AC Milan failed to clinch all three points against Bologna on Saturday evening after conceding an injury-time equaliser. Ruben Loftus-Cheek led the way for the Rossoneri with a brace and below are the player ratings.
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.
Starting XI
Maignan (5.5): You could argue that he should have done better on both goals. The first was from a very narrow angle and the shot nutmegged the goalkeeper. And while you can never really demand goalkeepers to save penalties, it feels like he should have done more after diving the right way.
Calabria (6.5): Decent defensive display from the captain who bagged himself a very nice assist for Loftus-Cheek’s first goal. He was subbed off early due to the yellow card, which actually worked in Milan’s favour (more about that later).
Kjaer (6): He made two huge blocks to deny Bologna but it didn’t really help as Zirkzee scored in the same sequence. He also won the first penalty, but missed a great chance to level the scores prior to that. And at the start of the second half, he completely misjudged a cross and only got lucky that Zirkzee somehow missed.
Gabbia (6): The academy product has been brilliant since returning from Villarreal and did what was needed tonight, with some good challenges here and there. However, he also found himself out of position more than usual.
Hernandez (5): He failed to track back on Bologna’s first goal, leaving Milan’s defence very vulnerable, and Zirkzee could have easily been stopped earlier. The penalty miss only made things worse for the Frenchman, who was disappointing tonight.
Adli (5.5): The midfield didn’t really have an impact on the game tonight. Sure, he had some moments with nice ball control, but we all know that he can be even more incisive with his passing.
Reijnders (6): He struck the bar with a wonderful effort in the second half and was okay overall, just about getting a pass here.
Pulisic (6): The American missed a big chance in the first half, attempting to dink it over the keeper, but was at least okay in possession overall. He helped set up the first goal and probably should have stayed on the pitch, with Terracciano being his replacement.
Loftus-Cheek (8 – MOTM): Very, very unlucky to come away with just one point tonight. He was strong in possession and really helped Milan in the transition phase. The goals were perfect too, showcasing great awareness to get into the right positions.
Leao (6): Some bad moments, some good from the Portuguese winger. He won a penalty after a very nice solo run and also helped set up the second goal with a nice little pass for Florenzi. However, he also missed a few chances tonight.
Giroud (5): He started the game well, with some nice flicks, but struggled as the match got up to speed and also missed a penalty.
Substitutes
Jovic (5.5): We didn’t really see that much from the Serbian, fighting against a strong Bologna defence.
Florenzi (6.5): He played well from the first moment and bagged an assist after an absolutely lovely cross into the box.
Musah (6): He did a lot of the dirty work tonight, covering a lot of ground and making sure Bologna didn’t get too much space in the transition phase.
Terracciano (4.5): Looked very poor on the ball and cost Milan the three points with a stupid tug of the shirt, resulting in the penalty.
Okafor (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating.
The manager
Pioli (6): Most of the subs did have the desired effect tonight, with Florenzi getting the assist, but that Terracciano one cost him dearly. There was no real reason to take off Pulisic either. On the other hand, the manager cannot do much about his players missing penalties.
Anyone blaming Pioli this game really has no clue of football! Im not his biggest fan but let’s be honest Kjaer can’t defend, we missed 2 penalties and for some reason Maignan hasn’t been the same this season.
as i know pioli is the one who put kjaer and others on the field , not me or you , cutting simic totally from the team for no reason
;I think you are way wrong if you know anything about football you never make subs at that time of the game more so not to bring on those to players. We need a coach that can get the best out of these players I am afraid it’s time for him to go enough is enough I new from the start they were not going to win it and every game
Is the same. Can’t wait for the new coach.
is the same his tactics do not suit ac milan waiting to welcome the new coach.
I think you are an expert football brain.
Pioli is not a big time manager, it has been proven years before Milan desperately employed the man.
Inter with a star studded side failed under Pioli.
Under Pioli Milan have failed to win big games for the last 3 seasons, they fail to dominate big teams Juve, Inter, Lazio and Atalanta and now Bologna!
Yep. Maignan SUCKS this season. Considering that he gave up a stoppable goal, one that any above average goalkeeper should have stopped, he deserves AT LEAST AS BAD A RATING AS Terraciano. If Terraciano gets a 4.5 for costing the team the win, so should Maignan get at least a 4.5
Why are the writers of this forum so reluctant to call out Maignan when CLEARLY, it is his lack of form and inability to reproduce his scudetto winning form that is causing Milan to drop points constantly this season.
This is something that I have been pointing out, and then had to go on a super long back and forth with other posters about, who kept insisting on defending Maignan.
Here’s the beginning of the long series of posts in that thread:
sempremilan.com/player-ratings-udinese-2-3-ac-milan-gabbia/comment-page-1#comment-259202
Check out the comments and the explanation of how Maignan’s fbref stats have plummeted from the scudetto season AND from when he was with Lille.
