AC Milan survived a scare to eventually prevail 4-2 against Bologna on Saturday night which in turn temporarily moves us top in Serie A.
The Rossoneri looked in complete control as goals from Rafael Leao and Davide Calabria put us two goals to the good in the first half, while the hosts were reduced to 10 men.
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However, Milan’s poor start to the second half was punished as Bologna drew level, and although they went down to nine men shortly after, they held out until the latter stages before Ismael Bennacer and Zlatan Ibrahimovic secured all three points.
The win moves Stefano Pioli’s side top of the Serie A table ahead of Napoli’s game on Sunday, and although it wasn’t always convincing, we eventually managed to get the job done.
Milan player ratings vs Bologna:
Ciprian Tatarusanu, 6 – Produced a couple of important saves, albeit regulation ones given his experience and level, but could have arguably done better with Musa Barrow’s goal to cut down the space quicker.
Davide Calabria, 7 – Did well defensively for the most part, and produced an excellent drilled finish to grab our second goal to show both sides of his game.
Simon Kjaer, 6 – A solid performance on the whole but will be disappointed with the manner in which Bologna were able to cut through us for their equaliser.
Fikayo Tomori, 6.5 – Slightly better than his defensive partner in terms of being defensively sound throughout. That said, he will also feel as though he should have done better for the second goal having been dragged out of position.
Fode Ballo-Toure, 6.5 – A much-improved display after concerns were raised over his ability level in the last two games. Still needs to find an end-product as he had countless deliveries into the box, but a positive outing nonetheless.
Sandro Tonali, 6.5 – Replaced at the break having picked up a yellow card in the first half, but it was a steady performance up to that point as he played his part in us taking a commanding lead.
Ismael Bennacer, 7 – Not at his best in the first half, but undoubtedly improved after the interval as aside from his overall play in midfield, he scored our crucial third goal with a superb finish and provided the assist for our fourth.
Samu Castillejo, 6 – Deserved a start after his impressive display last time out against Verona, worked hard without ever really producing stand-out quality in the final third. Replaced at half-time due to a thigh injury.
Rade Krunic, 5 – Didn’t contribute a great deal as aside from forcing the first red card for Adama Soumaoro, he didn’t play much of a role in our build-up play as the attacking midfielder in the side.
Rafael Leao, 6.5 – Started really well and broke the deadlock with a great run and deflected finish. However, disappeared in the second half and became completely anonymous which will have disappointed Pioli.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 7 – Wasn’t particularly influential on the game in general, but produced moments of class when we needed it. Provided the assist for Leao’s goal and produced a sumptuous finish to wrap the game up by making it 4-2 with a lovely curled effort into the bottom corner.
Substitutions:
Tiemoue Bakayoko, 6 – A decent shift considering his lack of minutes in recent weeks. Added physicality and solidity in midfield but needs time to get back to his best fitness levels.
Alexis Saelemaekers, 5 – A poor impact off the bench as he didn’t really add much to our attacking play and risked a red card with some sloppy tackling.
Olivier Giroud, 5.5 – Forced a good save from Skorupski with a trademark header, but other than that, wasn’t able to pose much of a threat.
Pierre Kalulu, N/A