Milan were held to a 1-1 draw with Sampdoria on Saturday as Jens Petter Hauge came off the bench to rescue a point for the Rossoneri.
In another disappointing performance, Milan dropped points at a crucial stage of the season as they struggled to get going in the first half and failed to break out of a lacklustre display.
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After Fabio Quagliarella pounced on a sloppy Theo Hernandez pass to give the visitors the lead, it looked as though Milan were starting at another home defeat but Hauge’s introduction added some much-needed impetus out wide and he showed great composure to bag the equaliser.
However, there were a string of disappointing individual performances, mainly from Milan’s frontline, and that is reflected in the ratings below.
Milan player ratings vs Sampdoria:
Gianluigi Donnarumma, 6.5 – Produced two crucial saves in the first half as he showed his class again, while he couldn’t have done anything to prevent the goal.
Alexis Saelemaekers, 5 – Struggled to adapt to his new role at right-back and lasted just 45 minutes. Will hopefully be restored to his more accustomed position further up the flank next time.
Simon Kjaer, 6.5 – Solid performance from the veteran and he dealt with danger with minimal fuss and marshalled the backline well.
Fikayo Tomori, 6.5 – A really impressive performance from the Chelsea loanee again as he looked switched on from the very first minute and didn’t give Sampdoria a chance in the final third. A real positive in a dire game.
Theo Hernandez, 4 – Nowhere near the level he’s capable of as he was at fault for the goal with another sloppy pass that he finally paid the price for on this occasion. Lacked intensity and seemingly even interest at times.
Franck Kessie, 6.5 – Assist for the goal and another workmanlike display as he continues to be a pillar of the side. Did well in the early stages as Bennacer got to grips with the game on his return to the starting line-up, as the Ivorian also helps others look good. Did miss a big chance at the end though.
Ismael Bennacer, 6 – Struggled to begin with, but he gradually started to find his feet and settled into the game well before making way. A real boost to have him back in the side, and he will no doubt continue to get better and more influential with playing time.
Samu Castillejo, 4.5 – Did little to nothing of note, no real quality in his attacking play, outmuscled on countless occasions and his defensive effort is not as influential as it once was.
Hakan Calhanoglu, 5 – Showed flashes, but nowhere near enough in a game where Milan needed his quality and creative spark to open up 10-man Sampdoria in the latter stages. Another disappointing outing for the Turkish international.
Rade Krunic, 4.5 – No real positive impact on the game as he struggled to get going on the left flank.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 5 – Struggled to get into the game with the lack of quality and creativity around him but wasn’t particularly impressive when in possession either.
Substitutes:
Pierre Kalulu, 6 – Looked much more comfortable at right-back than Saelemaekers. Defensively did well and got forward at every opportunity, lacked a bit of quality on the final ball into the box.
Sandro Tonali, 6.5 – Positive impact off the bench as he picked up the tempo of our play and spread the ball out wide quickly to get us going in attack against a side sitting deeper and deeper.
Ante Rebic, 5.5 – Offered more on the flank after coming on and added a different dynamic to our attack, but the end product wasn’t there.
Jens Petter Hauge, 6.5 – Huge contribution to rescue a point as he showed great composure and produced a fine finish to score our equaliser. Although he did struggle initially in 1v1 situations, showed enough with the goal to suggest that he should be getting more playing time especially when those in front of him are not doing enough.
