Ok, going to make this quick as the most important part of this ratings post is undoubtedly looking at the league table. Again, same format as the last few weeks: player ratings, quick comment about the match, update on the battle for the top 4, and the relegation battle.
Let’s go.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 6.7 Probably not much he could’ve done on the free kick late and once he didn’t come out and grab or punch the corner that led to the first goal, there was nothing he could do. That being said, he should’ve come out for that corner
Goal Keeping Overall: 6.7
Defense
HERNÁNDEZ 6.8 Probably one of the better players on the day but just didn’t get as much forward as I was hoping, which is what Milan needed
TOMORI 6.7 Had Wisniewski on the first goal, had him covered up until the rebound and then he scored. Could of done better but Kjær and Ballo-Toure were bird watching (maybe the ball?) on the play
KJÆR 5.8 This is now twice in the last 2 games Kjær hasn’t been anywhere near crosses coming into the box on corners. He jumped for this one but wasn’t by the ball or by any Spezia player. If he’s going to play and not going to use his size on exactly these plays then he shouldn’t be out there. Doesn’t help that Thiaw has been excellent on heading balls out of the box
KALULU 7 Best of the backline. Needs to start on Tuesday vs Inter but probably won’t. Sigh…
Defense Overall: 6.3 Not terrible but terrible on that one corner. And that was all that it took
Midfield
TONALI 7.4 Best player on the pitch for Milan. Back to back games now where he hits the post. Very different outcomes had those bounced in
POBEGA 6.3 Very mid. Wish he was more aggressive getting forward and making runs. Has a good shot but didn’t put himself in a good position to use it
Midfield Overall: 6.7 Very…mid…on the day
Forwards
ORIGI 5.8 Provided nothing on the day
DÍAZ 7.1 Second best on the pitch to Tonali. At some point the ref needs to start giving out yellows for how teams are fouling Brahim. It’s unacceptable
SAELEMAEKERS 6.4 Not bad but needed to be more offensive-minded on the day and wasn’t
REBIC 5.9 We probably don’t need to see him anymore this season. Put CDK in up top if you have to rest Giroud
Forwards Overall: 6.2 Aside from Brahim, nothing
Subs
BALLO-TOURE 5.8 Was ball watching on the first goal. Was literally just standing there
DE KETELAERE 5.7 Nothing. Lost season for the kid
ADLI 6.7 Came in a was one of the few Milan players who could do anything with the ball at his feet. It was probably the best he’s looked all season, the game finally didn’t seem too fast for him. Might have a place as a rotation guy next season
GIROUD 6 So many times I just want him to receive the ball, hold onto the ball, and distribute the ball. Is that too much to ask???
CALABRIA NA He played
Subs Overall: 6 Nada
Coaching
PIOLI ? I don’t know what grade to give Pioli. He played a pretty strong lineup, played on the front foot, and his players just didn’t produce. This has been the case all season especially with the B-team. I think I’ll have a more informed opinion on this seeing who he fields and how he plays come Tuesday.
I can say that for me, all this #PioliOut stuff is nonsense. The guy has a pretty good/decent starting 11 players with maybe another 1-2 guys on the bench…maybe. The team doesn’t spend and when they did the guys didn’t produce. Maybe that’s on him but it sure does seem like the new guys got some chances for the most part and didn’t make good on the opportunity
Final Thoughts
Milan’s B-team is and has been the Achilles heel of the team all season. Well, last season too but only playing in one competition during the second half of last season made that less relevant. But it has come back to bite Milan in the ass this season not because they didn’t spend, they did. At least a little. But none of the guys brought in have done anything all season. Maybe Pioli bears some of that responsibility but the players do too.
We’ll find out if it costs Milan a top 4 finish in the league. Speaking of which…
Serie A Standings
There are 3 league games left and 9 points left on the table. Let’s look at the remaining games for the top 7 teams:
Race for the Top 4
- Napoli 83pts (1st): Scudetto champs
- Juventus 69pts (2nd): @Sevilla (Europa), @Empoli, Milan, @Udinese
- Inter 66pts (3rd): Milan (Champions League), @Napoli, Fiorentina (Coppa Italia), Atalanta, @Torino
- Lazio 65pts (4th): @Udinese, Cremonese, @Empoli
- Milan 61pts (5th): @Inter (Champions League), Sampdoria, @Juventus, Hellas Verona
- Atalanta 59pts (6th): Hellas Verona, @Inter, Monza
- Roma 59pts (7th): @Leverkusen (Conference League), Salernitana, @Fiorentina, Spezia
With 9 league points left on the table things are looking good for Inter who are in great form and Juventus has enough of a buffer that they should be just about safe for a top 4 finish (before all the likely sanctions kick them out) even if they drop points to Milan in a couple of weeks. Lazio seems to be in free-fall and will they free-fall enough to let Milan grab the last spot? Who knows but there’s only 4 points separating them in the table.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I really, really hope Milan finish in the top 4 but I think they need to finish at least in 5th because Juventus will very likely get punished and have points removed and face a European ban for all their malfeasance. Juventus could also very well win Europa League and I believe that would get Milan into CL as well sitting in 5th. Still lots of unknowns here but it’s almost certain that Milan have to win all 9 remaining league points to have any shot a clean top 4 finish.
Ok, let’s look at the relegation battle:
Relegation Battle
- Lecce 32pts (16th): Spezia, @Monza, Bologna
- Spezia 30pts (18th): @Lecce, Torino, @Roma
- Hellas Verona 30pts (17th): @Atalanta, Empoli, @Milan
- Cremonese 24pts (19th): Bologna, @Lazio, Salernitana
- Sampdoria 18pts (20th): Doesn’t matter
Cremonese’s chances are hanging on by a thread but that thread might get cut by the end of the next round. And man, what a battle between Lecce, Spezia, and Hellas Verona. One of those teams is going to be very sad, pissed, and disappointed while the other two are going to party Berlusconi-style. Hellas plays Milan and Spezia play Roma in the last game of the season so their impact on the top 4 is still in play as well. Going to be a fun last 3 weeks of the season.
Alright, tomorrow we’ll have a matchday thread and have a little pregame discussion as well. Until then, Forza Milan.
gillis
