Milan secured a 3-0 win over SPAL in their Coppa Italia clash on Wednesday night, with the starting XI all putting in a decent shift to ensure we advanced.
Krzysztof Piatek, Samu Castillejo and Theo Hernandez scored the goals to take us into the quarter-finals to face Torino, and while they impressed in general throughout the game, it’s no surprise that they get high ratings below.
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Others were perhaps a little too inconsistent over the 90 minutes to warrant being on the same level as that trio. Overall though, Stefano Pioli will be pleased with what he saw from his players to get the win.
Milan player ratings vs SPAL
Antonio Donnarumma, 6.5 – Didn’t have much to do, but was tidy with his distribution and produced a great save late on from point blank range to protect his clean sheet. Composed display after stepping in to replace his brother.
Andrea Conti, 6 – Decent enough, particularly defensively as he didn’t allow SPAL much joy down his flank and so played his part in the shutout. However, was a little sloppy and slow on the ball, which he must improve on.
Simon Kjaer, 6.5 – A really solid performance, particularly when considered with some context after he was only officially confirmed as a Milan player on Monday. Commanding in the air and read the game well, he slotted in at the back without fuss.
Alessio Romagnoli, 6.5 – Was rarely troubled and didn’t have to get out of first gear in truth on a comfortable night. Makes it easier with his reading of the game to address danger before it develops, and it was a deserved clean sheet for the entire backline.
Theo Hernandez, 7 – Stunning goal as he produced a sublime strike to make it 3-0, while he showed his attacking quality throughout. Also becoming more defensively sound in an all-round top performance.
Samu Castillejo, 7 – Still frustrates at times, specifically when he took too long with a chance in the first half. However, he produced a gem of a goal with a sweetly struck effort which curled into the back of the net and his work ethic is second to none. If he can just become more consistent and show a bit more quality when it matters in the final third, he can still grow into becoming a key player for us.
Rade Krunic, 6 – Great work-rate and energy throughout to give us a foothold in midfield and denied SPAL a chance to get at our defence as they failed to go from comfortable passing in their own half to being a threat in ours. May not keep Franck Kessie out of the XI this weekend, but he’s doing a good job when called upon.
Ismael Bennacer, 6.5 – Brilliant assist for Piatek as that’s exactly the type of service the striker needs, while he was generally heavily involved in our build-up play in another impressive display. Still needs to tidy up a few things in his game, but his influence in midfield is crucial for us.
Giacomo Bonaventura, 6 – Ultimately it was Hernandez and Ante Rebic who were the main threats down the left flank, and so Bonaventura often tucked inside and supported them. As always, showed good intelligence on and off the ball and played his part in the win.
Ante Rebic, 6 – Had some really good moments, and some other not so good moments in an inconsistent outing. Showed flashes of real quality and that’s something for him to build on now, but that was matched with passages of play to forget too and so it’s difficult to see him keeping his place against Udinese.
Krzysztof Piatek, 7 – Had chances to add to his tally, but showed his clinical side for his goal and grabbed an assist too in a much-improved performance. Needed a spark to boost his confidence and hopefully now has it. What this game showed though was that if he’s given the right service to allow him to be effective, namely playing off the shoulder of the last defender and getting in behind, he can still be lethal for us.
Substitutes
Suso, 6 – Did well to not be affected by the jeers he received as he came on, and looked impressive at times with his ability to pick out a pass and put a teammate in a dangerous position to score.
Lucas Paqueta, 6 – Good shift in limited playing time, added a fresh pair of legs in midfield to help see out the game and did his job well.
Matteo Gabbia, N/A