Player Ratings: Napoli 2-0 AC Milan – De Winter and Maignan struggle

AC Milan’s adventure in the Supercoppa Italiana came to an end immediately as Napoli prevailed 2-0 in the semi-final. It was a dire game in many ways and 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

Maignan (5): He definitely should have done better on the first goal, as you can’t steer it into the path of the striker like that. We got to see some good saves after that, but on the second goal, he didn’t do enough for me either. The angle was super tight for Hojlund and the keeper was so close to the ball. He nearly gifted a goal too in the first half on a corner.

Tomori (6): I actually don’t think he was bad in his defensive duties tonight, and he continued to push up in attack to offer support as we have seen so many times in recent games. For me, he did enough to get a 6 here.

De Winter (4): It certainly wasn’t a good evening from him. He had to do a lot better on the first goal, losing the duel with Hojlund just like against Pinamonti at the weekend. Then, on the second goal, it was just really bad defending against the Danish striker again. Not to mention that he was poor in possession. Milan desperately need a better centre-back in January.

Photo by AC Milan

Pavlovic (6.5): We saw some very good defending from the Serbian tonight with several last-ditch clearances/interceptions, especially on one counter-attack he stopped brilliantly. The deflection meant he could do nothing about the first goal either.

Saelemaekers (5.5) He had some good initiatives, including a few passes towards the penalty box, but he simply had to do better on that counter-attack in the first half. He did everything right with the run but the pass was behind Nkunku, and you could also argue he should’ve passed towards Pulisic instead.

Loftus-Cheek (5.5): This is a tough one because at the end of the day, he uses his size well and often gets into the box to offer an aerial threat. On the other hand, it’s all very predictable when he’s on the ball, and he didn’t really have huge success in the box either tonight.

Jashari (5): Truth be told, it was a very quiet night for the Swiss international. Yes, he had the ball quite a lot by virtue of his position, but 90% of the time he just played easy passes. He looked a bit unpolished in possession too, and aside from two good passes over the top for Estupinan, he didn’t stand out at all.

Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images

Rabiot (5.5): I never thought I would say this about him, because it’s usually what we like to see, but he was a bit too rash and aggressive tonight. It feels like the brawls on the pitch affected his mood a little and affected his performance negatively.

Estupinan (6): There wasn’t a whole lot to complain about here, as he showcased some good defending (especially in an early duel with Politano) and crossing. His delivery actually helped the Rossoneri create some decent half-chances.

Nkunku (5): He worked hard, I get it, but he’s simply not a target striker. In his hold-up play, he was nowhere near bold enough as he often continued for too long with his back against the wall. Then, he also missed that big chance on the counter-attack. Yes, the pass from Saelemaekers was poor, but he can still do better.

Pulisic (5.5): Aside from the very good pass to start the aforementioned counter-attack, we didn’t really see much of him at all. We shouldn’t put everything on his shoulders, of course, but a player of his quality needs to show himself a bit more in games like these. He can do better, we all know it.

Substitutes

Athekame (5.5): There’s potential there, but it really wasn’t a good game to enter at that stage. Napoli sat back so deep his pace didn’t really matter. Instead, we got to see some poor passing.

Fofana (6): It might sound crazy, but given many of his teammates struggled big time, he actually didn’t do terribly during his time on the pitch. He dared to drive forward with the ball at least.

Modric (N/A): I didn’t see enough to give him a rating.

The manager

Allegri (5.5): What can he really do? The goals were mostly down to individual errors, let’s be honest, and it’s not like he could have opted not to start De Winter. Besides, there was no attacking power on the bench. Taking Saelemaekers off can be questioned for the sake of the game, hence the rating, even if it was good to give him some rest.