AC Milan suffered further disappointment on Friday after a 1-1 draw with Udinese at San Siro.
Following the Rossoneri’s poor performance in the 2-2 draw with Salernitana last time out, it was clear that they could ill-afford any further slip-ups in the battle for the Serie A title this season.
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However, albeit Inter also dropped points this weekend, it’s another frustrating and hugely disappointing missed opportunity for Milan to not stretch our lead at the top of the standings and it could yet come back to haunt us.
As expected given the result, there were poor performances across the pitch, and Milan need to find solutions and get things right between now and the end of the season otherwise a major opportunity is going to pass us by.
AC Milan player ratings vs Udinese:
Mike Maignan, 6 – Not much he could have done to prevent the goal, was alert to danger and produced some key saves during the course of the game.
Davide Calabria, 6 – Defensively sound, as he didn’t allow Udinese to have much joy down his flank. However, Milan could have benefited from more quality from him in the attacking phase.
Fikayo Tomori, 6 – A mixed bag as he struggled at times dealing with Beto, but also looked commanding in other situations to keep things tight at the back.
Alessio Romagnoli, 6 – Similar to Tomori, while the pair will feel that they could have both done better to prevent the goal and give us a more solid footing in the game to avoid dropping more points.
Theo Hernandez, 5.5 – Struggled to really get anything going as an attacking threat, as his bursting runs forward were limited as Udinese defended deeper and in numbers to avoid allowing him space to make things happen.
Sandro Tonali, 6.5 – Continues to perform at a high level, and higher than most of his teammates on a consistent basis. Battled hard in midfield to give us a foothold, and produced the assist for Leao to break the deadlock with a great ball into the box.
Franck Kessie, 5 – Poor. Played at a walking pace for the most part and did little to stamp his authority on the game and gain control in midfield. Inaccurate with his passing too, it asks the question as to whether Milan and Stefano Pioli can rely on him in the coming months.
Messias Junior, 5 – Not good enough. Didn’t create anything of note and lacked a goal threat himself as Milan continue to struggle with no real quality in the final third coming down our right side.
Brahim Diaz, 5 – Same story as Messias. Has been below-par for some time now as he isn’t providing anywhere near enough creativity in dangerous areas to cause the opposition problems. With essentially two thirds of our attacking trio behind the frontman offering little, it’s bound to lead to struggles.
Rafael Leao, 6.5 – A brilliant touch and finish from Leao as he bagged his eighth goal in Serie A so far this season. Showed his class with that key moment, and while Milan are starting to rely too heavily on him now to make things happen, he struggled beyond that goal.
Olivier Giroud, 5.5 – Didn’t offer much but ultimately the blame for that can’t all be put on his shoulders. With a lack of service and threat behind him particularly from Diaz and Messias, that in turn results in him struggling to feed off anything. Needs more from those around him to be more decisive.
Substitutions:
Alexis Saelemaekers, 5 – Offered little of note after coming on as Milan didn’t look any more dangerous than before he was introduced.
Ante Rebic, 4.5 – Picked up a clumsy yellow card and was off it with his passing as he provided Udinese with chances to counter rather than find a way through their defence.
Daniel Maldini, N/A
