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AC Milan gained another big three points at San Siro on Sunday against Roma and are firmly in the conversation for the Scudetto, if they were not already.
An almost perfect game plan executed excellently by Milan, there are several reasons to like the performance against the Giallorossi. Even on a personal level, there was so much to praise from different players.
Rafael Leao continued to show his maturity, and the team all played their roles. However, the limelight will go on Mike Maignan for his penalty save and Strahinja Pavlovic, whose time with the Rossoneri is being defined by consistent, strong performances, this time crowned by a goal.
Here are five things we learnt from the game.
1. Defence holds up despite gaps
The opening 25 minutes were definitely Roma’s, as they created a few scoring opportunities but failed to capitalise on Milan’s poor start to the game.
The Rossoneri then woke up and seemed much more organised, almost like it was a completely different game. From that point, they managed to limit Roma’s attack efficiently, especially in the second half.
A short free kick and a penalty kick that Youssouf Fofana gave away in the span of a couple of minutes were the only real threats, but fortunately for him, Maignan bailed him out with a save on Dybala’s penalty kick.
All things considered, there was definitely luck involved. Nevertheless, a clean sheet is a clean sheet. Excluding a few moments with individual errors coming from Koni De Winter and Davide Bartesaghi early on, and Fofana late on, it was smooth sailing for Milan.
Matteo Gabbia and Pavlovic were really solid at the back, Luka Modric, Samuele Ricci and Alexis Saelemaekers all helped too, with the trio working hard to close down the spaces in front of the defence.
2. Trio decisive
If we’re being fair, Gabbia and Saelemaekers could also be included in the list, but to shorten it a bit, we’ll only highlight Leao, Pavlovic and Maignan as these were the players that were pivotal for the Diavolo.
The Portuguese took on the responsibility this time around, after a shaky game against Pisa, and was enjoying himself as Roma struggled to keep up with him following the slow start to the game for his side.
In the 39th minute, he was too hot to handle for the Roma defence as he used his pace to burst into the box before cutting it back to Pavlovic, who slotted it in after yet another run inside the opponents’ penalty box.
😍 MAIGNAN SAVES!
— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) November 2, 2025
The Serbian was also a rock at the back and won multiple duels throughout the game. He also went on a couple of forward runs in the second half too but was a tad sloppy this time around. It’s definitely turning into a trademark for him to cause chaos in the opposing half.
Then, finally, we have Maignan, who has been struggling with saving penalties as of late, and faced Dybala, who had not missed a penalty since joining Roma in 2021, scoring 19 out of 19 penalties.
Regardless of the stats, the Frenchman made himself big, and a crucial moment followed that secured all three points for his side and made the win ever so sweet.
3. Disastrous by Fofana
The Frenchman is continuing to be poor game after game, but against Roma, it was a new low – he missed a couple of great chances to seal the victory for his team, then he committed two fouls in the span of a couple of minutes in the second half.
On top of that, Fofana was clumsy throughout the game, not just in the above-mentioned moments, and his few good runs are not worth mentioning if he then cannot make them count.
It’s increasingly likely that we might see him dropped out of the Starting XI, given that Samuele Ricci is gaining form, Adrien Rabiot will soon be back, and Ardon Jashari is also recovering well.
4. Nkunku improves slightly, Ricci shows his potential
Starting off with the Italian, we’ve criticised him slightly in recent weeks, mainly because he was a bit sluggish and needed to move the ball around faster, as well as get used to his new role under Allegri.
Against Roma, however, Ricci really stepped up in both phases of the game. He ran a lot, covering space and closing down his opponents. In possession, he passed the ball around well, and the goal also started from him with good positioning to start off the attack.
The midfielder also had some good runs forward, where he used his physicality to keep the ball. Nothing outstanding, but definitely showing his potential and putting in the work to help his side secure the win.
Then we have Christopher Nkunku, who started the game poorly but slightly grew into it when Milan shifted the game around. We saw his ball control on a few occasions as he managed to turn efficiently and was fouled quite a bit by Roma.
In the second half, he linked well with his teammates, and despite not really impacting the game as an attacker should, it was much better from him compared to previous games. It’s a positive game to build on.
5. Gaps need addressing for a Scudetto run
Milan sit third following the win against Roma, just a point shy of Napoli, who sit at the top of the league, despite the loss against the Rossoneri earlier this season.
Given the absence of Rabiot and Christian Pulisic, Allegri has done really well to continue winning against rivals and keeping up with the rest of the pack at the top. The feeling is that something is missing for Milan to dream about the Scudetto more confidently, though.
For instance, the missed chances were too many for a team aiming for silverware and having a proper striker should’ve resulted in the Diavolo securing the win comfortably instead of trembling toward the end.
Then, at the back, De Winter has just not proven to be good enough yet, as he struggled quite a bit compared to Gabbia and Pavlovic, who put in a shift.
In the middle, Fofana has also been a liability since the start of the season, and maybe Jashari solves that issue. A more prolific striker and an experienced centre back seem like a must if the team are serious about going all in for the Scudetto and the cups.
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