Fikayo Tomori was impressive, but Cristiano Ronaldo faltered as AC Milan beat Juventus 3-0 at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday.
AC Milan were the better of the two sides in the early exchanges, even though Juventus saw more of the ball. The Rossoneri had the better of the half-chances and the deadlock-breaking goal had been coming for some time when Brahim Diaz made it 1-0 at the stroke of half-time with a peach of a finish.
Post the interval, it was more of the same, with Juventus barely threatening, as Cristiano Ronaldo & co. looked out of sorts in front of goal. At the opposite end, AC Milan won a penalty though Diaz, but Franck Kessie missed from the spot courtesy a tame effort. The visitors, though, were not to be denied and would seal the win with two goals in a four-minute span late on.
Ante Rebic first made it 2-0 with a wondrous long range strike into the top right corner before Fikayo Tomori sealed the points by heading in a long pass from Hakan Calhanoglu. The result meant Juventus are now fifth, with their top four hopes dangling by a threat, while Milan are up to third. The Hard Tackle now runs the rule over both the sets of players.
Juventus
Wojciech Szczesny: 6/10
A game of hits and misses for Szczesny, who did well to keep out Franck Kessie’s penalty, but was poorly positioned when Brahim Diaz netted the opening goal for AC Milan. Could not have done anything to keep out the efforts from Ante Rebic and Fikayo Tomori, though.
Juan Cuadrado: 5/10
A hard working performance by Cuadrado, in which he delivered a game-high 6 key passes and looked the best bet for Juventus to create anything. However, he was extremely suspect at the back and suffered a lot against Hakan Calhanoglu and Theo Hernandez.
Matthijs de Ligt: 6/10
The best of the Juventus defenders, although that does not say much. Nevertheless, de Ligt still managed to produce some impressive moments on the defensive front, winning 6 duels while also completing 3 clearances and as many tackles. Saw a lot of the ball and completed 95 percent of his attempted passes but those ahead of him could not make good on efficient build-ups from the back.
Giorgio Chiellini: 5/10
The Juventus defence was all over the place at times and that was down to Chiellini, who needed to keep the backline more organised to keep a lid on AC Milan’s offensive output. Conceded the penalty that was missed by Kessie, but was not directly at fault for any of the goals scored by Milan.
Alex Sandro: 5/10
A difficult outing for Alex Sandro, who was troubled a fair bit by the nippy Alexis Saelemaekers. But the Brazilian defender, who has recently been linked with a summer exit, produced a fine clearance when Theo Hernandez sent in a dangerous cross towards Zlatan Ibrahimovic and won 5 duels. Hardly made an impact going forward, though.
Weston McKennie: 5/10
Back in the starting lineup, McKennie, who has fallen down the pecking order lately, could not do enough to convince Pirlo that he needs to be trusted more. Did put in the hard yards, but struggled to get one up on Theo Hernandez, who, in turn, found his way past him with ease.
Rodrigo Bentancur: 5/10
A poor performance by Bentancur, who just could not manage to keep a lid on the AC Milan playmakers while also being sloppy in possession at times. Misplaced as many as ten passes, with Ismael Bennacer and Franck Kessie overpowering him in midfield. Has to make more impact in such games.
Adrien Rabiot: 5/10
As ever, Rabiot could not be faulted for a lack of effort and even completed 94 percent of his attempted passes. However, when it came to containing Diaz and Calhanoglu, he and Bentancur failed, which gets his rating back a little.
Federico Chiesa: 4/10
Back in the starting lineup after completely recovering from his recent injury, Chiesa endured a hit-and-miss game on Sunday, struggling to get past Davide Calabria while being wasteful with some of his touches. Did not create a single chance and did not have a shot on target in the game either. Listless.
Alvaro Morata: 4/10
The Juventus strike force was abysmal to say the least on Sunday and Morata, like Cristiano Ronaldo alongside him, just did not do enough to make an impact. Isolated for large parts of the game even though Juventus saw more of the ball, Morata could not get on top of the AC Milan defence and managed just one shot on target, which was off target.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 4/10
Cristiano Ronaldo has played in every Champions League campaign since the 2003/04 season and scored in every one since 2006/07…
Juventus are 5th in Serie A with three games to go. ? pic.twitter.com/wICDCDJ5Op
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) May 9, 2021
He might be leading the race to win the win the Capocannoniere, Ronaldo, who was the Player to Watch in our preview, has had the tendency to go missing in crucial moments this term and had a game to forget on Sunday. Managed just a couple of shots all game, neither of which was on target. Has to do so much more.
SUBSTITUTES
Dejan Kulusevski: 5/10
On for Bentancur, Kulusevski did not see much of the ball after being introduced and managed to complete just 6 passes. His frustrations are showing no signs of ending.
Paulo Dybala: N/A
Introduced after the second AC Milan goal was scored, Dybala had an uphill task and could not do much to earn Juventus at least a point.