So, people, OPEN YOUR EYES. Maignan is costing the team by playing very badly this season, and has been leaking goals at a prodigeous rate.
He is no where close to being even average amongst the Serie A goalkeepers!
The points that I made about his fbref stats are completely valid, and you just need to realize what is going on.
At this rate, Milan seriously need to consider getting a new goalkeeper this summer and selling Maignan.
There are at least eight goalkeepers in Serie A who are doing better at shotstopping than Maignan this season, and several in Ligue Un who are also doing a whole lot better.
P.S.,
Also, it bears repeating that, even when Pulisic is not tearing up the field and scoring like crazy, whenever he gets subbed off, the wheels just seem to come off of this Milan team and the sub(s) do something stupid and end up costing Milan the win.
Pulisic has this stabilizing ball controlling and defensive nous that just seems to disappear when he is out of the match.
Pulisic is the oil that greases the system. I’ve said that before. You’re right that the wheels fall off when he’s removed. Almost every time. What he does doesn’t show up in the stats. (Nor in these player ratings for him here where he is perpetually rated too low, though I won’t quarrel with today’s rating).
I agree completely ….. Pulisic does so much more than meets the less discerning eye ! Should have never come off in this game ….
You gotta get off the Maingan Hate parade. It’s old. “Maignan Sucks’ post after post… myopic.
He will always save more points than he costs. Move On or go support a team with a better GK.
The whole point of those fbref stats is that Mike is OBJECTIVELY NOT making as many saves as he should be making, compared to at least eight other other Serie A goalkeepers and compared to what he had done during the scudetto season.
You can’t keep sticking your head up your rear end and just IGNORE both the OBVIOUS GOALS that Mike keeps leaking, like the one in this match which COST THE TEAM POINTS.
Why is it OK to harshly criticize Pioli, Kjaer, Theo, etc., and not start harshly criticizing the guy whose JOB it is to save these stoppable shots on goal?
There is this constant speculation about a replacement for Giroud.
Well, it’s time to start talking about replacing Mike Maignan
Did you see the angle from behind Magnan that showed the ball got tipped by the defender?
I originally thought he got beat by a very stoppable shot, but you can’t account for a deflection like that.
Also, the penalty was struck very hard. Again, it looked stoppable, and maybe it technically was, but it wasn’t an error. Slow motion makes everything look like a video game. That’s not how sports work.
You can’t stop them all.
Finally. Mike is great with his feet, but pretty average when it comes to shot stopping. I’ve realized this way back, and this game has nothing to do with it.
He’s the first player I would sell in our squad, given that he so overvalued
100%
Are you even serious right now?
For the one millionth time this guy decides to pull out his best attacking weapons (in this case Leao and Pulisic) and defend a one goal lead, and you don’t think that is a major error?
If you can’t defend a two goal lead against Lecce, what makes you think it’s doable against Bologna?
You know what? I concede to what you said. I have no clue about football. Would you be kind enough and explain to me how defending a one goal lead against Bologna was not a bad idea? Please, enlighten me.
I didn’t watch but anyone saying a draw with a red card on opposite side isn’t pioli to blame needs to go to a mental institution.
Probably lucky to get adraw out
What are you talking about? Their coach got a red card during the game, not a player. Why comment if you didn’t see the match?
Very disappointing result. Should have won this game easy. 2 missed penalties , kjaer and Leao missing easy goals. This one is definitely not on Pioli.
Also, let’s be honest, Maignan has not been great this season. Can’t get beat near post on the first goal and really should have saved the penalty as well. Thank goodness for the new signings, they keep producing.
Kjaer was actually pushed a little before his header making him unbalanced a little before the header while Leao is kinda caught off guard so I don’t blame them that much at least not as much as the penalty takers. We need to train penalty kick now before it’s too late. Last time we got penalty shootout was against Norway team at the playoff I think? Even that was dragged out way too long
Theo was ass. Pure ass. He’s been up and down this year but today he cost Milan the game with his mistakes. Terracciano was just the icing on the cake. Both players ratings are about 3 points to high
I like unpure ass too.
Looks to me as though CDK is enjoying himself at Atalanta
Useless CDK comment. But I’ll answer: DIFFERENT SYSTEM, DIFFERENT POSITION. Thanks for playing.
Year by year Milan can be stronger.
There are many gaps to cover still. New strong striker. Central back and right back. Question is: are our right wingers stars? They are better than wingers before, but still.
Our right winger is better than our left winger.
I am starting to think they should invert the wingers. Put Leao on the Right, Pulisic on the Left to balance our team on both flanks and create threats, space for our striker. I think with two strong shots on both flanks, defenses will have more of a threat to contend with. I also think Pulisic will combine and complement Theo better. Calabria or Florenzi can benefit from Leaos pace too.
I see no reason they can’t switch up during a game like lots of teams do.
Any decent winger can play either side.
