AC Milan suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to Inter in the Derby della Madonnina on Saturday evening, as our poor form in this fixture continues.
The Rossoneri have now fallen to five consecutive defeats against our city rivals across all competitions, and once again we fell behind early to put ourselves in a hole and in an unwanted position of having to fight back from behind.
READ MORE: Milan squad depth faces crucial challenge as key players must step up
While there was a decent response after going 2-0 down, it simply wasn’t good enough from the team as a whole throughout, particularly in the latter stages as we let the scoreline run away from us.
Following such a promising start to the Serie A campaign, this is a humbling defeat that brings us crashing back down, and so there will need to be a strong reaction next week both domestically and in Europe.
AC Milan player ratings vs Inter:
Mike Maignan, 5.5 – Will be frustrated having conceded five goals in such a big game, but very little he could have done for any of the goals having been left so badly exposed by poor defending.
Davide Calabria, 4.5 – The experiment which sees him drift into a defensive midfield position needs to stop. It feels forced and hasn’t particularly worked since Pioli started to try it out and while his commitment can’t be questioned, we need to use him in a more natural role.
Simon Kjaer, 5 – Difficult circumstances for him to come into for his first start of the season, and despite the disappointment of the defensive display as a whole, did his part to try and organise the backline and keep it tight.
Malick Thiaw, 4 – Had a torrid outing in this one as he was guilty of poor defending for a number of Inter’s goals and ultimately wasn’t good enough in giving us a solid foundation at the back. A bitterly disappointing step back after such a positive start to the campaign.
Theo Hernandez, 4 – Similar struggles defensively as he wasn’t strong enough in that phase of the game to help keep things tight at the back. Showed a threat with his attacking play at times, but nowhere near his best and had a poor game.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 6 – One of the few who came away from this defeat with any credit. Imposed himself on the game better than most, but it wasn’t enough to influence the outcome as he needed better support around him.
Rade Krunic, 4 – Didn’t do enough to help us get a foothold in midfield and subsequently in the game in general. Milan needed more composure and control in that area of the pitch, and we didn’t get it from Krunic.
Tijjani Reijnders, 4 – After a string of positive performances, this one showed that he still has a long way to go, particularly if he wants to stand out as a key performer in big games. Inter applied plenty of pressure to limit his influence, and so he’ll have to learn from this and make adjustments moving forward.
Christian Pulisic, 4 – Offered little to nothing in the attacking phase as he was poor throughout before being replaced shortly after the break. Another player who has impressed so far this season but didn’t step up when needed against top opposition.
Olivier Giroud, 5 – Tried to give us a presence and focal point up top and did well at times, but much like the rest of the side, overwhelmled by Inter’s pressure and came out second best. Provided an assist for Leao’s goal, but that aside, a quiet game for the Frenchman.
Rafael Leao, 5.5 – Showed his class with his goal to seemingly give us a route back into the game, but wasn’t able to have his usual impact as he was another who struggled under the intensity and pressure applied by Inter.
Substitutes:
Samuel Chukwueze, 5 – Difficult to be too critical given the context of the game he entered into, but ultimately needs to make a more decisive impact when called upon.
Noah Okafor, N/A
Luka Jovic, N/A
Alessandro Florenzi, N/A
Yunus Musah, N/A