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AC Milan clinched a comfortable 2-0 win in their first competitive game of the 2025-26 season. Christian Pulisic was one of the key players and below are the ratings for the Rossoneri.
If you haven’t already, make sure to check out how we decide the player ratings. From the scale to what affects the rating, we have compiled everything there.
Starting XI
Maignan (7): The captain was forced to a very good save, and I mean a very good save, as Sibili tried his luck from distance and fired a rocket towards goal. Aside from that, he wasn’t really tested that much but credit where credit is due.
Tomori (7): There have been concerns about his downward spiral but tonight, he impressed with good movement and above all, great attention in defence. Of course, the assist helps his rating too (it was a great cross) but I’m even happier with the defending. Let’s see if he can keep that up against better opponents.
Gabbia (6): Solid is the word we’re looking for. Bari didn’t really create that many chances through the centre, always only on the flanks and from distance (shots). A such, Gabbia didn’t have loads to do but when called upon, he got the job done.
Pavlovic (6): Just like Gabbia, it was more so a case of keeping the Bari attackers at bay. He distributed the ball well when moving forward too, it must be said, and offered support on the overlap if it was needed.
Saelemaekers (6): You cannot fault his work-rate tonight, nor the flair he added in attack, but it’s also true that he has room for improvement. Defensively speaking it was okay, but it felt like he slightly overdid things in attack at times. He came close to a goal with a couple of good shots, but there were also a couple of poor ones.
Loftus-Cheek (6.5): As we also saw in pre-season, he managed to beat his opponents in the 1v1s thanks to sheer strength. It really helps stretch the play and open up space for his teammates. He also did well on the ball.
Ricci (6): He did what was needed, making himself available and distributing the ball with calmness. It wasn’t anything spectacular, though, and that is probably a good sign in a way. You don’t want your holding midfielder making too much noise.
Fofana (6.5): Some might think the rating is too high, but if you compare it with the pre-season, it was a big improvement tonight. He was actually neat on the ball, combined well with his teammates (nice passing) and created some chances himself, forcing the keeper to a couple of good saves. Yes, he can still avoid some shots, but the display was promising.
Estupinan (6): We saw some good movement from him tonight; a willingness to get forward and catch the defence off guard. Having said that, he could have been better in the deciding moments, in particular with his shot (that Gimenez tapped in) and a poor cross from a good position. Nevertheless, encouraging and just below a 6.5 here.
Pulisic (7.5 – MOTM): It was great to see him back on the pitch, following the ankle injury, and he didn’t disappoint. He was very involved from the start and came close to finding the back of the net in the first half, including hitting the crossbar. In the second half, he finally got it after a good combination with Gimenez. Overall, very positive for him.
Leao (7): First of all, let’s hope that the injury isn’t too serious, and that he can be back against Cremonese at the weekend. Although we only got to see 14 minutes from him today, he opened the scoring with a really good header after nice positioning inside the box.
Substitutes
Gimenez (6.5): Due to Leao’s injury, he came on very early and as we saw against Leeds, he definitely looked up for it. The combination with Pulisic for the goal was great and there were other positive moments from him tonight.
Modric (6): The Croatian showed his class on the ball with some really good (but expected) passing. That being said, he should have taken the shot when he got into the box towards the end of the game, rather than trying to cut it back.
Jashari (N/A): I didn’t see enough to give him a rating here.
Musah (N/A): I didn’t see enough to give him a rating here.
Okafor (N/A): I didn’t see enough to give him a rating here.
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