Okafor would also do well on the right that way we could have pulisic as AM
We know Puli can play LW, it’s his natural position. But can Leao play RW? We saw him there on a couple of occasions last season and he wasn’t impressive. If he can’t cut in and shoot with his right foot, he’s useless. Okafor seems even more one-dimensional than Leao.
Worst match I saw from Theo tonight. He didn’t contribute in attack or defense while missing a penalty. Our player didn’t perform well
Rating is harsh on Adli.
Giroud score should be lower. That was an awful penalty. He should have come off sooner. He could barely jog in 2nd half after injury.
that’s what u get from 4 mil newcommer
This game was lost by the players tonight. You can’t miss two penalties. We have no dead ball specialist and it hurts us.
Leao has been so poor for us. He had a bursting run for the penalty but it’s not good enough from him.
I didn’t like the subs today. Terracciano was awful, while okafor was brought in way too late and when we had the lead he shouldn’t have even been brought on. There’s nothing wrong with taking out an attacker for a defender to close out a game.
We do have a dead ball specialist. His name is Adli. See how he takes all corners and free kicks? Maybe he sucks at penalties?
Okafor- didn’t play enough to get a rating while terraciano who came into the game with him got his rating.
The game showed that the experienced players lacked responsibility, Giroud not playing a high ball after missing one like that some weeks ago and Theo, risking to even play the same kind of penalty as the missed one by Giroud, smh
Magic Mike has really made many wrong decisions this season and Kjaer was taken apart every time by zirkzee, should have been gabbia on the guy, not happy that any time we have our rivals dropping points, we never take advantage
If we really want to defend the lead, I still think that a CB (Simic or Pellegrino) is a better choice to be brought in instead of Terracciano who’s fielded in a really strange position. I don’t know. There were so many things gone wrong this match.
Can’t miss two penalties and expect to win…. Terraciano is young still and needs to lessen and develop. His positioning wasn’t good enough so he was pulling in the shirt… he will make mistakes.
But overall, just too sluggish and slow in the build up still. Inconsistency plagues is this season. If we win the games we were supposed to or expected to, we’d be in the Scudetto race. Instead we are where we are.
But it’s gotta be said, we are firmly in third without starting CB’s. Credit to Pioli. Once CB’s return I’m hoping defense will be sound and we can avoid situations like when Zee scored.
Zee is a great player. Shows you what we could do with some one mobile and great on his feet and with speed playing the 9 for us.
Terraciano needs to learn. Not lessen.
This is on pioli, nothing more irritating than seeing him celebrating at 2-1: damn nigga load of wasted chances with lot of time left.
Pioli should have been fuming (u can’t achieve results while throwing away chances like that, the Giroud’s pk was awful) but man was celebrating like a bitch.
Leao was disgusted as hell, knowing he worked alone to earn that PK (should have taken it as he hadn’t scored in a while).
Wasting 2 penalties & not winning looks terrible on the Manager (& the team), no other way to put it ( it is the height of unseriousness) .
#Pioliout
Saw it and thought to myself, there’s a LOT of game left.
Yep, small club coach mentality, which is what Pioli is.
This is the dumbest comment I’ve seen in a long time. 2 missed penalties is not on the coach. Neither are the 2 poit blank misses by Kjaer and Leao. Nor is the fact that Maignan should’ve saved at least one if not both of those goals. If you are trying to put this on Pioli, you are either foolish or dishonest.
Step 1. Place ball on spot
Step 2. Take a few steps back
Step 3. Run and kick ball between the two big sticks, avoiding the big guy wearing gloves
Step 4. Celebrate the goal with your — oh wait…
giving left legged player to take a pen is like giving monkey to play with the tank,predictable as my sh*t
IT’S THE FOURTH GAME OF THE SEASON WHERE PIOLI MADE STUPID SUBSTITUTIONS AND SELLS THE MATCHES.
HOW ON EARTH IT’S NOT PIOLI’S FAULT!!!
WHAT WAS THE REASON OR NEED TO BRING THIS PATHETIC TERRACIANO ONTO MATCH WHERE WE WERE BARELY WINNING. IT WASN’T A GAME TO DO TRAINING TACTICS.
IF THE SCORE WAS 2 GOAL DIFFERENCE, I COULD UNDERSTAND BUT THIS???
I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A CRAZY COACH IN MY WHOLE LIFE.
DID YOU SEE HOW TERRACIANO WAS BEHAVING? HE DIDN’T FEEL SORRY EVEN 1 BIT.
IF THIS IS NOT COACH’S STUPIDITY, THEN I WAS NOT WATCHING FOOTBALL THEN
THERE IS A ZERO DISCIPLINE IN THE TEAM. WE NEED A COACH WHO CAN PUT PLAYERS INTO THEIR BOXES
Another fool trying to pin the blame on Pioli in a game the players clearly blew. Now all of a sudden Terraciano is pathetic, when the only other other time he played for Milan everyone said he looked good. He took out an attacking winger for a defensive player. It didn’t work out. Pioli didn’t miss 2 penalties, or 2 sitters like Leao and Kjaer, or fail to make 2 saves he should have like Maignan. This is solely on the players.