AC Milan
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 6/10
There were a couple of nervy moments when Donnarumma got away with an error, first when he needlessly charged out of his box before getting the ball gifted to him, while the second was when he could not grab an aerial ball. Otherwise, he was hardly made to sweat and earned a much-needed clean sheet.
David Calabria: 8/10
Up against a tricky customer in Federico Chiesa, Calabria was solid at the back and even put in a few crunching tackles along the way. In the end, though, there was no way past the Italian defender, although the fact that he was largely pegged back meant he hardly made an impact going forward.
Simon Kjaer: 8/10
Reinstated at the heart of the AC Milan defence in place of Alessio Romagnoli, Kjaer was critical in thwarting numerous Juventus moves, making 6 clearances while winning each of his duels in addition to completing 2 blocks, 2 tackles and an interception.
Fikayo Tomori: 9/10
Fikayo Tomori is the first English player to score for AC Milan since David Beckham in January 2009. ? pic.twitter.com/yc3F3TbSHh
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) May 9, 2021
Stationed on the left half of the AC Milan defence in the absence of captain Alessio Romagnoli, Tomori was commanding in his display, making 7 clearances while also producing 3 blocks, 3 interceptions and 2 tackles in addition to winning 4 duels. Imperious in the air, Tomori also scored the third goal for AC Milan, rising high to head in from close range.
Theo Hernandez: 8/10
A top class performance by Theo Hernandez, who embarked on many a marauding run through the game to send Juventus back-pedaling. Was inches away from providing a beautiful cross to Zlatan Ibrahimovic but his ball was cleared by Alex Sandro. Largely solid defensively, keeping a check on McKennie.
Franck Kessie: 7/10
The AC Milan midfield played a key role in ensuring they were never really overpowered by Juventus and Kessie played a big part in that. The Ivorian misplaced just three passes all game while winning 7 duels. However, his rating gets docked for the tame penalty that came at the end of a stuttering run. Otherwise, there was not much to fault in Kessie’s showing against Juventus.
Ismael Bennacer: 8/10
.@IsmaelBennacer vs. Juventus
➤ Assist
➤ 45 passes
➤ 94% pass completion
➤ 1 key pass
➤ 1 tackle
➤ 2 interceptions? Midfield maestro. ?⚫️ pic.twitter.com/2DuNSnFH9M
— MilanData? (@acmilandata) May 9, 2021
Bennacer had been blowing hot and cold a great deal in recent weeks but fortunately for Milan, this performance was on the hotter side of the spectrum. Broke up Juventus’s plays smartly while also recycling possession efficiently, completing 94 percent of his attempted passes. Job well done.
Alexis Saelemaekers: 7/10
As ever, Saelemaekers was a bundle of energy with his performance on the pitch, looking to push forward with intent while also putting in the hard yards defensively. Completed all but one pass all game and also completed 3 tackles. Suspended for the next game due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Brahim Diaz: 8/10
Handed a rare chance to impress and that is exactly what Diaz did. Came the closest to scoring before he actually did and what a finish it was from the Spaniard, finding the top corner through a crowd. Also won the penalty that Kessie failed to convert and all in all, it was a top-notch display by Diaz.
21 – Brahim Díaz (21 years and 279 days) is the youngest AC Milan player to have scored away from home against Juventus in the Serie A since Alexandre Pato (19y 103d) in December 2008. Trajectory.#SerieA #JuveMilan pic.twitter.com/IQebd6pcQq
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) May 9, 2021
Hakan Calhanoglu: 8/10
Starting on the left flank on paper, Calhanoglu had a free role in essence and did well to pull the strings higher up the pitch. Played a team-high 4 key passes and kept a solid passing rate of 86 percent while also grabbing the assist for the goal that Tomori scored. Milan need him signed to the renewal.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: 6/10
Once again, Ibrahimovic struggled to make an impact in front of goal, managing just a single effort, which was blocked. However, he disrupted the Juventus defence with his presence, while his hold-up play brought Calhanoglu and Diaz into the game quite well.
SUBSTITUTES
Ante Rebic: 8/10
REBIC! WHAT A GOAL! ? pic.twitter.com/O7mOyiFbDO
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 9, 2021
Kept out of the starting lineup once again, Rebic had a point to prove, and that is exactly what he did as around 10 minutes after being introduced, the Croat, who had been a bundle of energy up until that point, found the back of the net with a peach of a strike from range. Will surely be back in the next game, with Saelemaekers suspended.
Rade Krunic: 7/10
A solid cameo from Krunic, who worked hard off the ball while completing every single pass he attempted to ensure Milan did not slip up in the final 20 minutes or so.
Soualiho Meite: N/A
On for Saelemaekers, Meite did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Diogo Dalot: N/A
A late introduction, Dalot helped see the game out.
