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Milan player ratings vs Roma: Tonali superb, Leao electric off bench

Sumeet Paul

AC Milan secured a 3-1 win over Roma at San Siro on Thursday, starting the New Year in fine form with three important points.

The Rossoneri took the lead through an Olivier Giroud penalty early on, before Messias Junior doubled our advantage soon after.

While the visitors were able to grab a goal back just before half-time, Stefano Pioli’s men came out and produced in the second half and eventually put the game to bed through an excellent goal from substitute Rafael Leao.

READ MORE: Four Milan players who must now step up to overcome blip in Scudetto charge

With Inter not in action, it means we cut the gap at the top of the Serie A table to just a point for now, and it’s hopefully the perfect confidence boost for us heading into the upcoming fixtures as we look to put a good run of form together now and get our Scudetto challenge firmly on track.

Given the number of absentees that Milan were dealing with for this game, it’s an impressive victory and Pioli will no doubt be delighted with his players for stepping up and getting the desired result.

AC Milan player ratings vs Roma:

Mike Maignan, 7.5 – Despite Milan’s dominance at times, Maignan was called into action on several occasions and produced top saves to deny Roma. A really important contribution as they were key moments in the game.

Alessandro Florenzi, 7 – Put in a great shift for the team down that right flank as he defended diligently and got forward to provide width whenever possible too in a key effort in both phases of the game.

Pierre Kalulu, 6.5 – Nervous in possession as he looked to clear the ball at every opportunity instead of composing himself and helping us maintain control. However, he settled as the game went on and provided us with enough protection to see out the win.

Mattia Gabbia, 6.5 – Similar to Kalulu as the pair both looked nervous at times and struggled in the early stages. However, soon found his feet and while it wasn’t by any means a complete performance, he did well in the circumstances to keep things tight at the back for us.

Theo Hernandez, 7 – Handed the captain’s armband for this one, he put in a top display as he battled hard throughout and looked to offer a threat in attack at every opportunity too. Cut out the sloppiness in his play, and drew several fouls, one of which led to Karsdorp’s red card.

Rade Krunic, 6 – To his credit, he battled hard throughout to try and give us a foothold in the game and was in the wars at times judging from his bloodied nose and given he took a few knocks. Did his job well in that sense, but was also quite limited in his work when in possession.

Sandro Tonali, 8 – A top-class performance. With Kessie and Bennacer unavailable, this month is an important one for Tonali as he has the opportunity to cement his place in the side and really take leadership in the heart of the team. He battled hard, offered good protection to his defensive teammates and was accurate with his distribution when getting us up the pitch.

Messias Junior, 7 – Took his goal with real class as he curled his effort into the corner emphatically to double our lead. Tricky at times as he used his skill well to take on and get past his marker, but perhaps lacked that bit of killer quality to create more problems for Roma.

Brahim Diaz, 6.5 – Showed flashes, particularly with his effort that cannoned off the crossbar. Still struggling to be as influential as we need him to be, but a good performance nonetheless.

Alexis Saelemaekers, 6.5 – Worked hard for the team with his pressing and tracking back, but couldn’t quite get going from an attacking perspective as he was quite limited in offering a threat in the final third.

Olivier Giroud, 7 – Excellent penalty as he found the back of the net with great composure, offered a physical presence up top as a target for his teammates and while the service wasn’t always there, he produced a decent performance to lead the line for us.

Substitutions:

Tiemoue Bakayoko, 6 – Looked nervous early on as a heavy touch drew groans from the Milan faithful. However, steadied himself well thereafter and found his feet to give us more control and physicality in midfield to see out the win.

Rafael Leao, 7.5 – A superb effort off the bench as he used his pace to burst through and score our third goal to effectively kill the game. Showed great directness and speed to draw the late penalty which was ultimately missed, but great to have him back in the fold after his recent absence through injury.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 6 – In fairness, it was a decent save that denied him from the penalty spot, but he’ll be disappointed to have missed out on a goal. Did well to help set Leao through for our third goal though, using his strength and awareness well to force the ball through to his teammate, who did the rest.

Andrea Conti, 5.5 – A rare outing for the right-back, but showed good desire and work ethic after coming on to give us fresh legs and defensive cover on the right flank.

Daniel Maldini, N/A

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