AC Milan failed to make it three consecutive wins as they only claimed one point away at Salernitana on Friday evening. A few players did well, but many struggled and below are the player ratings for the Rossoneri.
Starting XI
Maignan (5.5): If you only saw the second goal for Salernitana, then this rating might look generous. While that was a huge howler, though, the truth is that the goalkeeper also made several good saves in the game including some very complex ones. Then again, that mistake ended up costing Milan a whole lot.
Calabria (5.5): It was a rather bleak performance from the captain, even though he stepped up in the dying minutes with the cross before the equaliser and then a header that nearly beat the goalkeeper. However, he needs to do much better over 90 minutes.
Kjaer (5.5): He did what was needed from him, more or less, and was subbed off at half-time. However, he lost track of Fazio on the goal – even if the latter did very well – and we have no other option but to factor that into the rating.
Tomori (6.5): The Englishman opened the scoring with a header from close range and it was an important goal for Milan. Having said that, his timing was slightly off this evening as we saw just before the second goal, even if the goal itself cannot be blamed on him. It looked like a pretty serious injury for him too, which is a huge blow for the Rossoneri.
Hernandez (6): Decent defending from him tonight but the attacking output wasn’t enough, even if he combined well with Leao on a few occasions. And Milan probably should have done more with those chances. Pioli also put him in an inverted role again at times, so it’s difficult to place too much blame on the Frenchman himself.
Loftus-Cheek (5.5): Sluggish performance from the former Chelsea man, with really only one good moment, when his effort was denied by the keeper. He was certainly too slow on the ball and was partly to blame for the first goal.
Bennacer (6): He nearly scored a wicked own-goal but other than that, he was solid in his passing and moved over large areas, more or less always available for his teammates. Naturally, he couldn’t finish the game after making his first start in a long time.
Reijnders (6.5): The Dutchman has gained important confidence in the last few weeks and it showed tonight as well. Especially in the first half, he was almost always involved and was smart with his passing/movement. He can be even more incisive, but he played his role well.
Pulisic (5.5): You could argue it was decent overall, but he simply didn’t do enough in the final third for Milan this evening. With Salernitana’s defence being much stronger on Leao’s side, the Rossoneri needed the American to step up.
Giroud (5.5): It is really quite tough to assess the veteran. His flicks didn’t work at all this evening, to tell the truth, but he ended up getting a crucial assist for Jovic. Milan don’t need him for assists, though, even if it is a bonus.
Leao (5): Another player that is incredibly tough to assess. He got the assist for the first goal, and should have had at least one more (Jovic’s double chance), but he also failed miserably at times. And in the dying minutes, he had a good chance to score the winner but completely missed the target.
Substitutes
Simic (6): Played with composure and looked confident on the pitch. Decent, in other words, and when a youngster starts playing with this calmness at the highest level then it’s a good sign.
Florenzi (6): He was forced to play a different role, given the many injuries in defence, but did well and helped Milan apply some pressure at least in the final minutes.
Jovic (6): He scored the crucial equaliser, which some could argue warrants a higher rating, but he also missed two big chances before that. Yes, the efforts were saved by the keeper, but at least the rebound he should have scored.
Chukwueze (5): It was a tough game to enter, granted, but he didn’t really have any impact on it either. Maybe with more time, we would have seen better things.
