Milan dominated proceedings in the 1-0 win over Parma on Sunday, but a late Theo Hernandez goal was all that split the two sides.
As the Rossoneri continued to languish in the bottom half of the Serie A table, three points were crucial this weekend to start climbing the standings.
SEE MORE: Five key talking points as Milan dominate Parma but lack cutting edge
Especially with three consecutive winnable games on paper with Parma, Bologna and Sassuolo, it’s an opportunity for Milan to build some momentum. While not everyone was particularly convincing, the team eventually got the job done to possibly kick-start an upturn in form.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, 6 – Had little to do in terms of dealing with Parma attempts on goal but was accurate and consistent with his distribution for the most part.
Andrea Conti, 7 – Top performance from the right-back as he won his individual duels with the Parma attackers throughout and cut out the mistakes from his game. Building his fitness and form, it was another positive outing as he tries to put his injury nightmare behind him finally.
Mateo Musacchio, 6 – Did well to maintain Milan’s general solidity at the back as Parma were contained. Clean sheet, but was caught out at times as question marks remain over his concentration levels for the full 90 minutes.
Alessio Romagnoli, 6.5 – Similarly to his central defensive partner, he marshalled the back line well to give Parma little to work off and made one stand-out intervention in particular to snuff out what looked like a dangerous and potentially costly counter-attack.
Theo Hernandez, 7.5 – Gets marked up for finding the winning goal, for which he deserves credit too as he made his own luck by being in a position to pounce and make the most of the good fortune. Relentless as always up and down the left flank.
Franck Kessie, 5.5 – Faded as the game went on and looked less and less effective. Physicality and energy only gets him so far, continues to show a lack of composure and quality in the final third while he started to lose possession consistently in the second half.
Ismael Bennacer, 6 – Decent performance as he kept it relatively simple when on the ball and offered good protection in front of the backline to deny Parma a chance to look a threat in attack. Perhaps not a huge impact overall, but enough to establish himself as a key figure in the win.
Giacomo Bonaventura, 6 – Couldn’t quite get the decisive touch this weekend as he had his chances and looked to create something at every opportunity. Still shows his class with his intelligence on and off the ball, while his teammates were often too static.
Suso, 5.5 – The fact is that he still doesn’t do enough on a consistent basis for a player with such an important role in the side. Deliveries were often cleared with minimal fuss, predictable cutting onto his left foot with no end product, and easily muscled off the ball at times and lacked the urgency and intensity needed. It’s all well and good being capable of being a game-changer and producing a bit of magic, but it’s not enough to see it every few games.
Krzysztof Piatek, 5.5 – Not doing enough in front of goal, whether it’s his poor touch or inaccurate and rather ambitious attempts at goal. Service is still a problem, but needs to make a much bigger impact soon or criticism will continue.
Hakan Calhanoglu, 6 – Work ethic was spot on and he tried to play at a good tempo while finding pockets of space between the lines to look a threat. As has often been the case though, it’s the lack of quality and absence of a decisive touch in dangerous areas where he lets himself down, and so he needs to be better.
Substitutes
Rafael Leao, 5 – Didn’t make a particularly positive impact on the game although he did give Parma a different look with his pace to offer a different dynamic.
Rade Krunic, 6 – Tidy job in limited minutes as he offered a presence in midfield. Could arguably count himself unfortunate to miss out to Kessie in the starting XI in the first place.