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AC Milan lost their first friendly pre-season by the odd goal against Arsenal, but won the penalty shootout afterwards thanks to three saves by Lorenzo Torriani. Below are the player 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
Terracciano (6): Decent debut from the goalkeeper, making a very good stop on Nwaneri in the first half. He had one half-dodgy aerial moment after that, but also a good one, and his passing was decent. So definitely gets a pass here, also because he could do nothing on the goal.
Tomori (6.5): At least based on the first half, he was probably the best Milan player on the pitch. He made a couple of really crucial last-second blocks in front of the goal, and he wasn’t afraid to get forward either. Stood his ground in the druels.
Thiaw (6): Credit where credit is due, even if we didn’t see much from him in duels higher up the pitch, he always took up the right position inside the box and made some crucial clearances as a result.
Pavlovic (5.5): It was rather similar to what we saw last season, truth be told, as poor moments in the build-up were mixed with a goal-line clearance and a couple of good runs forward. Still, the sloppiness in the build-up simply cannot happen.
Saelemaekers (5.5): He was good at the start, especially when going forward, and had a good cross for Bartesaghi. However, he squandered a decent chance (sending his shot way above the bar) and was easily beaten in defence on a couple of occasions.
Loftus-Cheek (6): The midfielder was heavily involved from the get-go, playing to the right in midfield, and he created some issues for Arsenal with his bursting runs. That being said, while he did those and flick-ons very well, the final touch was missing in more than one situation.
Ricci (6): It felt like we didn’t see loads from him, but when you think about it, he was calm and composed every time he got on the ball. Perhaps that’s why nothing ‘stands out’ immediately when you think of his performance, but Milan signed him to keep the engine going and he did that.
Musah (5): He lost the ball in dangerous positions a couple of times, which Milan cannot afford, and it was only luck that none of them resulted in a goal conceded. Sadly, he didn’t add much going forward either, while the defending was very meh.
Bartesaghi (5): As most of us expected, he struggled big time against Saka, who was able to get past with dribbles and smart runs especially in the first half. Then, in the second half, the Milan youngster lost the winger in the box, resulting in the goal. He also could have done better in attack, like on the cross from Saelemaekers.
Pulisic (N/A): He had a couple of good bursts forward but ultimately, as Milan spent most of the first half defending, we didn’t see loads of him. He got the ball in the box in a good position once, but was closed down. Very hard to give a rating based on what we saw.
Leao (6): At the end of the day, the only real danger Milan created involved him in one way or another, even if you could argue that he didn’t always make the right decisions. Still, in the sense that he created a decent amount, it was a promising first friendly of the pre-season.
Substitutes
Gabbia (6): Not much to say here, really, other than the fact that his positioning was solid and he did what you would expect from him. He also converted his penalty in the shootout.
Chukwueze (5.5): Disappointing stuff from him, especially since he did have a couple of opportunities to run at his man but never took them. At least he converted his penalty in the shootout.
Okafor (5.5): Similarly to the Nigerian, he wasn’t successful on the ball, even if he did at least attempt to win a few 1v1s. He also missed his penalty in the shootout.
Torriani (7.5 – MOTM): The youngster made a wonderful save on Merino, parrying the header away from danger as well despite seeing it very late. Then, he was tested by another powerful shot, even if it was straight at him, and he also kept out a good shot from Nelson. In the penalty shootout, he made not one, not two, but THREE great saves.
Dutu (6): He made a great last-ditch tackle towards the end of the game and also converted his penalty in the shootout.
Terracciano (N/A): We didn’t see enough in the second half to give him a rating, though he converted his penalty in the shootout.
Bondo (N/A): We didn’t see enough in the second half to give him a rating, though he converted his penalty in the shootout.
Comotto (N/A): We didn’t see enough in the second half to give him a rating, though he converted his penalty in the shootout.
Colombo (N/A): We didn’t see enough in the second half to give him a rating, though he missed his penalty in the shootout.
Liberali (N/A): We didn’t see enough in the second half to give him a rating, though he missed his penalty in the shootout.
Magni (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating.
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