Well that was quite the unexpected nail-biter at the end! But, Milan pulled it out. Going into the Stadio Olimpico and dealing with Roma’s shenanigans was never an easy task but Milan left with all 3 points and are sitting at the top of the Serie A table after 3 rounds.
As we head into the 1st international break of the still-young season, I think we’ve all felt the excitement and anticipation and expectation of the new season and Milan have not let us down. Yes, this includes us who were upset with how Maldini was treated and not too thrilled with the Tonali departure. Milan could have handled all of that poorly (and they did) AND still had a positive summer improving the squad and providing us something to look forward to, even if that was only not-sure-what-to-expect-enthusiasm.
We’ll have more time to talk about the overall picture so far over the next 2 weeks with the international break, but for now we move on to this game and ratings!
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 8 Deserved a clean sheet as poor defending by Calabria and then a deflection netted Roma’s only goal and one of their few on-target shots. Otherwise Maignan was good with it at this feet, aggressive in his box, and the usual best keeper on the planet
Goal Keeping Overall: 8
Defense
HERNÁNDEZ 7.2 Better defensively than the previous 2 games and damn near had a picture-perfect far-post cross to Pulisic that required a world-class save by Patricio
TOMORI 5.5 Not good and while some would argue he was worse than this 5.5, let’s not forget the uneven officiating that allowed Roma to not get carded until the 69th minute. You read that right
THIAW 7.5 Same rating for 3 straight games. Not out-of-this-world good but very solid. All 3 games so far. Kid isn’t perfect and some of his youth/inexperience pops up every now and again but he’s shown he has all the tools to be world class. Good job, youngling
CALABRIA 5 Yes, worse than Tomori. The Paramount+ play-by-play guy praising him sitting in the middle of the pitch was laughable. And I know he got an assist but the cross was garbage and only a world-class goal by Leão gave him it
Defense Overall: 6 Maybe this is too low for the whole group but Tomori allowed Belotti to goat-him into some stupid fouls, sh*tty ref notwithstanding. And Calabria. My god. Get him out of there. He’s gotten turned around, multiple times, in 2 of the 3 games so far vs middle of the table teams and talent. Can’t wait to see what a talented left attacking player for a good team is going to do to him. Oh wait, yes I can. PLAY KALULU (after the Inter game since I know Tomori is suspended)
Midfield
REIJNDERS 6.3 Worst game so far for the talented Dutchman. Roma’s…defense?…if you could call it that…more like assault and battery, seemed to really affect his game. Was it a one-off? Maybe. I guess we’ll have to wait and see
KRUNIC 7.5 King Krunic as Lisi likes to say! Another solid and workman like performance from the defensive mid. There’s been a lot of people complaining about him but they must be getting full on crow by now. You all know he’s not my favorite and I especially hate when he ventures forward, but sitting back. No complaints from me
LOFTUS-CHECK 7.2 Solid game from the big guy. Really strong and controls the ball really well, as Roma learned as they constantly tried to mug him the whole time he was in there. His ball carrying has been a big surprise to me, although I wasn’t the RLC expert either
Midfield Overall: 6.8 Good but not as good as last game. Roma’s formation and all the bodies didn’t help but they did well as a unit and that’s a great sign. The more they continue to do that, the better
Forwards
LEÃO 8.5 MOTM Maybe a tad high on the rating but that worldly he scored…wow. His ability to get his boot up from the position his body was in? I think his price tag just went up another €10M on that goal alone. Otherwise, this was his best game of the season so far and hopefully it’s a sign of a hot streak coming…which is good as there are some tough opponents on the horizon
GIROUD 8 Another penalty kick opportunity and another flawless penalty kick execution. We can talk about the legitimacy of the PKs Milan has been given but that’s not on him (for what it’s worth: I think 1 was absolutely correct, 1 could’ve gone either way, and 1 was probably a little harsh). His job is to make those and he has been. One last thing: his passing and reading of his teammates has been better this season. Last season he was wasteful with all the flicks, which was partially on him but also on his teammates for not playing off of him. No such issue with that this season
