Milan secured a 2-1 win at Sassuolo on Tuesday night as our superb run of form since the restart goes on after another impressive performance from the team.
The win temporarily lifts us up to fifth place in the Serie A table, albeit both Roma and Napoli have a game in-hand and so they could yet both leapfrog us in the standings before the next time we step out on the pitch.
READ MORE: Five key talking points as Milan dig deep to grind out important win over Sassuolo
Nevertheless, looking at this result in isolation, it was another top display from the team as a collective, and it took stand-out quality from certain individuals to help make the difference.
Milan player ratings vs Sassuolo…
Gianluigi Donnarumma, 6 – Big night for the 21-year-old as he made his 200th appearance for Milan. Didn’t have much to do but took on the captain’s armband in the second half and his leadership was both heard and seen as he marshalled his backline.
Andrea Conti, N/A – Limped off with what appeared to be a knee injury, it’s hoped that it isn’t serious given his previous problems.
Simon Kjaer, 6.5 – Another solid performance from the stalwart as he’s dealing with threats with minimal fuss and while he goes under the radar at times, his class in defence is making a pivotal difference.
Alessio Romagnoli, 6 – Looked in good form in the opening stages, but unfortunately had to limp off with an injury as he missed his first minutes of the season. As per MilanNews, Stefano Pioli noted that his season could be done.
Theo Hernandez, 6 – Decent enough effort but was replaced at half-time after getting booked in the opening 45 minutes and he’ll now miss the encounter with Atalanta.
Franck Kessie, 6.5 – Not quite as influential as he has been in recent games, but nonetheless, another solid performance as he did well to stamp his authority on the game as it went on and that in turn allowed us to look more assertive and in control as a whole.
Ismael Bennacer, 6.5 – Will also miss the Atalanta showdown due to suspension. Looked sloppy early on and a little bit sluggish as perhaps fatigue caught up with him, but he actually improved as the game went on along with Kessie as the pair began to start to run the show a little more.
Alexis Saelemaekers, 5.5 – Worked hard which is a given from the Belgian, but he was unable to add quality to his individual display which ensured that he didn’t pose much of a threat down the right flank.
Hakan Calhanoglu, 7.5 – Regularly involved in our attacking play as he pulled the strings to set up Zlatan Ibrahimovic twice for his two goals that ultimately sealed the victory. That’s now two goals and five assists in his last three league outings, and his ability to make us tick and be influential in the final third is a big reason as to why we’re looking much more clinical since the restart.
Ante Rebic, 6 – A quiet night for the Croatian as he put in a real shift defensively but couldn’t quite add the quality we’ve seen in the final third in 2020. Can’t always get on the scoresheet, and so it was good to see him still manage to play an important part in the win.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 7.5 – Showed great class and composure to grab a brace as his movement and finish for his first was top-drawer and then rounded the goalkeeper to add a second to ensure we secured all three points in a difficult test.
Substitutes:
Davide Calabria, 6 – Another decent performance as he stepped in for Conti early on. Provided a solid defensive presence on his flank and did his job well.
Matteo Gabbia, 6.5 – Can’t have been easy as he has played very little in recent weeks and the last time we saw him, he struggled. However, got up to the speed of the game well and looked in control in terms of reading the play and distributing the ball out from the back.
Diego Laxalt, 6 – Hard-working display as he provided as much energy and drive as possible down the left side after replacing Hernandez.
Lucas Biglia, N/A
Giacomo Bonaventura, N/A