AC Milan suffered a 2-1 defeat at San Siro against Sassuolo on Wednesday night, and Rafael Leao was among those who produced a hugely disappointing display.
With our top-four hopes still on the line, the Rossoneri couldn’t afford to drop points in midweek with the chasing pack still firmly on our tail.
READ MORE: Five key talking points as Milan collapse in damaging Sassuolo defeat
However, despite leading deep into the second half, Milan found a way to throw the victory away as two quick-fire goals turned it around in Sassuolo’s favour.
Prior to that, it wasn’t the most inspiring performance from the entire team, and so that is reflected in the player ratings below as a string of key figures and depth players failed to impress.
Milan player ratings vs Sassuolo
Gianluigi Donnarumma, 6 – Couldn’t do much for the two goals as his defence left him exposed, but made a key save on Jeremie Boga in the first half and commanded his box well with leadership and organisational skills.
Davide Calabria, 6 – A positive return from the right-back as he looked solid defensively and brought energy down that flank before he went off in the latter stages.
Simon Kjaer, 5 – Looked comfortable until Sassuolo’s changes after the hour mark and both he and his defensive partner weren’t able to keep things tight as the pair will be disappointed they didn’t do more to cut out the danger.
Fikayo Tomori, 5 – Similarly to Kjaer, he looked solid for the best part of an hour. However, Giacomo Raspadori’s introduction changed everything and he will be disappointed as he’ll take responsibility for both goals.
Diogo Dalot, 6 – A decent performance as he carried out his defensive duties well and got forward when possible. Naturally though, difficult to fill the shoes of Theo Hernandez and replicate what he provides down the left flank.
Soualiho Meite, 5 – Bits of quality but few and far between, nowhere near enough to secure a foothold in the game for us in midfield. Limited quality in possession, not a particularly impressive outing.
Franck Kessie, 5 – A rare poor display from Il Presidente, as he’s also culpable for the Sassuolo goals given the lack of protection afforded to the backline along with Meite. That dynamic didn’t really work and so it’s hoped Ismael Bennacer can return next week against Lazio.
Alexis Saelemaekers, 6 – Fell off in the second half but loved his energy and commitment in the opening 45 minutes. Popped up in various positions in the final third, worked hard off the ball and showed quality on the ball.
Hakan Calhanoglu, 6.5 – A superb finish for his goal as he placed it perfectly into the back of the net and it’s imperative we see more of that in the coming weeks. Always looking to get possession and threatened from distance in the second half, but unable to find that all-important second goal to kill the game off.
Ante Rebic, 5.5 – Committed as ever and worked hard for the team, but the attacking prowess wasn’t really there this time out and he struggled to have a decisive impact. Showed versatility to play different roles in the game but lacked the quality needed.
Rafael Leao, 4 – Complete waste of time to persist with him as a centre-forward. Doesn’t have the know-how, application or desire to play the role successfully and it should in fact raise question marks over his involvement in the starting XI moving forward.
Substitutes:
Rade Krunic, 5 – Fresh legs, little in the way of a positive or decisive influence.
Mario Mandzukic, 5.5 – Offered a physical presence and focal point up front which arguably suits us better in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s absence, but couldn’t have the desired impact.
Samu Castillejo, N/A
Pierre Kalulu, N/A
Brahim Diaz, N/A