@K you smarta$$ proved your point.
“He took out attacking players for defender and it didn’t work out”
Question: when it worked out? Didn’t he do the same subs against Napoli and that defender blundered?
Didn’t he take off attackers for defenders against Roma and Roma punished for that mistake?
When your godfather Pioli learns from his mistakes?
How Maignan supposed to make 2 saves? Are you saying he was supposed to save that Penalty?
If players played bad, who’s fault is that?
Do you ever listen to yourself?
When you think they can’t get any dumber..
“If players play bad, who’s fault is that?”
THE PLAYERS, YOU FOOL.
These are grown men. Professionals paid millions. When they miss penalties and sitters from 3 yards out, that is not on the coach.
No, it’s not the same subs as Napoli.
If you want to blame him for the subs, for bringing on defensive players when trying to protect a late lead??? Yeah, no coach ever does that, right? Then you also have to give him credit for the sub of Florenzi who assisted on the goal that put Milan ahead.
Maybe you should follow another sport, your understanding of football is shockingly poor.
@K, you are natural r etard clown lol. Your husband Pioli could have got 2:1 by simply DOING nothing, instead making stupid experiment like bringing deadass players for making a debut lol haha.
Against Napoli it was different? Yeah it was different defender who made a debut you little fool.
Where have seen replacing entire squad if they can’t perform? Of course coach takes the responsibility. Your football IQ is below 👇 zero
Again with this idiot.. You write like a child, and not a particularly bright one. If you are under 12 I apologize, if you are over 12 I feel really bad for you.
The same fools like you, if Pioli had made no changes and Bologna scored would be on hear screaming about how stupid Pioli is for not taking the tired players off and putting in some defensive players. Guarantee it. Again, grow up, learn something, then come back.
How old is this other K because a 12 year old knows how to use the correct spelling of here instead of hear in the sentence you composed. If you are going to attack someone and called them names and question their age at least proof read your comment.
User @K, “if Pioli had made no changes and Bologna scored would be on hear screaming about how stupid Pioli is for not taking the tired players off and putting in some defensive players.” – IT DIDN’T HAPPEN. STOP MAKING SPECULATIONS. IN FACT, IT HAPPENED THAT HIS NONSENSE REPLACING EXPERIENCED ATTACKER TO DEBUT MAKER COST US MATCHES, MANY TIMES. CAN YOU DENY THAT?
ONCE WISE MAN SAID, WHEN CLOWN LOSES ARGUMENT, THEY START VERBALLY ATTACKING YOU. THAT WAS YOU!
It’s always like this on this site. Our players make c*ck up after c*ck up and Pioli gets the blame. Inter players make a mistake and “their stand-in keeper cost them.”
The PioliOut crowd is the biggest bunch of clowns you’ll ever meet with a low football IQ but are always the ones that yell the loudest…
Given the team and the players and the injuries and the new foreign influx, Pioli has done very well.
Using CAPS doesn’t make your point come across any better or seem any more intelligent than it is.
Pioli can’t do anything about two senior players missing their PK’s.
Pioli is trying to get this team to play consistently so he lines them up the same every time.
When Pioli doesn’t make subs, it’s “Start Jovic, start Simic, start youngsters”. But when he does bring them is, it’s “PIOLI MADE STUPID SUBSTITUTIONS AND SELLS THE MATCHES”. Never Happy…
Pioli has this re-hauled team securely in 3rd with all of the starting CB’s injured. And still it is Pioli’s fault?
Maybe it isn’t the coach that’s stupid, but fans that lack complete objectivity, vent and are never happy with anything…. kind of like you?
Thank you. Finally.
Nothing to add here.
But why are we relying on penalties to beat Bologna? OMG WE GOTZ PENALTEEZ YAY. Bologna was running the match until Motta got himself stupidly sent off. Arguing that we lost because we missed penalties is weak. Did we outplay Bologna? No. End of story.
this will continue until the end of the season for sure, 1 step forward – 2 steps backward , and @sempremilan , fix ur site ,wtf is this sh*t ”u are posting to quickly” when i posted just 1 comment and it happens often
It’s two steps forward and a side step to be fair. We haven’t been consistent this season, fair. Which is why we’ll need to upgrade on our coach. But that doesn’t take anything away from what he’s been able to achieve at Milan.
LMAO!!! touche on the “posting too fast” bug… That is soooo annoying.
Can’t blame Pioli for sure for this performance but I can blame him for the subs and positioning after the subs. Having said that my takeaway points are;
1. RLC position and activities off the ball is too poor and doesn’t allow for a unified and effective pressing. It’s almost like a deja vu combination of Krunic and Diaz. RLC seemed lost not knowing what to do off the ball when we are under pressure.
