AC Milan battled to a 1-1 draw with Roma on Saturday to secure what could prove to be a decisive point courtesy of Alexis Saelemaekers’ late equaliser.
The Rossoneri were poor in truth, as we lacked any real quality or rhythm to our attacking play, and that subsequently contributed to a scrappy encounter with Roma also struggling.
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While it looked as though we might be punished for it after Tammy Abraham broke the deadlock in injury time, Milan showed great resolve and character to secure a share of the spoils deep into added time in what could be a big moment in our campaign.
With six Serie A games remaining, there is going to be a real scrap ahead for a Champions League qualification spot, and while we can praise our mentality and battling qualities, we’ll need to raise our level in the coming weeks.
AC Milan player ratings vs Roma:
Mike Maignan, 6 – Good finish from Abraham to beat him, didn’t have a great deal to do beyond that given our ability to limit Roma’s threat. Was alert to deliveries into the box and was generally accurate with his distribution.
Davide Calabria, 6 – Had his hands full on that side of the pitch, but showed resilience and discipline in sticking to his task despite having his struggles, while he also made key interventions too.
Simon Kjaer, 6.5 – Strong performance as he showed composure and leadership in marshalling the defence and dealing with a physical two-man Roma attack to keep them quiet. Replaced in latter stages and his presence was missed.
Fikayo Tomori, 5.5 – Picked up a booking which made him more cautious before a dead leg forced him off at half-time despite his best efforts to continue just before the break. Mixed bag prior to that in dealing with Abraham and Belotti.
Theo Hernandez, 5 – A poor effort as he lacked conviction and intent in his attacking play, and that often led to our moves breaking down. Sloppy in possession and scrambled at times defensively as this was far from his best.
Sandro Tonali, 6 – Epitomised the battling performance of the team as a whole as he helped get us a foothold in the game with his combative effort in midfield. Hopefully we’ll see him be more influential in possession moving forward too.
Rade Krunic, 5.5 – Similar to Tonali in that he produced a scrappy display that was important in the context of the game, but often gifted possession away in dangerous areas as well at times, while he wasn’t accurate enough with a big chance in the first half that was wasted.
Brahim Diaz, 5.5 – Didn’t have a big enough influence on proceedings as we need more creativity and technical quality from him in these type of games to unlock stubborn and physical defences. On a more positive note though, he put in a real shift for the team with his defensive work, particularly his tracking back.
Ismael Bennacer, 6 – Battled hard up until being replaced as he pressed and applied pressure to force Roma into mistakes while trying to couple that with an attacking threat. Couldn’t really have an impact in that phase, while it’s also questionable if we need him to play that role in a game like this where we could perhaps have shifted him back and added more creativity.
Rafael Leao, 7 – Consistently showed a great burst of pace and skill to beat his man, but he was left frustrated with the lack of quality and support from his teammates around him while also being made to wait too long for the ball at times. He needs to channel that frustration in the right way, but he showed his class in the end with the crucial delivery for our equaliser.
Olivier Giroud, 5.5 – Not at his usual best in terms of his ability to link play together and bring his teammates into the move with a deft touch or flick. Further, struggled to really offer a genuine attacking threat in the final third.
Substitutes:
Malick Thiaw, 5.5 – Imposed himself well after coming on at half-time as he looked calm and relaxed with his ability to read the game and take up good positioning, but will be disappointed he didn’t do better to deny Abraham’s late attempt on goal.
Alexis Saelemaekers, 6.5 – Spurned a big chance after coming on which could have been a decisive moment in the game. While he struggled to really add quality thereafter too, he eventually made his mark with a crucial equaliser.
Charles De Ketelaere, 5.5 – Showed glimpses of his talent, but wasn’t strong enough in the challenge that ultimately sparked Roma’s counter attack and goal.
Pierre Kalulu, 5 – Similar to Thiaw in that the pair didn’t do well enough to prevent Abraham from getting into a goalscoring position. Gave him too much time and space on his favoured foot and it proved to be costly.
Divock Origi, N/A