AC Milan produced a spirited performance and a crucial 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Rossoneri had to win to ultimately keep our hopes of advancing to the knockout stage alive, and a late goal from Messias Junior ensured we return home from the Wanda Metropolitano with all three points.
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That win moves us to four points after five games in Group B and into third place level with Atleti, while we trail Porto by one point as we host Liverpool at San Siro in the final match-day of the group stage.
Time will tell if we can get a win that could see us through as we must rely on the other result to go our way too, but for now, it was an impressive win in Spain that Milan and Stefano Pioli will be delighted with.
Milan player ratings vs Atletico Madrid:
Ciprian Tatarusanu, 6.5 – Produced a key save to deny De Paul which ultimately was flagged for offside, but was otherwise alert to danger and solid between the posts.
Pierre Kalulu, 6 – Put in a tireless shift and defended well, but lacked any real quality with his delivery into the box and so that has to be something he works on in training.
Simon Kjaer, 7.5 – A superb performance from the Danish stalwart, as he kept Luis Suarez quiet throughout and led the way in terms of Milan’s defensive solidity and organisation.
Alessio Romagnoli, 7.5 – Equally as impressive as his defensive partner, as he produced several important interventions to protect our clean sheet and put us in a position to go on and win the game. An all-round, top-class display.
Theo Hernandez, 6.5 – Did well to push forward to nullify Atleti’s threat down that flank but needs to cut out the sloppiness in his play as it creates problems for us in the defensive phase.
Sandro Tonali, 6.5 – Showed great intensity and quality in both phases of the game, as he has successfully taken the positive upturn in his domestic form into Europe and proven that he can deliver on this stage too.
Franck Kessie, 7 – An excellent shift from our commanding Ivorian midfielder, one that has been missing so far this season. Imposed himself on the midfield battle and came out on top, and produced the all-important assist for Messias for our winning goal with a brilliant delivery.
Alexis Saelemaekers, 6.5 – A lot of good things and his work ethic was spot on, so he certainly played his part in the win. Milan do need a bit more quality from that position though as an attacking threat.
Brahim Diaz, 6 – Always looking to create and make something happen, was a problem for Atleti in terms of his movement and creativity between the lines.
Rade Krunic, 5.5 – Not a particularly great display but we almost come to expect the limitations in his game from an offensive perspective. Took too long on the ball and led to multiple occasions where he gave up possession.
Olivier Giroud, 5.5 – Disappointing to see him come off with an injury and so it’s hoped that it isn’t anything serious. However, a poor night for the Frenchman too but not entirely his fault, as he didn’t receive the service required to make the most of his strengths and in turn was left isolated for large periods.
Substitutions:
Tiemoue Bakayoko, 6 – Put in an important shift in midfield to tighten things up and kept us pushing forward in search of the late winner.
Messias Junior, 7.5 – A brilliant impact off the bench, as while the cross from Kessie was perfect, he produced a sublime, thumping header to find the back of the net and finally made his big first impression in a Milan shirt.
Alessandro Florenzi, 6.5 – Another player with a positive influence after coming on, determined and used his experience well to impact the game.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 6.5 – Was able to offer more of a presence up front which helped us in our attacking play, and so once again Pioli did well with his decision-making on the night to ultimately secure the victory.
Ismael Bennacer, N/A