AC Milan staged a dramatic comeback win over Inter on Saturday as the Rossoneri picked up three crucial points in the battle at the top of the Serie A table.
Things looked bleak for Milan at half-time, as we not only trailed Inter after Ivan Perisic broke the deadlock just before the break, but we had also looked second best throughout the opening 45 minutes with a lack of quality in the final third particularly hurting us.
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In turn, there was a lot of work to do in the second half to wrestle back some control, and while we still weren’t particularly convincing, the players continued to scrap and Stefano Pioli’s changes were key as Olivier Giroud’s quick-fire double turned things around in our favour.
That sees us cut the gap to Inter to just a point, albeit the Nerazzurri have a game in hand on us, but it certainly puts more pressure on them in the battle for the Scudetto, while it’s a significant win as Milan try to keep ahead of the chasing pack in the fight for a top-four finish too.
AC Milan player ratings vs Inter:
Mike Maignan, 8 – A decisive performance at the other end of the pitch as he made a number of key saves in the first half that kept us in the game. Had it not been for his shot-stopping as well as his decision-making to rush out, we wouldn’t have been in a position to turn it around.
Davide Calabria, 6 – Improved in the second half but was given a tough time by Perisic as he struggled to effectively deal with his threat and got caught out of position on a few occasions to leave us exposed to the counter attack.
Pierre Kalulu, 6 – Also struggled with Perisic on that side of the pitch, but used his pace and physicality well to cut out danger several times and grew into the game more after the break.
Alessio Romagnoli, 6.5 – Fully focused and concentrated throughout, while it wasn’t a commanding performance, the Milan captain produced a solid display as he helped keep things tight at the back with an error-free outing that helped lead the way for his teammates.
Theo Hernandez, 6 – Struggled with Dumfries for much of the first half, but got a hold of things on that flank as it went on. Bombed forward with real menace at times to provide a threat for us, but night was soured by the late red card he received for a reckless tackle that was made while trying to see out the win in mind.
Sandro Tonali, 7 – Set the tone early on and showed that he was ready for the challenge. Showed grit and determination to fight for us in midfield and while he was solid defensively, he also showed his quality breaking forward with the ball a few times too, none more important than in the build up to our equaliser.
Ismael Bennacer, 6 – Played his part in helping us turn things around as he continued to scrap in midfield to give us some control and presence, and although it wasn’t one of his best performances in a Milan shirt, he will certainly hope that he can now build on this and cement his place in the starting XI again.
Alexis Saelemaekers, 5 – Replaced at half-time, the Belgian winger wasn’t at the races for this one as he couldn’t offer a threat in the final third and was often guilty of giving up possession. Further, he didn’t do a great deal to help Calabria deal with Perisic down that flank while he was struggling, and so it was a disappointing outing from him.
Franck Kessie, 5 – The decision to deploy Kessie in a more advanced role didn’t pay off. He failed to shackle Brozovic which was part of his assignment as the Inter midfielder was able to dictate play for the ‘hosts’, and he also fell short in trying to provide support and service to Giroud. In turn, it was a poor return to action for him.
Rafael Leao, 5.5 – Not one of his better performances as he was unable to use his pace and directness to good effect on this occasion. Some credit goes to the Inter backline for that, but also Leao will be disappointed that he couldn’t do more when on the ball to give them problems down that left flank.
Olivier Giroud, 8 – Lacked the necessary service in the first half as he was starved of chances and couldn’t really get into the game despite his best efforts. It all changed after the break though as on the two occasions he was able to get on the end of things in the box, he scored twice and turned the game on its head. The first goal was just good centre forward play to steer home Diaz’s shot, while the second was brilliant hold up play and a finish to match. Decisive.
Substitutions:
Messias Junior, 5.5 – An improvement on Saelemaekers down our right flank, but also struggled to really have a telling impact on the game.
Brahim Diaz, 7 – Sharp, creative and direct with his play as he looked like he wanted to make a point having been out of form and out of the side. Showcased the quality we know he has to make a key difference, as he was instrumental in the build-up to our first goal in particular while also adding more of a threat in between the lines.
Rade Krunic, N/A – Came on and did his job well as he helped us hold out for the win.