2. Calabria isn’t fit to be our starting RB we need a quality RB
3. Once Adli was subbed, the midfield feel apart and was constantly overrun.
The subs just had very awkward roles once they came in and that’s where I blame Pioli.
Reijnder is just falling short cus I expect him to be our dead ball specialist( taking corner kicks, penalties and free kicks) but be can’t seem to have the composure or quality to do so.
RLC should play as a DM to utilize his strength.
Forza Milan
RLC seems to be playing exactly where he should. He’s our best scorer this year. We need Tomori back. We can’t keep letting two goals in every game… As much as I like Kjaer as a person, he makes too many mistakes lately. He is mostly good as a marker. Once someone comes at him he’s just to slow.
And I miss old Mike. He’s still good with his feet but he needs to step up with his goal tending.
Reijnders is just a better version of krunic, too timid and has an interiority complex, he’s not aware of his own talents
1. RLC had a rare good game tonight
2. Calabria was one of our better players with an excellent assist
3. Adli did nothing, Musah was much more impressive
I can understand not wanting to say that adli was the problem. But saying that taking him out was the problem is a bit too far. The first goal given up, even if he was out of position, it took him forever to get into the play and Tajji got in a challenge. Starting Adli, with Calabria and Kjier was not smart. They need to have someone with a defensive IQ in front of them.
The subs, Florenzi and Musah, completely changed the momentum of the game. They end up with one chance and a stupid penalty. That was rough.
All Pioli’s fault, he should’ve used witchcraft to score those penalties and chances himself
OMG! Boulden! I’ll be damned! That was an actual objective take, man! Well done!!! I believe in you!
Keep It Up!
nice headline aint it? very fitting that the blame is on the new signing for shirt tugging causing a penalty. then gloss over the fact that we had 2 players miss 2 penalties! why did they not allow Giroud to take the very next penalty and atone for his miss?
After 2 sloppy penalties missed, its the new guy who gets the blame. skewed analysis.
If we did not have and miss 2 penalties, i might have agreed with that viewpoint. but at 3-0 up, a penalty against us in 90+ minutes would not have mattered.
You obviously did not watch the game!!
every sentence you wrote is wrong.
Giroud was not on the pitch for 2nd penalty!
At 3-0 up??????? Bologna scored first!!!!!
Also the 1st penalty was not a penalty so that’s not even a valid excuse, it was just cheating by Kjaer
You missed his point… Re-read it again.
Bologna deserved to leave San Siro undefeated. They were the better team overall.
Milan with the usual Piolismo. If it’s not of a counter attack the team doesn’t create anything. In possession there is no movement, everyone just stand there, trying to pass the ball to either winger and hope they do something in 1v1.
During the week there were actually people calling for Pioli to be kept next season too. 😂.
None of the players played well, including RLC, who besides the goals was not involved in the game. If he was a striker his performance would have been praised but as a 10 you can’t be invisible.
Theo was the worst on the pitch. Played hand in both Bologna goals. Terracciano will get the blame but prior to that Theo was destroyed by Orsolini.
2 awful penalties by Theo and Giroud. If Milan had a 3rd penalty, how many Milan players would step up to shoot it before the model, rapper, author Leao does?
Get Motta before Barca snap him. Same with Zirkzee. He bullied every Milan player around him today. Although he needs to improve his finishing. His miss saved Kjaer’s a*s.
Missed opportunity to close the distance with inter and juve, but can’t say it was unexpected. As usual Pioli does just enough to stay employed, hopefully only until the end of May.
What a disgraceful performance
I’d give most of them a big fat 0!
Mike – terrible
Theo – Terrible
Kjaer – my god i’m glad Giroud missed as that was down right cheating to win the penalty that was never one
Adli – nothing
Reijnders – nothing
Leao – absolutely useless bar 1 run
Giroud – what a lame peno, a striker who can’t score with his feet!!
Pulisic – ???
RLC, Calabria and Gabbia get a pass.
Bear in mind RLC 2nd goal was straight at the keeper
Florenzi and Musah showed some hustle
Jovic – nothing
Okafor – never got the ball,in his short time
Terraciano – what kind of stupid thing was that to do!!!!
Are you on your period? Do you need a therapist? Or another team to support? Do you only quantify good performances in terms of goals scored?
Are you 7?
Do you have a point to make? Or something you disagree with?
Or are you just going to make misogynist comments?
It is your post that’s childish
Leao was involved in a few big chances tonight and made the pass to Flo for the second goal. He’s def been off this season, but he still leads serie a in big chances created by a mile. We need better finishers. It’s obvious he should be scoring way more goals, but he could easily have 12+ assists by now if our players knew how to finish consistently
Theo should lose another point for forgetting the rules of football and putting in the post hit. But he’s usually our best attacking player so he’s allowed an occasional shocker.
