AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw by Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta, courtesy of an injury time equalizer by Emiliano Rigoni at San Siro on Sunday night.
Milan were off the blocks very early, as it took them just two minutes to take the lead, with star striker Gonzalo Higuain bundling home with a brilliant finish. The Rossoneri had a number of chances to extend their advantage but failed to capitalise and were duly punished early in the second period, when Alejandro Gomez pulled one back for the visitors.
Midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura reinstated Milan’s lead, netting against his former club in the 61st minute. And, when it seemed like Gennaro Gattuso’s men would walk away with all three points, substitute Emiliano Rigoni came up with the equaliser in stoppage time to ensure both teams shared the spoils.
It was a disappointing result for Milan, especially considering the excellent start they were off to on the night. However, they did climb up one place to 12th spot on the Serie A table after the game, having collected five points from four matches.
There's no more time at the San Siro: it's 2-2
Finisce in parità a San Siro con l'Atalanta che trova il pari al 91'#MilanAtalanta 2-2 pic.twitter.com/rqfnJ2wKaP— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 23, 2018
And here’s how the Milan stars fared on the night against La Dea.
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 6/10
Gigio had his task cut out against an Atalanta side that meant business on the night. Saved from a Duvan Zapata effort early in the second period and then stopped Marten de Roon from scoring. Made a mess of an attempt to punch away a corner-kick, but was saved the blushes by Ricardo Rodriguez. Produced another save from Zapata, but the rebound fell to Rigoni, who slotted home to make it 2-2.
Davide Calabria: 6/10
Fared well on the right side of the Milan defence, getting forward in support of Suso and Franck Kessie, while defending reasonably well in the first period. Let Gomez get goalside for Atalanta’s first though, and was withdrawn shortly after due to a knock he seemed to have picked up.
Mateo Mussachio: 6/10
A strong start to the game saw the defender dominate Musa Barrow, as he kept popping up with crucial interventions one after the other. Things got a bit trickier after the introduction of the physical Zapata. Should have shown more alertness late in the game as Atalanta piled on the pressure.
Alessio Romagnoli: 6/10
The club captain coped fairly well with the visitors in the first-half, but faced difficulties after Rigoni came on to join Zapata at the top after the half-time break. Not at fault for either goal, but could have done a bit better in general in the second period.
Ricardo Rodriguez: 6.5/10
The Swiss full-back, returning to the starting XI after the European fixture, showed good intent down the left flank getting forward and playing in a few decent crosses, while he also had a pop at the goal himself. There were a couple of occasions when he was caught out at the back, but redeemed himself with a goal-line clearance to deny Marten de Roon.
Franck Kessie: 6/10
Started off positively, showing great energy and vigour to drive his team forward from the midfield. However, Kessie wasted a fanstastic chance to make it 2-0, as he fired his shot wide after being played in by Higuain. Seemed to wear off with time and lost Rigoni in the lead up to the late equalizer.
Lucas Biglia: 6.5/10
A fairly solid performance in the middle of the park from the Argentine. Kept the team ticking, exchanging quick passes with his teammates, while he was alert to any threat from the visitors, going into tackles strongly and challenging for the second balls.
Giacomo Bonaventura: 7/10
Playing against his former club, Bonaventura looked up for it, as he forced the Atalanta keeper into a couple of saves with piercing efforts from distance. Thought he had scored before half-time, only to see his header chalked off by VAR for offside. Saw another headed effort bounce off the woodwork, before he finally got his goal to make it 2-1.
Suso: 7.5/10
The Spanish playmaker showed his class on the night, as he set Higuain up for the opening goal with a delightful cross. Continued to cause a lot of problems to the Atalanta backline with his movement and incision and got his second assist of the game, playing in Bonaventura with a brilliant pass. A major improvement on his display against Cagliari last weekend.
Gonzalo Higuain: 7/10
The Argentine striker needed just 100 seconds to make his presence felt on the field, opening the scoring with a smart finish past Pierluigi Gollini. Higuain linked up well with his teammates and created a great chance for Kessie. Had a chance to kill the game off late on, but failed to make it count.
Hakan Calhanoglu: 5/10
Another disappointing outing for the former Bayer Leverkusen star after his poor game against Cagliari. Drifted in and out of the game and had little impact on the proceedings in the final third. Had a chance to make it 3-1 after Suso played a great cross, but missed the opportunity. Perhaps, Gattuso should consider starting with Samu Castillejo for the next match.
Substitutes
Ignazio Abate: 5/10
Replaced Calabria a little after the hour mark. Made a few darting runs down the right flank, but was culpable for the late goal by Rigoni.
Tiemoue Bakayoko: 5/10
Came on for Bonaventura in the 74th minute. Made a couple of solid tackles.
Samu Castillejo: N/A
Late substitute for Calhanoglu.
