Milan were held to a 1-1 draw by Verona on Sunday as we missed the opportunity to close the gap on fourth place in the Serie A table.
After falling behind early on, Hakan Calhanoglu’s deflected free-kick brought us level in the first half but we couldn’t find a second breakthrough to keep our winning run going.
SEE MORE: Five key talking points as Milan disappoint in frustrating Verona draw
Instead, questions will be asked over a disappointing performance and result with several players not performing to a satisfactory level to help us secure all three points.
Milan players ratings vs Verona:
Gianluigi Donnarumma, 6 – Nothing he could have done about the goal, and was otherwise alert to any danger to deal with the Verona threat when called upon.
Davide Calabria, 5 – Improved in the second half, but was caught out on countless occasions with the overlap to leave us looking vulnerable on the right side. Responsibility for that should also fall on Stefano Pioli for not making an adjustment to help him as he struggled.
Mateo Musacchio, 5.5 – Not a particularly complicated day at the office and dealt with most of the danger that came his way. However, needed to be more alert to Calabria’s struggles while his positioning and awareness weren’t the best at times either.
Alessio Romagnoli, 6 – Offered more with his distribution out from the back and while he did struggle with his aerial duels, often cut out any danger from the Verona frontline.
Theo Hernandez, 5 – At fault for the goal as even after looking over his shoulder to know that Faraoni was there, still managed to lose his man. Sloppy and wasteful in possession on multiple occasions, while he wasn’t able to make the same impact going forward as he has done in recent weeks.
Samu Castillejo, 6 – Another solid performance in both phases as he worked tirelessly for the team and offered some form of quality in the final third. Isn’t going to be Milan’s leading man, but is playing well.
Franck Kessie, 5 – Needed to perform today with Ismael Bennacer absent, but the Verona midfield looked in control particularly early on in both halves. Wasteful in possession at times too, it wasn’t the dominant and commanding performance we needed from him.
Hakan Calhanoglu, 6 – Fortunate with his goal given the deflection, and while he did struggle early on like the team as a whole, he improved as it went on and grew into his position and role. Still lacked that bit of quality in the final third to make the difference though.
Giacomo Bonaventura, 5 – Won the free-kick which led to our goal, but had an indifferent day as he couldn’t make things happen and struggled in his role to have a positive influence. Gradually became more sloppy too and so it wasn’t a positive outing.
Rafael Leao, 5 – Shows bursts of quality, but it’s not enough. The 20-year-old roams about the pitch off the ball and needs to work harder, while we need to see that electric pace and movement more regularly and not in such short supply. Has a long way to go before he can be considered a key and reliable figure.
Ante Rebic, 5.5 – The end product wasn’t there from Rebic this weekend, but the difference between him and Leao was his work rate and willingness to try and make something happen wherever possible. It would be interesting to see him playing off Zlatan Ibrahimovic and to see how that partnership could develop.
Substitutes:
Lucas Paqueta, 5.5 – A positive impact off the bench for the Brazilian as although there were times he gave away the ball cheaply, he showed his vision and passing range too which added quality to the side.
Alexis Saelemaekers, N/A – Can’t take too much away from this display in limited minutes on his debut. Looked tidy enough but nerves and a desire to perform saw him make some mistakes too.
Daniel Maldini, N/A – Significant moment coming off the bench but didn’t have enough time to make an impact.