Again not making things easy for themselves, AC Milan rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win 2-3 away at Frosinone, securing three vital points. The three main heroes were Rafael Leao, Luka Jovic, and Olivier Giroud; the player ratings are below.
Maignan (5): Despite diving correctly, he was unable to stop the penalty, but his play on the second goal was nearly frightening. The Frenchman is aware that the ball should never have struck the back of the net. Fortunately, Milan returned and prevailed.
Calabria(6): The skipper put up a passable performance in both halves of the match, constantly making sure to enter the box while moving forward. He occasionally worked well with Pulisic as well. Enough, I’m sure, to get a pass here.
Kjaer (5.5): The Dane was much too unconvincing early on due to his bad positioning and lethargic movement, but he produced several excellent clearances near the finish. Not to add that on many times, his passing—which is often excellent—was completely off. The second half was better, but not great.
Gabbia (6.5): Like Kjaer, he occasionally had trouble keeping up with the tempo, but he produced some pretty excellent tackles tonight. Milan benefits from a higher grade here since the equalizer came at the correct time and place.
Hernandez (6): Initially invisible and unable to locate his place, Hernandez showed improvement in the second half, combining well with Leao. Even though we are aware that he is capable of much more, it was nonetheless acceptable.
Adli (6): It’s fair to say that the Frenchman struggled a bit early on but bounced back for a respectable performance. Although we think he should have done more in other instances tonight, the cross before to the second goal was a fantastic touch.
Reijnders(5.5): Had trouble moving the ball forward and was given the one penalty he hoped to avoid: a yellow card. Milan would rather not lose the match against Napoli because of his absence.
Pulisic (5.5): We witnessed that on one occasion when he dribbled past Brescianini, who is not a left-back, during their match. The American then just ceased doing that and lacked courage. Although he made a decent defensive effort, he needs to attack the ball more in games like this. He also had a terrific positional shot right at the goalie.
Loftus-Cheek (5.5): The Englishman truly battled out there and had very little effect on the game, save for a few of nice initial touches.
Leao (7.5): Despite the extremely unfortunate handball on the penalty, one of his greatest performances of the season. He made numerous excellent passes into the box and nearly always outmuscled his opponent, thus he deserved more than one assist. And although though he was unable to score, this has given him more confidence.
Giroud (7.5 – MOTM): Say what you will about his overall play, but he ended up playing a key role and providing an assist. And his header showed off every one of his strengths, it was just great. With performances like these, Milan’s renewal is all but necessary.
Replacements for Okafor (6): A strong effort coming off the bench, however he struggled with location, particularly when Leao played a cut-back ball.
Bennacer (6): The Algerian came off the bench with some decent play, and it was good to see him again. It’s also worth noting that he put in the cross right before Jovic scored.
Jovic (7): The Serbian scored another goal as a super sub, taking less than a minute to strike the back of the net. A vital goal for Milan, and even if he wasn’t very good off the goal, the Rossoneri didn’t require much more.
Musah (6): Excellent ball shielding as the clock is running out.
Florenzi (N/A): His play was insufficient to receive a rating.
The manager Pioli (5.5): He once again made the appropriate substitutions, but the most of the game was characterized by a terrible tactical approach. Milan nearly appeared to be operating without a clear strategy, therefore the manager should consider himself fortunate that Leao and Giroud were feeling upbeat.