AC Milan battled to secure a share of the spoils in our Sunday night showdown with Juventus as neither side could find a breakthrough in a 0-0 draw.
The Rossoneri were looking to respond after our disappointing defeat to Spezia last time out, while the visitors knew that a win would close the gap and put them firmly back in the mix for the top four in Serie A.
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However, both sides drew a blank in a goalless draw at San Siro, in what was a scrappy and physical game that lacked the necessary quality to find a winner.
Nevertheless, it’s a positive result for Milan to build on with a clean sheet a welcome boost, while they will now prepare for an important encounter with Inter after the break.
AC Milan player ratings vs Juventus
Mike Maignan, 6 – Didn’t have a great deal to do in truth as went untested for the most part, but organised his defensive line well throughout, was alert to danger when it came his way and his distribution forward was tidy.
Davide Calabria, 7 – A welcome boost having him back in the side as he put in a solid defensive shift and threatened with two long-range efforts that went close. Brings energy and intensity to the team and so it’s great to see him back from his injury layoff.
Pierre Kalulu, 7 – Top performance from Kalulu as he used his strength and pace well to nullify Morata’s threat and constantly break Juve’s play up in the final third. No mistakes either in his defending or his passing out from the back as he showed good awareness and positioning.
Alessio Romagnoli, 6.5 – In context, an impressive return to action for our captain after recovering from Covid. Similarly to Kalulu, they both were error-free in their defending and put up a strong shield of protection for Maignan to earn their clean sheet.
Theo Hernandez, 6.5 – Contained well by Cuadrado at times, but stayed switched on defensively and broke forward when possible to give us an injection of pace and impetus to offer a threat down that left flank.
Rade Krunic, 5.5 – Did the basics well in a limited performance. While he’s prepared to get stuck in and offer us a physical presence in midfield, we need much more in that position to be effective, particularly offensively.
Sandro Tonali, 7 – Another impressive outing as his intensity and aggression was crucial in the early stages after Juve made a positive start. Most of our positive work in midfield came through him, although his tempo did drop in the latter stages and that in turn saw our overall threat flicker out slightly.
Messias Junior, 5 – Largely ineffective as he couldn’t really offer much of a threat down that right flank. An opportunity to make a big impression in a big game, he came up short unfortunately which should see Rebic get more time moving forward.
Brahim Diaz, 5.5 – Has his moments with his technical quality on the ball and shows a lot of grit, but the quality and creativity just isn’t there. Still tries to make things happen, but Milan need more of a decisive presence in that playmaker role both in terms of goals and assists.
Rafael Leao, 6 – A drop from his recent form as in fairness, Juve did well to limit his ability to influence the game. Showed glimpses with his pace and direct running, but couldn’t find that all-important decisive last action to make a bigger impression on the encounter.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 5 – Came off early due to injury, but his performance level has dropped dramatically in recent weeks. He often comes short to get the ball but either losses possession cheaply or leaves the penalty area empty with no target for his teammates to find. Needs to rediscover some form.
Substitutions:
Olivier Giroud, 5 – Couldn’t really make a significant difference in our overall play and missed some headed chances that he’ll certainly feel he could have done better with.
Ismael Bennacer, 6 – Good to have him back from international duty as he gives us an important option next to Tonali in midfield. Came on and tried to pick up the intensity with his pressing and pressure, but lacked the same level of urgency around him and so was difficult to make a telling contribution.
Alexis Saelemaekers, 5.5 – Either tried too much which saw him run into trouble or lacked the quality to find that killer last touch. To his credit though, he came on and tried to make things happen for us in attack.
Alessandro Florenzi, 6 – A tidy run-out to replace a tiring Calabria, as he did his job well at right-back without doing anything extravagant.
Ante Rebic, 5.5 – Usually enjoys coming up against Juve, but couldn’t find that spark of quality to make the difference this time.