Bit of a crazy game, referee having zero control over anything, the three (all soft) penalties, hitting the woodwork twice.
I agree with the ratings. Isak got it all right.
——-
This was the ultimate SHOULD HAVE WON game. Unbelievable. We waste two PKs, hit the woodwork twice (one of them, in one of the PKs), and we get several opportunities that sailed high or wide by a hair, and then we stupidly concede a PK.
Terracciano, Giroud and Theo cost us 2 points tonight. I’m particularly mad at Terracciano for conceding that PK. What was he thinking? He indeed wasted Loftus-Cheek great effort (by far, MOTM).
Maignan, yes, should have done more. At least one of the two Bologna goals could have been avoided.
Let’s see the others.
Calabria, good game. Lovely assist.
Kjaer, solid except when he allowed Zirkzee to be alone in front of Mike; fortunately for him, Zirkzee missed that sitter. Other than that, Kjaer did well both in defense and offense.
Gabbia, solid as usual. It does feel like we signed another player when we brought him back from loan. It’s hard to know what to do when the usual starters Thiaw and Tomori come back from injury; Gabbia is deserving a starting role. Maybe we should keep him and Tomori.
Adli, not good, not bad. Could have done more. No mistakes, though.
Reijnders, good game, was unlucky that his gorgeous shot from outside the box didn’t go in. A fraction of an inch lower and it would have deflected from the crossbar into the goal.
Pulisic, up to the first 30 minutes did nothing right. Then had some nice actions and also almost scored.
Leao created a lot. Was denied a goal-scoring opportunity after a gorgeous breakthrough, and unfortunatey his companion Theo wasted the resulting PK.
OK, so Terracciano was directly responsible for us dropping two points, Giroud did little of substance except for some nice passing on occasion, and Theo lost Zirkzee badly, twice, once being rescued by Gabbia, and the other one resulting in Zirkzee’s score. Then he missed a PK. Terrible night for Theo.
Subs, Jovic couldn’t do much, Musah did well, Florenzi did well, Okafor couldn’t do much, Terracciano a disaster.
And Juve dropped points too; what a golden opportunity to get closer to the leaders we spoiled tonight!
It’s easy to blame the tie on Terraciano, but our defending on both goals wasn’t organized and was hectic as hell, with so much senior presence in the box…
Defensive inattention. That’s on the whole team. Yea, Terraciano was out of position so he ended up pulling on the shirt, but he’s only 21 and needs to be allowed to make mistakes and grow. He shouldn’t have been in that position to begin with.
We have a starting front 3 players who now have a grand total of 4 goals between them in the last 8 games. 2 headers from Giroud and 1 penalty and a goal for Pulisic.
So thats 3 goals from open play and 1 scored with a FOOT – THIS IS FOOTBALL
Everytime we have the week off the players are asleep.
Useless
On Zirkzee – his overall game play is excellent (it shows the Giroud disciples what it means to have a forward who can run and contribute to play)
His shooting/finishing is not good though, he would be best as a second striker or AM
Disappointing to say the least. Really thought we’d have won today and catch up to the top. Very very disappointing. I think we played and bossed them early on but it became even as the game went on. Clear MOTM by RLC, I liked what Pioli did by pushing him up to press further and have Giroud pressing deeper like vs Tottenham . Unfortunately critical mistake by Terra moreso than the missed pens imo. Hopefully he’ll learn but we’ve been short on defensive type mids all season and seems it’s going to continue. Onto the next one
There are no leaders and no composure in this team.
It’s like watching headless chickens.
It seems we are the only team that needs no defensive midfielder!
Just look at their 1st goal
It is so unpleasant to watch this team these days
Yea I was very optimistic going into this one. I thought we’d raise the level seeing as we’ve been getting some rest recently. Didn’t want to be too negative but yes that first goal required a designated defensive mid there to just mop all that up. The ball crossed the face of goal twice across the backline along the same path….🤦♂️
exactly
Zerkzee looked good, I like his game
He is a very talented guy, but I feel he is a bit of a luxury player and we are carrying too many of those right now. We need someone who will work and fight, an Osimehn type
Zirkzee is def more suited to second striker or AM. He has great skill but his shooting/finishing is average if not poor.
I think we need a true 9 more
Sigh. We missed two penalties. Two. Missed.
I’m going to make an effort to forget this game happened.
Forza Milan
We missed 1 penalty. The other was not a penalty it was cheating, so justice was done.
None of you talk about the impact of Alexis56 your layer playing for Bologna, that’s guys is very good as a team player… Very mature game played without loosing a ball. He created more chances than pulisic, RLC… That guy need to come back to Milan.
You need to watch Milan 2nd goal before you praise Saelemaekers. He totally lost Florenzi. Even his own teammates were yelling at him.
