli to still be performing like this is a passed mark after the just concluded mercato. How many of the new arrivals were world class that u guys always want something more from pioli. The only aspect I can blame pioli is not putting much effort on the kind players to buy, and to pressure the management. Otherwise he has done great with low budget. Tottenham has a better depth than Milan. If you switch pioli to coach Tottenham and conte to coach Milan, Tottenham will have a high chance of qualifying. I am not saying that pioli is world class, but he has done more than possible output and it’s not luck. You can’t play 38 matches in league and you call it luck to win it. Hope we will see fiorentima lucky enough to win the league this season or next.
Gpower, you are right. Pioli has done all he can do. I started with saying no disrespect to Pioli. I like him, I really do, but I don`t see him winning the CL or any other trophies for that matter. He won the league under covid. Many teams were having trouble. He does not have it in him. I believe there were luck invovled winning the league. My intention was not to start a war with you guys, but obviously there is no room for opinions here. I respect each one of your opionions, but at the end of the day I don`t see Pioli getting this team any further. I hope he will prove me wrong and that you guys are right. Also thank you for not answering like rest of the guys.
There’s no war. You mentioned the word idiot and it was thrown back at you.
You’re entitled to your opinion and Conte has his merits, for sure, but I just have to ask, you don’t see Pioli winning CL, but you see Conte winning it?!
Do you know about Conte’s record in the CL? He’s a laughing stock in CL.
You`re right and I am sorry. Yes, I am aware. You are right about that too.
Sempre Milan needs to hire a writer who has a clue about football. Krunic was a BEAST. Again! Tonali was also good. As great as Thiaw and Kalulu (and today Tomori as well!) are, it really helps them to have proper DMs in front of them. It also helps to have Magic Mike back. It’s nice to not have a heart attack on every corner. And that save was pretty amazing.
Krunic’s first 20 minutes were rough, he had too really dangerous giveaways. He played well the rest of the game though. 6 seems fair…
Yep and Thiaw “mistake” against Fiorientina he was actually only CB in the right possition on that 2nd goal if he clered that cross that would be interception of the game it is just like saying if you don’t score from a bycicle kick you made a mistake… Bot nobody mentiones how atrocious Tomori was in that game
MOTM is Tonali,and he got tiny 6 from whoever write these notes.Maignan had one save,but Sandro played a game of his life on 3/4 of complete field.Those who ever played football gonna know what I am talking about.Theo great,whole defence,back 3 plus tiger Mike-perfect!Giroud was not on 100% probably not 100% fit,Leao same,Diaz very very good game!All in all—best AC performance this year.Congrats boys,great job!fantastic!
You are spot on about everything.
I’ll give you friendly advicemMilan Fan.When you reply on topic,reply on topic,talk about theme,but never about writer itself.We dont know each other good enough to write about each other.You never know what kind of people are those who write online,but according to posts above,you are prety much ready to critisize every person who gave their opinion.Make opinion,write what you want about topic,but hold back from critisize people you dont know.If you are older then 13 you’ll know what I am talking about .And,if you like to take part in talks about football,and you like it obviously,spend some time to gather some basic knowledge about sport first,dont act like sofa all-wiser,it sounds punny,not mature at all.Think about it mate,breath in,make yourself a coffee and spend some time thinking in silence.It’s gonna make you good.I promise.Stay well
When did I criticize the writer? I think you may have misunderstood something.
I’m sorry to say this but Tonali deserves a 5 not 6, and Krunic deserves at least 7. Tonali played pretty bad to the point Krunic do all the work. Tonali even wasted a golden chance to score.
I baffled how Pioli sub Diaz who played really well and almost scored but not Tonali who looks really tired and made plenty of mistakes.
Also, Tomori was quite shaky in the second half. He left plenty of spaces and allowed Tottenham players exploited that area. Thiaw even got yellow at the last minute because Tomori didn’t do his job properly. He’s not 7.5 but a 6.
And seriously WTF is going on with Giroud, Leao, or Origi? None of them can convert a golden chance into goals and kill the game. This repeats problem is dangerous and the players needs to do something to fix it.
Nonetheless it still a great result. Mike saved the day.
Tonali gets an extra point added to his rating every game for being the Italian Goldenboy. He is terribly overrated and needs to sit.
And you are right about The finishing on this team. This is why I wish Pioli would’ve included Ibra on the squad. He for sure would’ve finished this game off.
I think Tonali clearly have potentials to become a great player. But i can see some bias from SempreMilan writers or Italian media when comes to rate him higher than he deserves just because he’s an Italian.
I hope next match Pioli rest Tonali because he looks tired and confused.
OUTSTANDING !!! Can’t wait for the quarter-final.
What a dominant 2 games vs Tottenham.
Pioli took Conte to school.
Outside of couple set pieces, Tottenham didn’t do anything in 2 games, while we missed at least 5 good goal scoring chances.
Wouldn’t mind playing vs another Italian coached team.
