January was full of mixed emotions for Milan to say the least. The Rossoneri did the job against the smaller teams, but had selection issues that led to a loss against Juventus and a heavy defeat to Atalanta by 3-0.
The players did react to both loses and bounced back with a win to stay top of the table. In a less important game for the management, and fans as it seemed, Milan also faced Inter in the Coppa Italia. Pioli’s men were the side to break the deadlock, but a brawl bursted between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lukaku towards the end of the first half resulting in a yellow card for both of them.
The Swede picked up a second yellow early on in the second half and led to Milan being knocked out of the Coppa, but now they can focus on Serie A and the Europa League which will probably be positive for them considering all the absentees they faced throughout the season.
That being said, this month full of emotions is finally behind us so let us see how the players performed and who gets the player of the month award this time around…
3. Davide Calabria – Average rating: 6.43
The Italian had a weird month as he played one third of the games in the defensive midfield position due to absences in the squad.
Calabria, though, despite not being in his preferred position played really well in the double pivot and had a superb performance against Juventus, scoring a lovely long range effort in the process. The right-back was also good defensively and going forward, through the month and rightfully deserves his third spot.
😍 The outside-of-the-boot pass from Hauge, the run from Leao and the technique from Calabria. Sensational. pic.twitter.com/G6jqF92yFF
— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) January 6, 2021
2. Franck Kessie – Average rating: 6.69
The Ivorian was at his best again in January to help his team stay top of the table, but even Kessie didn’t stood out as much as he usually does.
The midfielder had several different partners in the midfield and needed to adjust all the time. While all his performances were solid, he wasn’t as dominant as he was in the prior months, but still a crucial part of the team as he also managed to score three goals from the penalty spot.
1. Gianluigi Donnarumma – Average rating: 7.09
Donnarumma has been outstanding throughout the whole season and he finally manages to stand out and get his Player of the Month award. Gigio has been on fire, and while Milan conceded three goals against both Juventus and Atalanta the keeper was the last person to blame. In fact, if it not been him Milan could have lost with a bigger margin.
Donnarumma made crucial saves in the last game against Bologna and has been one of the main reasons for Milan to be top of the table. Simply outstanding at the age of 21 and the management need to sort out his contract renewal as soon as possible.
.@gigiodonna1 is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe in terms of cross and shot stopping.
💪🔴⚫️
[Via @GetFootballEU] pic.twitter.com/PpTsarrpWI
— MilanData📊 (@acmilandata) January 23, 2021