PULISIC 6.8 Captain America had a more quiet game than his first 2 but still solid and damn near had his 3rd goal on that wonderful cross from Theo we all saw and I mentioned above. So nice to have quality at RW. It’s truly night-and-day better
Forwards Overall: 8 Best group for the second straight game. In a game where we all knew Roma would try and physically dominate Milan, these guys got into space, challenged, and were dangerous all night
Subs
KALULU 6.5 Subbed on at CB after Tomori’s second yellow and sending off, he did well snuffing out balls and was generally where he needed to be
POBEGA 6.3 Good effort and found himself in the type of game he’s good at: one that moves vertically up and down the pitch
OKAFOR 6.7 Lots of smart plays once he came on. He seemed to understand what Roma was wanting to do AND what was needed from him in that environment. Made lots of smart plays and had he lifted a ball just a little bit to Chukwueze late in the game Milan would’ve gotten their 3 goal cushion
CHUKWUEZE 6 Another game where I feel we just haven’t seen him unleashed. In theory, counter-attacking and running at tired legs should be a ripe for the taking but I don’t know that that’s his game. I don’t know what he’ll do once he plays from the opening whistle but I at least want to see it before I start critiquing
Subs Overall: 6.5 Coming on after Tomori was sent off and having to defend for 30 minutes with only 10 men, I think the subs deserve a pat on the back
Coaching
PIOLI 6.5 Tactically, no issues. Subs? No issues. Not reading what Mourinho, Belotti, and Roma were trying to do? Gotta do better. That Tomori sending off was just as much on him as it was on Tomori and the ref and he needed to see that, not just for this game but because Inter is up next. Needed to take him out.
But, BUT that’s 9 points out of 9 points and that’s worthy of some praise (it’s also the 3rd time in 4 years he’s done that with Milan). I also saw he’s only the 2nd Milan coach to have 300 points in Serie A. The other? Carlo Ancelotti. Good company. In Pioli I Trust! #IPIT!
Final Thoughts
I’ve said most of what I wanted to about the players above so let me pivot to a couple of other things. First: Roma.
God. What a garbage team. Just a dirty, flopping, whiny-little-b*tch of a team. They have certainly taken on the persona of their leader, Mourinho, and are just as unlikeable. I don’t know what they tried to play yesterday but it wasn’t football. They had no urge to get forward even being down 1 and then 2 goals. No, it wasn’t until Tomori was sent off that they started to get forward and try to play football (and even then it was still unsightly). It’s almost like that was the game plan and they knew they could only challenge Milan if they were up a man. What a pathetic team.
One last thing about this: this non-football football only works if the ref allows it. Time after time Roma was holding or stomping a Milan player and the ref swallowed his whistle, which only makes the 2 yellows on Tomori that much more ridiculous (not that the first yellow wasn’t a foul, I don’t know that it was yellow card worthy – the second yellow was garbage). The ref was just as pathetic as Roma’s gameplan.
Something else that’s pathetic? Calabria’s defending. Jesus. He kept getting spun around like the non-lead of a ballroom dancing duo. Much like last season, most of the damage being done to Milan is coming from his side. What’s it going to take for Pioli to take him off? Will it be like Tomori in this game, waiting until it’s too late and Milan have lost an important game because Calabria got abused. Get him off the pitch, Pioli. He should only be making cameo appearances when the game is in-hand or in the Coppa Italia.
Alright, let’s end on something more positive! Milan is in 1st place and the team is playing better and are more cohesive than we all thought would be the case so soon. It’s by far the best and most potent attack Milan has had in Pioli’s tenure and we’re seeing some beautiful football because of it. It’s almost as if you need quality players in the right positions to do that, strange…*strokes chin*…
Now we have a 2 week break and the Derby della Madonnina awaiting us on the other side. Then Champions League starts and a whole lot of games – good games! – in a very short period of time. Don’t forget to check out our CL Group Stage Preview if you haven’t already.
Forza Milan
gillis