OK. Maybe not vs Ancelotti’ real Madrid
Ridiculous, how is Maignan not a 10? He’s a goalie, all he can do is make saves and distribute the ball. He did that perfectly but you arbitrarily chose a 7.5? Stop doing these ratings from now on.
He didn’t get a 10 because he failed to get two assists and save a penalty. Plenty of room for improvement. 🙂
Vamoos! its a job well done guys thank y’all for this, I’ve missed this feeling Forza Milan .
Awesome game.
Forza Milan.
Happy to qualify for the QF, but we really need to start scoring. While going to a 5 man back line has helped us stop conceding (with the Fiorentina game being the exception) it has also meant that we’re scoring less. Makes sense given that we have no wide attacking outlets. Our biggest weapon is the counter. Without wide players forward there is not immediate threat in transition. It’s the reason Leao’s production has nosedived. He best asset (speed) is just wasted if he isn’t out wide. We have no hope in the QF if we don’t start scoring. This applies to Serie A too, which is about to get much tougher since Juventus is going to have their penalty revoked. Now that we are basically full strength and that Thiaw has emerged Pioli needs to consider going back to the 4-2-3-1 and making it work again.
Five man back line has nothing to do with us scoring less.
The main problem is with Milan players especially the strikers wasted plenty of golden chances in front of the goal. Look at the stats for this match. Milan had 3 shoots on target, 5 shoots off target, and 6 counter attacks.
Next season we need a very clinical striker in front of the goal.
Every time Milan won, he go quiet in comments section.
You guys know who he is
Great game in a very difficult environment. Well deserved! Although he gets a lot of slack Diaz played great and did exactly what Pioli asks of that position. Excellent sub to swap him with bennacer and leaving Krunic-Tonali pairing who were great today. Mike is our leader so composed on the ball and always so clutch. Back 3 were fantastic. Theo creates so many problems. Pls sell Poegba for Singo lol. Congrats to Pioli. Got everything right today. Forza Milan
A few things to notice:
– We had a clear gameplan, and we relied on speed off the flanks for that gameplan. People need to stop saying Pioli has no clue.
– Krunic his score is too low. Especially in the dying embers, he somehow kept playing cool and took the sting out of multiple attacks throughout. Attacking he was bad, yes, but that was clearly not his task either way.
– Saelemaekers en Messias both have their qualities. People who say we need a new RW need to realize that even someone like Ziyech is not much of an improvement to these guys. Why do you think Ajax doesn’t even want him back? If you guys expect leao quality, we need to spend a lot more money. Until then, I’m ok with these two. The main gripe I have is that they’re both quite bad finishers.
– Tomori looked incredibly solid with some insanely Nesta-like tackles. It was a pure joy to watch him.
– Giroud needs to be given less time in build up play and more time to join attack. He obviously struggles in holding the ball, which is also not his forte’.
But I wonder how many people I will see complaining about some of our players, just like there were comments about CDK against Fiorentina where he dribbled past 2 players and gave Messias a goal on a silver platter.
You are absolutely spot on! Esp about Krunic. He kept calm and passed the ball to the outlets with class in the dying minutes. Also I get what you’re saying about the RW though but I do think we have the potential to upgrade there. The pace isn’t enough. Def not zyech who goes missing in big games but I think messias can go. Ikone would add a different element
Thiaw has impress so much he must keep it up, all our player played well they must play every game like it’s a final. Good team spirit
Today..
All heads must bow to Pioli. With a team as broken as ours.. Pioli got them to get the absolute best out of EVERY player who played.
Yes Pioli has his weaknesses but his strengths have been working wonders. Conte was outclassed completely by Pioli with our midfield and defense with a team that doesn’t even have any half decent players in 4 positions.
Maignan… No words. Super Mike is back. Literally saved the game.
As for defense.. well.. lets just say the ‘worst defender’ of Milan according to some br@inde@d tu_rds in here just played the best game in his life with Krunic in front of him lol Su_ck on that haters.
Theo was outright an unstoppable beast.
Now.. Tonali… Tonights match made me feel like Tonali not being effective in offense is because of Pioli’s instructions which probably is a very good thing. Tonali with Krunic did their job to the perfection which is breaking opponent’s plays. Their tackles were a joy to watch. The rating 6 for both Krunic and Tonali is too low in my opinion as they were a key reason we qualified for UCL. They both deserved a 7.
Well… haters are awfully quiet tonight. lol Since Milan is now in UCL quarterfinals.. These re_t@rded haters aren’t able to go on a rampage saying Maldini pIoli Massara and everyone needs to be fired for drawing with Spurs because some players were allowed to leave for free lmfao Must be a really rough day for them since Milan Qualified for UCL Quarterfinals lol
Forza Milan.
You are 100% corrext. Many of us were calling for his head few at the end of the season, INCLUDING ME, but he turned that slump around. Allthough, the fix wasn’t that far away. Krunic as dm, my opinion that has been the big change. Defense, has got more cover and they all shine in the gane. Look at tomorri. Thiaw. Team is more compact. Diaz as am not cdk. Congrats to our lions and all the milan fans out there.
