AC Milan suffered a massive blow in their Champions League pursuit as Sassuolo clinched all three points at Mapei Stadium. While many players struggled, one in particular was to blame.
Milan had the opportunity to extend the gap down to fifth place to eight points, but instead, they suffered a poor defeat against Fabio Grosso’s side. Fikayo Tomori’s red card early in the first half certainly didn’t help, but he wasn’t the only player who struggled.
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If you haven’t already, make sure to check out how we decide the player ratings. From the scale to what affects the rating, we have compiled everything there.
Short version
🥇 Rabiot (5.5): Credit for working tirelessly throughout the game, trying to win the ball back and start some counter-attacks, but he also struggled a little bit with his own end-product. Or at the very least, he wasn’t particularly synced with his teammates.
👎 Tomori (2.5): I can’t even begin to think what was going through his head, because everything about the red card was just mind-boggling. The first yellow card was the result of a very late challenge, and the second was the result of an outrageous aggressiveness for a player already on a yellow. What was he thinking stopping a counter in such a cynical way?!
👔 Allegri (4.5): The rating isn’t necessarily because of the starting eleven, but rather the whole approach to the game. Honestly, what has happened? Milan look like a completely different team and there is a complete lack of ideas. That is the manager’s responsibility, especially since the entire game plan was dreadful today. The red card didn’t help, but did we look good before that? No.
Starting XI
Maignan (5.5): Perhaps he could have done more on the second, but I think it was mostly a good finish. The Frenchman also had a couple of good stops to avoid further disaster. Still, I don’t think it’s reasonable to give him a 6 here.
Tomori (2.5): I can’t even begin to think what was going through his head, because everything about the red card was just mind-boggling. The first yellow card was the result of a very late challenge, and the second was the result of an outrageous aggressiveness for a player already on a yellow. What was he thinking stopping a counter in such a cynical way?!
Gabbia (4.5): He probably should have had a penalty whistled against him after bringing down Lauriente pretty recklessly. He also mistimed a cross heavily in the first half which nearly resulted in a goal. Not to mention that he wasn’t good enough on the second, allowing Thorstvedt to play it without any pressure INSIDE the box.
Pavlovic (5.5): Like his defensive teammates, the positioning was far from great this afternoon but he did have a crucial block right after the first goals to deny a second. Often got forward as well, but didn’t exactly have much success on the ball.
Saelemaekers (5.5): It was by no means his best performance with Milan, but a few things rescue him from a really poor rating here. He had a few good moments in attack, and also defended well after the red card (one situation with Lauriente when he put his foot down).
Fofana (5): The Frenchman struggled to find the right passes today and didn’t have any success when he tried to take matters into his own hands. Not absolutely terrible, just far from good enough.
Jashari (4.5): At the end of the day, it was his mistake that led to the first goal. Not just because he lost the ball in a dangerous position, but also because all of his teammates ended up out of position as a result of it. The referee also did the right thing letting play go on. Some okay moments here and there, but all things considered, it was a very poor one from him today.
Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images
Rabiot (5.5): Credit for working tirelessly throughout the game, trying to win the ball back and start some counter-attacks, but he also struggled a little bit with his own end-product. Or at the very least, he wasn’t particularly synced with his teammates.
Estupinan (5): Plenty of misplaced passes from him tonight and a defensive performance that, well, left some things to be desired. I will say that he wasn’t 100% at fault on Berardi’s goal, because that was more so a result of everyone else also being out of position, but he definitely could have done better in other moments.
Nkunku (5): He was taken off at half-time as Allegri wanted to shift the balance after the red card. Red card or not, however, it was right to take him off as he barely added anything to the game. One good run into the box and a potential penalty, but nothing more than that.
Leao (4.5): The No.10 missed a big chance, and I mean a big chance, in the first half after picking up the ball in the final third. Considering how close he was to the goal there, he simply had to hit the target. Apart from that, he was also rather unsuccessful with his other moments on the ball.
Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images
Substitutes
Athekame (5.5): A decent injection of energy, it has to be said, but the end-product also wasn’t brilliant from him.
Gimenez (5.5): Nearly got on the end of a cross that could have been dangerous, so he clearly added some type of box presence. Still, not good enough, even if it was probably a result of how the game was at the time.
Loftus-Cheek (5.5): Same as Gimenez, and also Pulisic below, there were glimpses of some good intentions but at the end of the day, he didn’t really contribute much. Also booked for diving.
Pulisic (5.5): One good run and pass, I would say, but the rest was a bunch of out-of-sync plays and a general fight to get involved in the game.
Ricci (5.5): It was a chance to show that he should start ahead of Jashari next time out, but even though the Swiss international was really poor, the Italian didn’t really do that, which is an achievement in itself.
The manager
Allegri (4.5): The rating isn’t necessarily because of the starting eleven, but rather the whole approach to the game. Honestly, what has happened? Milan look like a completely different team and there is a complete lack of ideas. That is the manager’s responsibility, especially since the entire game plan was dreadful today. The red card didn’t help, but did we look good before that? No.
