Milan player ratings vs Cagliari: Defensive trio brilliant, Castillejo and Ibrahimovic decisive

Milan signed off on the 2019/20 Serie A season with a victory as we saw off Cagliari in a 3-0 win at San Siro to end on a high after a brilliant effort post-lockdown.

Despite knowing that we’d finish in sixth place in the standings prior to the game, we still produced a professional and committed performance to dominate most of the encounter and come out on top.

READ MORE: Five key talking points as Milan finish season in style with classy win over Cagliari

Having put together a superb run of form since the restart, it’s hoped that we can pick up from where we left off when the new campaign gets underway, starting with the qualifying rounds of the Europa League in September.

AC Milan player ratings vs Cagliari…

Gianluigi Donnarumma, 7 – Had very little to do but as has always seems to do, produced a brilliant save when called upon late on to preserve his clean sheet and show that he’s always switched on.

Davide Calabria, 7 – Top performance from the right-back in both phases of the game. Defended resolutely and attacked well down the right flank. Time will tell if he can keep his status as first-choice to start next season.

Simon Kjaer, 7 – Another excellent display from the stalwart as he has stepped up in Alessio Romagnoli’s absence and marshalled the backline well. His experience and leadership is crucial.

Matteo Gabbia, 7 – This game showed his quality and made a case for him to remain as a back-up option in defence next season. Composed, assured and always alert, no-nonsense defending and accurate distribution.

Theo Hernandez, 6.5 – A good shift from the Frenchman as he motored forward when possible and again looked good defensively. A vital piece of the starting XI.

Franck Kessie, 6.5 – A little sloppy at times but take nothing away from the progress and development that he has showed. Brilliant in his defensive duties and continues to help with the build up of our attacks.

Ismael Bennacer, 6.5 – Similarly to Kessie, had his moments where he perhaps tried to do too much but an otherwise classy performance as he continues to show his importance to the team.

Samu Castillejo, 7 – Did brilliantly to take his goal and provided an assist too. Was involved in other key moments and coupled with his work-rate off the ball, good to have him back after his injury blow.

Hakan Calhanoglu, 6.5 – Always makes himself available and wants to get on the ball to make things happen which is important itself. Perhaps just lacked that bit of quality in the final third though and missed a big chance to add to his goals tally.

Rafael Leao, 7 – Really positive impact with his pace, directness and threat down the left flank, and his play eventually forced the own goal which broke the deadlock. Unfortunate then that he was forced off with an injury.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 7 – Missed the penalty which was a red mark against his performance, but produced a sensational strike to make up for it and doubled our lead. Should have had an assist but Calhanoglu fluffed his lines, but his overall play and influence was vital yet again.

Substitutes:

Giacomo Bonaventura, 6.5 – His last outing as a Milan player and he grabbed an assist as he showed real selflessness to set up Castillejo when he could have gone for goal himself. Will be missed.

Daniel Maldini, 6 – Kept things simple and was effective, but hope to see him try more moving forward.

Marco Brescianini, 6 – Similarly to Maldini, he was accurate and efficient but he’ll undoubtedly be more influential as his confidence grows with more playing time.

Alexis Saelemaekers, 6 – Managed to get himself booked again but offered good energy off the bench.

Leo Duarte, N/A