Lol. F*ck the haters, but none of this will matter if we don’t qualify for the CL next year. Juve is about to get their 15 points back. Just saying.
I understand fan’s frustrations of course. I myself has been frustrated as a Milan fan on multiple occasions when Pioli had the bright idea to use krunic as LW/RW/CAM hell I remember a match where Krunic was a makeshift ST lol
Judging just because of a few failures and not seeing the successes would be unfair to any people in any job to be fair which is why I never called for head, just pointed out his weaknesses a few times. This Applies for Maldini as well.
Our attack still has A LOT to do to be fair.. but we as fans also has to give Pioli the benefits of doubts as we have been playing without a half decent striker ever since Pioli took the job. In fact, Ibra even at his old age was playing like a beast under Pioli’s system. So I am hopeful the team under Pioli will change a lot with a good striker who can actually score goals. Like Napoli.. is playing like a beast Because of Osimhen. He keeps at least 3 defenders busy that allows time for their LW RW and mid to do the damage.
Us Fans have the right to be frustrated mate. It’s all good and we all as fans understand each other on that and we know that we all love Milan. But there are people in here who are just haters and hate blindly. Some of them go as far as outright making up lies to spread the hatred. That’s really sad.
Because Origi’s shot hit the post, he gets a low rating. For just a few cm, the ball would have gone in and Origi would be declared man-of-the-match.
It’s great for Milan to be back competing at this level.
This success will certainly help the finances and profile of the club.
That being said, the match last night was very poor quality. Whoever Milan face next round, they will be happy to get us.
From the Start of both legs of the tie, you could see spurs were not pressing us, this made it very comfortable for Milan (the opposite of what English teams normally do to us).
Mike was a savior again. The defence was excellent also. Midfield worked hard but lacked quality. The attack was horrible, except for Diaz who really shone and gave 100% effort.
Bottom line is we were lucky to face such a poor team who played with terrible tactics.
We were under plenty of pressure and could have conceded at anytime. We have to kill games off.
It’s another reminder of how badly we needed reinforcements in attack last summer.
So while it’s a great result, we really do not have the players to go further.
Leao was really ineffective, certainly did not play like a world class player should. So he should sign his contract and concentrate on football. No big team is going to splash huge money on him, he has shown his true colours.
I may add, bravo to Pioli.
We would all have liked to see the team score and make life easier for ourselves, but given the players at his disposal, he has achieved his 2nd miracle, after winning the league last year.
I certainly dont agree with evrything he does, but this is a huge victory.
If we get top 4 this year, he deserves to stay and be given some real backing in the transfer market this summer.
The only poor quality was the finishing in front of the goal. Outside that, Milan played really well in defense and attacking.
And please don’t downplayed Tottenham as if they’re some bottom table Serie-A team who fights for survival.
Seriously dude, they are missing many players and in the last week were knocked out of the FA cup by Shefield Wednesday (a championship team), beaten by wolves in the league and now knocked out of europe by Milan.
I have watched and read all the post match analysis, the consesus in England is that Conte needs to leave as the team showed no grit or determination. Most expect Harry Kane to leave on the back of this performance.
So I’m sorry, I love Milan and they got the job done, but they were very ordinary and Spurs are really, really, really bad
100% facts my man !
Didnt want to ruin my mood yesterday by rreading potentially negative comments but this was a great match and we clearly desserved to reach next round. It was a tactical accomplishment and pioli has a great hand in thjis combined win so anyone who wants to bash him can sod off in my book.
I was honestly too exhausted to read or write!
Was such an intense experience, my heart was jumping out of my chest.
😀 hasnt really stopped partying since the combined win so if anything ive more gotten a great boost of adrenaline rather than getting exhausted
LOL. There were surprisingly many positive comments this time. I guess most of us didn’t believe in getting through.
Pioli is a f’ng miracle worker. To get this team to win the scudetto and reach TOP-8 in UCL… Wow! He can’t be that bad some people here paint him to be.
Yes, Pioli’s is a puzzling situation. On one hand he has overachieved with the squad he has been given. He gets the most out of almost every player. On the other hand, offensively he has no ideas, the team does not move well off the ball and their passing has been terrible. I think there is definitely a ceiling to Pioli tactically and we may have reached it. But they play with heart which is good to see, although games like this make you question how they can get dominated by teams like Torino, Sassuolo and even Cremonese?
Pioli is good in getting the best out of the players in important matches. But he cannot motivate the players to perform in “easy” matches. And his tactics? Well… He has pulled a rabbit out of the hat a few times but he is also stupidly stubborn. An enigma for sure.
I was not sure we would go through either and i saw tottenham as the favourite regardless of the first match so it was a positive experience.
Pioli is deffently a miracle worker and all ac milan fans should feell fortunate to have him as our coach. It was clear his tactics got us through and even though we didnt win the match the match the tactics was a winner for me,