Milan is off to a hot start, getting 6 out of 6 possible points and lead the very early table on goal differential. There have already been some surprises for the teams expected to compete for the top 4 this season and while Milan has had some surprises of their own, they aren’t of the dropped-points-variety. No, their surprise is their early-season dominance with so many new players on the squad and contributing. Well dive into this a little bit at the end but first, ratings!
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 7.5 Much quieter game for Maignan, as Torino was only able to get off 8 shots compared to Bologna’s 17 shots the game before. Torino did get one by him on a pinball-type of play and Maignan still almost kept it out but just couldn’t get enough on it as it came off his fingertips. Still, more on the defense for not clearing the initial threat
Goal Keeping Overall: 7.5
Defense
HERNÁNDEZ 8 After kind of a sleeper last game, Theo came to life in this one. Lots of getting forward and overlapping runs to help create space for Leão and himself, including numerous runs through the middle. Then, of course, the sweet give-and-go with Leão and the tasty little chip for the 3rd goal *chef’s kiss*
TOMORI 7.6 Tomori was much better this game. Didn’t get taken out of position very much and seemed to be the one staying home just a little bit more
THIAW 7.5 Same rating as last game for me but this one looked a bit different. With Tomori staying back and Torino preoccupied with the attack, Thiaw just ran down the middle multiple times uncontested and almost seemed surprised. Keep running big guy and maybe work on the that shot and fire one off next time to keep them honest!
CALABRIA 6.6 Better than last game but more because Torino has zero offense and couldn’t do anything getting forward. So, while he didn’t cost Milan this game he’s still the worst player on the pitch for the Rossoneri
Defense Overall: 7.5 Much better this game despite conceding the goal, which they definitely should’ve done better to clear but also just one of those fluky against-the-run-of-play goals. Still, wouldn’t mind seeing them tighten it up some
Midfield
REIJNDERS 6.8 Little bit of a step down for the new midfield maestro but not a bad game by any means. Missed a sitter and maybe could’ve done better on a chance late, so maybe some extra time on finishing this week in practice should help. Still, looks good and kid has an engine. Second straight game where he led the team in distance/km traveled
KRUNIC 6.7 Like with Reijnders, little bit of a down game for Krunic compared to matchday 1 but again, not bad. I personally am LOVING how deep he’s sitting and the fact that he is no where near the opponent’s goal. Keep it up, boss
LOFTUS-CHECK 8 Big game for the big guy. Much more dominating and with Reijnders occupying the middle of the pitch a little less this game, RLC got to get forward and showed how good he is running with the ball. Plus, that nice little run and layoff for the opening goal…sweet
Midfield Overall: 7.2 Good all around. No complaints from me
Forwards
LEÃO 7.8 Stayed out on the left a bit more this game and that opened things up for Theo, who took advantage of things as I discussed above. I personally like when he roams less like in this game and he was able to make more runs to the endline and get some balls into some dangerous positions, even earning a penalty on one. Getting his ankle raked and stepped on didn’t help and it cut his day short unfortunately (thankfully he’s fine and the game was in-hand)
GIROUD 8.5 MOTM Back-to-back MOTM performances and had 2 absolutely perfect penalty kicks that Vanja Milinkovic-Savic had zero chance to stop. He hasn’t been getting a ton of chances but has been very clinical and because of it he leads the league in goals after 2 games
PULISIC 8 Captain America is showing why he isn’t just some overhyped American. His reading of the game is top class and he’s shown all of his repertoire over these first 2 games. I mentioned this in the last post match but you can see why me, Lisi, and few other regulars at the site wanted him to find a spot…his IQ and skillset need to be on the pitch in any capacity and as much as possible
Forwards Overall: 8.1 Best group on the pitch for Milan on the night. Caused havoc all over the field and from every angle. With goals capable of coming from anywhere, this frontline might clear 40 goals by the end of the season
Subs
MUSAH 6.5 After not being available in the first game due to a carryover suspension from La Liga, Musah got his first action of the season. He came in for RLC and the right midfield position didn’t miss a beat. He had a couple of nice runs and his strength was evident as well. Solid debut
OKAFOR 6.2 Another substitute appearance in the game where Milan didn’t really have a need to get forward by the time he came in. So, while his rating isn’t great it’s more about the game situation that him and the next guy below keep finding themselves in that’s the most impactful
CHUKWUEZE 6.6 You can see he’s dying to get out running and take on defenders but the score line when he’s entering the game just hasn’t allowed him to do much. But, I can’t wait to see what he can do in a meaningful appearance
KJÆR 6.4 Came in again and provided some veteran experience to help hold onto a lead. Seems like this is going to be his role: late game sub to help see all 3 points through
FLORENZI NA Nice little cameo for the old man
Subs Overall: 6.5 Better but again, difficult to judge all the individual players. As a group they did the job, which was to preserve the lead and put the game to bed
Coaching
PIOLI 8.2 I’m giving him a slightly better rating in this game than the first game and it’s because the team seemed to be better balanced formationally. The spaces between the lines were smaller and more of the players stayed in their respective areas of the pitch, which helped.
Another thing this did was provide better width and with Torino knowing they had to watch Leão and also pay attention to the right side with Pulisic, the middle was wide open for Milan to exploit. Numerous times it was so empty Milan players didn’t quite know what to do as they ran forward and failed to encounter an opponent interested in stopping them.
I suspect Pioli is going to find a way to get the ball to Reijnders more when this happens and when that does, 3-4-5 goals a game will become frightening common for this Milan
Final Thoughts
I was a little bit wordy with the ratings up top so I’ll just finish with a few thoughts.
I liked how Milan looked in this game more than the first. Yes, I know it was the first game and lots of new pieces but Pioli made some noticeable corrections and the scoreboard reflected as much. Torino wasn’t much of a threat but I don’t think Bologna are being called world-beaters by anyone and yet the difference was stark. Pioli got the formation tighter and Torino just couldn’t find the space to do much. This will be huge with better opponents on the horizon.
The other thing is just…wow. This attack is fierce. Last season where weren’t many players on the team who could run with the ball, which is one of the reasons I thought Brahim needed to play as it was him, Leão, and Theo who could do it. Now that run can come for any one of Leão, Theo, Pulisic, RLC, or Reijnders and that’s just who has started so far. We know Chukwueze wants and can do that, Okafor is capable as well and even Romero could get in on the action. Any pressing opponent is going to need to be very careful when they put pressure on this Milan or they can get stung in a hurry.
Alright, that about wraps this post match up. With just 2 rounds in the books Milan are definitely looking like contenders for the Scudetto already and I don’t think that’s hyperbole to say. They play fast and determined and the cohesiveness of the team and the movements and passing will only get better the more they play together. We’ve already seen improvement just from the first game vs Bologna to this game vs Torino. The season is long but the depth of the squad and the multi-positional talent of many of the players means Milan will be it all season long.
Forza Milan
gillis
