Quartet shine including super sub: Player ratings for Milan-Lecce from Italian papers

AC Milan left it quite late to get the decisive goal against Lecce, but it eventually came with 15 minutes left thanks to Niclas Füllkrug.

After a swathe of missed chances, a beautiful ball from Matteo Gabbia unleashed Alexis Saelemaekers down the line, and his first touch was superb. However, the ball that he delivered into the back post was even better, with Füllkrug waiting to nod home for his first goal since arriving.

AC Milan 1-0 Lecce: Newspaper ratings

You should of course check out our player ratings from the game first, but this morning’s newspapers in Italy have provided their take on what was a one-sided contest in truth.

Starting with La Gazzetta dello Sport, they gave the overall performance from the team a 7 out of 10, the same score that they gave to Massimiliano Allegri for making the right in-game changes to get the win (above all, bringing on Füllkrug).

The best player on the pitch in their eyes was Saelemaekers, who got a 7. The worst performer was Pervis Estupinan who again didn’t offer what was needed on the left, and he got a 5.5.

Adrien Rabiot and Füllkrug were given a 7 too, while Matteo Gabbia, Samuele Ricci and Ardon Jashari got a 6.5. Everyone else was awarded a 6 aside from Christian Pulisic, who got a 5.5 for missing another 1v1.

🔢 The player ratings for #MilanLecce from @Gazzetta_it.

🤔 Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/K5JuUo8U8l

— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) January 19, 2026

Corriere dello Sport gave Allegri a 6.5, describing it as the ‘perfect match’ from a coaching point of view because his team barely suffered. In the rearguard, Maignan, Tomori and De Winter all got a 6, with Gabbia getting half a mark more for his hand in the goal.

Saelemaekers was awarded a 7, Rabiot a 6.5, Ricci a 6, Jashari the same, and Loftus-Cheek a 5.5 off the bench. Estupinan was a 6 too, while Pulisic (5.5) and Leao (6) didn’t have their best games, with Füllkrug (7) the match-winner.

Tuttosport actually didn’t give Maignan a rating because of how little he had to do. Gabbia got a 6.5, Saelemaekers a 7.5, Rici a 6.5, Rabiot a 7 and Füllkrug a 7. Loftus-Cheek and Pulisic were both deemed sub-pay and were given a 5.5.