Pulisic easily could have had two assists. The ball to Kjaer was perfect and should definitely been a goal, and the ball to Leao could definitely have been a goal as well. Plus, Pulisic had the pass to Calabria for RLC’s first goal. I don’t remember Saelemaekers creating anything like that.
Well Said !!!
I dream of one day having a coach who has offensive tactics and doesn’t make awful subs.
And is it Motta or Conte who were looking offensive
Shame on You, Mister! On you! You bought that guy from Verona and stubbornly make him play instead of our excellent young boy’s who saved your ass! Simic and Traore would seal that victory! You stup**d stubborn id**t
What a smililing day for both Inter and Juve di merda team 😀
Missing two penalties is a big deal at this level, but what manager in his right mind gives a young player his first minutes in a 2-1 game that you must win. That’s just stupid. In this case, it cost Milan the game, and the manager ultimately his job.
MM16’s not really the same bc of udinese fans. They must play without spectators for some matches next season
terraciano position is dumb…. he played as an extra RB in front of florenzi. He should have played as a CB or put someone who can play there. Didn’t have to pull the shirt as the bologna player wouldn’t have scored anyways
Are you high? It was gonna be a tap in. A goal either way. Mike almost stopped the PK.
outside of missing the two pens the most disappointing thing from this game is Juve dropped points and I thought we were going to gain some ground. Let’s not forget that Bologna is a good team and well coached so credit them for the fight but poor on our end for not winning.
Maignan did not have his best game. He was a bit unlucky on the first goal having the ball deflected between his legs but when he is on his game that is a stop. The fact that we blew two pens makes Mike’s failed pen save feel worse. He did a good job at spotting the shot but he didn’t get low enough.
The backline had a lot of action tonight. The captain put in a good shift bagging the assist. He did a good job in defense and teamed up with Pulisic as usual. Kjaer had a real fight tonight. Bologna wanted to get at our center backs and they were successful in doing so. He had good and bad moments but I didn’t feel comfortable with him at the back tonight for the first time. Gabbia is in a similar boat as Kjaer perhaps their unsteady play is a byproduct of the midfield. Theo started promising getting forward and even had a chance to create a goal but rushed his decision and ended up shooting wide or trying to past to Pulisic who was not really close enough to be a target at that point in the build up. The pen speaks for itself, not a good night.
RLC had another strong game finishing his chances. Of all the midfielders he is the one to put the ball in the goal. His defensive play was okay but a brace from a midfielder is high quality. Adli had a come back down to earth game. He didn’t necessarily do anything that stands out as terrible but he did not showcase his line breaking passes and his defensive abilities shown as Bologna cut right threw our midfield onto the center backs. Reijnders was not much better than Adli and produced similar results. He hit the woodwork of course and not scoring which is his typically showing.
The fowards were gamed tonight. Bologna doubled both Pulisic and Leao whenever they received the ball on the wing. Pulisic had a decent chance at a goal but did not finish. He had two crosses where one should have been finished and the other having a chance if someone wanted it bad enough. Leao looked good early on trying to get others involved but he still hasn’t gotten that goal. He and the staff need to find a way to get him back on track because he is our main threat going forward although Pulisic has had a better season so far. Giroud was poor on his pen and that’s sad to see because he already has one miss to his name on the season. I like Giroud’s link up play and he is a willing defender but not much went his way tonight.
For the subs I liked Musah coming on. Once I saw he was going into the midfield I noticed an upgrade in the defense. Flo was a good addition at least for his assist. I know we all want to blame Terracciano for his mistake which we should but I don’t think he should have been put in this match.
Pioli cannot be blamed for the players mistakes but he made some of his own. Musah came on too late. Terracciano should not have been brought in at all in the first place and I question why he subbed out both Leao and Pulisic together. I think teams get the hint that he is trying to seal off the game but we are not a grind it out team.
just like many of you I am disappointed with the result all do respect to Bologna but we could have won this match and teams that win their leagues do win these type of matches.
Hernandez is a truly terrible penalty taker. Pioli should know his okayers better. He was looking at the keeper instead of the ball and I knew he would miss. Leao or Pulisic should have taken that if Giroud was not on the field.
Can anyone explain why theo penalty being disallowed ??
Penalty or free kick taker cannot touch the ball twice in a row. Hitting the woodwork does not count as a touch.
Please get it out of your heads that we’re chasing Juve and Inter this season. They are both much better than us this season. We’re not gonna catch them.
We need to focus on consistency and playing more as a team, and of course positive progress in EL. Pioli has us securely in 3rd with some distance from the 5th spot.
We’re good. I promise, you will all sleep better once you accept this.
Milan actually played well, and dominated a decent Bologna side. It was a case of 3 bad moments rather than a bad game.
