AC Milan failed to win for the second game running as they came from behind to secure an important draw versus Genoa in the Serie A.
Former Milan player Mattia Destro was the centre of attention, scoring a brace, as Genoa came close to causing an upset versus league leaders AC Milan. A David Calabria wonder goal and Pierre Kalulu’s poaching instincts were needed to help the Rossoneri earn a crucial point.
A double-comeback earns us a point at Genoa ?
Partita difficile, rimontiamo due volte e portiamo a casa un punto ?#GenoaMilan #SempreMilan @emirates pic.twitter.com/YQx1CINKqc
— AC Milan (@acmilan) December 16, 2020
AC Milan’s inability to take all three points versus 19th placed Genoa has opened the gate for the chasing pack, with the gap between the two Milan teams down to a mere point. This is the third time this season that Milan have come from behind to steal a late 2-2 draw, and while their fighting spirit is commendable, they need to figure out why they are in that situation in the first place.
As AC Milan head into a harder run of fixtures, they would be hoping to shrug off these poor results and get back to winnings ways. Here’s how The Hard Tackle rated the players that featured for Milan.
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 6/10
Conceded two goals for the second game running, but could unfortunately not do much about either Genoa goal. Made some smart stops on the night to keep the deficit at two.
Davide Calabria: 8/10
AC Milan’s best player of the night, Calabria scored a fantastic goal from outside the box with a low driven volley to level the score. The Italian was also solid defensively with Genoa only finding goal scoring chances from the other flank.
Pierre Kalulu: 6/10
In the two games that Kalulu has featured in the Serie A for Milan, they have conceded 2 goals in each. Kalulu looked completely out of sorts in the defensive phase. He made a costly error in the first half that Alessio Romagnoli dealt with well.
Kalulu’s poor judgement cost Milan the second goal as he failed to head the incoming cross. Despite a poor game, Kalulu redeemed himself by scoring the equaliser in the 82nd minute from a set-piece situation – showing his great awareness.
? That one meant a lot to Pierre. pic.twitter.com/XA8jNgcgfB
— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) December 16, 2020
Alessio Romagnoli: 5/10
AC Milan captain Romagnoli had a poor game versus Genoa as he failed to keep yet another clean sheet. Made some costly positioning mistakes and was not aggressive enough against Genoa’s strong strikers. Won the crucial header that helped set up Kalulu for the second goal.
Diogo Dalot: 4/10
Dalot’s previous appearance came in the Europa League where the Portuguese starred. However, this was a night to forget for the youngster. He did not offer much going forward and both the goals came from his flank. Milan truly missed last week’s star, Theo Hernandez.
Franck Kessie: 6/10
Kessie looked a little tired as he has had to play more games than expected due to Ismael Bennacer’s fitness struggles. Despite doing what was asked of him nicely, Kessie failed to impose himself on the game like he usually does.
Sandro Tonali: 7/10
One of the few bright lights for Milan, Tonali did well while combating in midfield. The youngster made in-roads down the inside right channel which cause Genoa a lot of problems in the first half. A hard-working performance, the only way is up for Milan’s gem.
Rafael Leao: 6/10
Leao returned from injury but failed to make much of an impact. Worked hard throughout as he was seen tracking back a lot. His biggest contribution was his turn and pass in the box from which substitute Jens Petter Hauge almost scored.
Hakan Calhanoglu: 7/10
Calhanoglu played with composure and showed immense quality on the ball. He set up Calabria with a nice pass ready to be hit first time and took a powerful shot late in the game that was well blocked. Milan would be ruing the missed chances created by the Turk.
Samu Castillejo: 5/10
On the pitch for only 55 minutes, Castillejo was heavily involved in the first half, seeing a lot of the ball. However, the Spaniard was extremely wasteful. He was also very predictable as he always wanted to come onto his stronger left foot and ended up not creating anything.
Ante Rebic: 6/10
Rebic created a brilliant chance for himself in the first half with some neat trickery, but failed to find a finish after arriving in a promising position. That nutmeg was truly blissful. However, his impact was minimal for the other parts of the game. Milan really miss Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
SUBSTITUTES
Alexis Saelemaekers: 6/10
Came on for the struggling Castillejo and injected some energy and directness into the side. Although Saelemaekers did not directly make an impact in the game, he should start the next game.
Jens Petter Hauge: 6/10
Many expected him to start after his recent impressive performances. Hauge had a decent game as he tried to find the winner for Milan. Came close to scoring with a trademark rolled finish into the bottom corner that went just past the wrong side of the post.
Brahim Diaz: N/A
Came too late to create much of an impact, as he saw very little of the ball.