Let’s be real. If Terraciano didn’t tug the shirt Kristiansen was going to score anyway. You have to partially blame Theo for being absolutely schooled by Orsolini. The first goal was a tactical nightmare. Adli and Reijnders weren’t even back to help defensively until after the goal was scored. The defense was flailing around like 8 year old kids and it took a deflection so I don’t think you can blame Mike all that much. I’m honestly shocked he didn’t get a hand on the penalty. IT went right under him.
I hate this 4-0-6 formation Pioli uses in attack. It’s awful, especially against the counter. Stop using it you bald fraud. That being said both Pioli and the players should get equal blame for this disaster.
Aldi is supposed to be the furthest back; its a 2 (cb)-3 (fb+adli) -5 (others) and its easily the most common attacking strategy at the moment unless you wanna go wingbacks into a 3-2-5.Adli can’t afford to get caught out of position. he is a big part of stopping a counter, and it took him 45 minutes to get back…
I am fed up with all the negativity,especially about pioli …He is a good coach ..get a new one next season and we will completely fall apart …just remember if we do I told you so…Yes I am also a huge Giroud fan and his link up play has been very good ,,tonight he failed ,and of course he should have scored from the penalty..The penalty in the first place ,never was .
Pioli made substitutions ,,.my only thing with that was why pulisic was taken off ( but I am sure pioli ) had his reasons ..Loftus cheek did very well ,my only concern with that is that it didn’t help create width ..We just did not use the wingers ,,,so again this did not help either Giroud or indeed jovic when he came on..
Anyway coming back to the match …We definitely still deserved to win this match ..You just can’t miss two penalties of which were both very poor..Yes the first one should never been given ..Big Mike was at fault for the first goal ,,,and has already been said ,,but he has made a few errors of late..So yes man of the match loftus cheek ,,but have reservations of him coming forward too often …Rafeol leao keeps getting criticised, but much of our creativity still comes from him ,just need some scoring boots ( that said ) still such a good player to have on the pitch ..
Musah when he came on did very well .
So these comments in no way are meant as a negative for our team ,,as we are still doing ok ..
We should have won this match ,,,in the second half we were the better team …
So let’s see what happens our next game ..
It’s still a positive for me .
Lol Be careful with the I told you so, they don’t like that around these parts 😂. But I completely agree. Pioli had done very well and has been doing nothing short of miracles. No CB for 3-4 months now, still comfortably 3rd, UCL every season. I’m sorry but no one guarantees that and he’s been consistently doing it. If people thinks he’s stubborn it’s fine but all coaches are. The next coach will have his stubborn traits that ppl will get tired of, they have their strengths and weaknesses. Just look at what happened to Napoli this season from a change of coach. If people want that that’s fine and within their opinion. But I see none of the names we’ve been linked with better than Pioli. If we want to spend money on a coach in the higher bracket ( Klopp costs 20m a season for instance ) that’s fine but for what we’re paying Pioli, he’s about as good as they come. There was a graphic couple weeks ago which showed the cost of coaches and points per game and Pioli was among the higher ones. The others that were better had stellar squads like PSG, Real and so on but once you get past that it’s basically Pioli, literally the next best thing. As always, you need to tell these fans be careful what you wish for. I’m super happy were not struggling for 5th and 6th or 8th. We’re so privileged and we don’t even realize it. There are lots of teams that would like to be where we’re at.
As to your other point on Leao, they tripled team him everytime he got the ball which in and of itself is not a bad thing. It just that we were poor at moving the ball around past the triple team. Notice the second goal came off of him moving to the right wing when no triple team came and created space for Flo. We just need to find solutions and quicker ball movements to take advantage of him getting tripled. Ppl are so obsessed about his individual goal tally and I dont, I’m fine with the space he’s creating for Puli and others so they can score and he doesn’t have to. If he wasn’t then id have an issue.
Go rewatch the game and focus on Theo. He was by far the worst player in defensive phase. On the first goal he was nowhere on Bologna’s build up, then he catches up and let’s it slip with a deflection on Maignan. The Terracciano situation started on the opposite flank, where Theo got schooled like a rookie. Besides, what was Terracciano’s role? Wasn’t Florenzi the one who should be covering that flank?
After watching the game, I came to a conclusion that Zirkzee must be acquired at all costs.
So sick and tired of seeing Leao lolloping through games, 50 step overs to beat no one, no end product, looking up to the sky, etc. He is absolutely overrated. The fact that he has just released his autobiography says everything.
Pulisic easily could have had two assists. The ball to Kjaer was perfect and should definitely been a goal, and the ball to Leao could definitely have been a goal as well. Plus, Pulisic had the pass to Calabria for RLC’s first goal. I don’t remember Saelemaekers creating anything like that.
No matter how good you are as a goalie, you will still leak some easy goals. Mike has done well so far, and we shouldn’t start condemning the whole team and coach, because of a draw. We should be glad that the team is improving, after injuries to so many players. Pulisic doesn’t have the strength for 90 minutes in every game. It’s painful that we lost the chance to close the gap on Juve, but, we have a lot to take from the game.