An end to end affair at the San Siro saw AC Milan share the spoils with Hellas Verona as the extraordinary match ended in a 2-2 draw.
AC Milan failed to return to winning ways on Sunday as they only earned a point versus an impressive Hellas Verona side. It is fair to say that the game was an affair of two halves, with Verona imposing themselves in the first and Milan making a comeback in the second.
The home side went behind as early as the 6th minute, when Antonin Barak poked the ball in from close range. Soon after, Hellas Verona extended their lead from another set-piece situation. The impressive Mattia Zaccagni, who had started the game very well, met the initial clearance on the volley which found a king deflection off Davide Calabria and made its way into the back of the net.
AC Milan got one back at the half an hour mark as Franck Kessie met a deft pass by Alexis Saelemaekers and made it 2-1. The finish took a deflection from Giangiacomo Magnani and was ruled as an own goal. The Rossoneri upped the ante in the second half.
An extremely entertaining half of football saw two disallowed goals, a missed penalty, a shot on the woodwork and to cap all this a 93rd minute equaliser from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic made amends for his penalty miss as he secured a late draw for Milan. It was an enthralling contest and The Hard tackle will take a look at how the AC Milan players fared in this contest.
It's not a win but what a fight-back!
Pari in rimonta a San Siro#MilanVerona #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/Z4oRnBlIM9
— AC Milan (@acmilan) November 8, 2020
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 6/10
Donnarumma conceded two goals, but in all fairness, he could not have done much about either of those. One was scored on the rebound and the other was an unkind deflection. In the absence of Alessio Romagnoli, he was the captain for the night and gave an overall decent performance.
Davide Calabria: 6/10
Calabria was one of the hardest workers on the pitch but it just wasn’t to be for him. He was an immense threat going forward and even played 2 key passes. Also had a goal disallowed for hand ball very late in the game. For all the good work done in the oppositions half, Calabria had a tough time at the back. Zaccagni tormented him and he even scored an own goal through a wicket deflection.
Simon Kjaer: 6/10
Kjaer dealt well with the former AC Milan striker Nikola Kalinic and was integral in Milan not conceding any goal from open play. His distribution was also on point and it was a solid overall performance by the 31-year-old Dane.
Matteo Gabbia: 6/10
Gabbia made a last minute appearance as a replacement for the injured Romagnoli and like his partner, he was reliable. He was good in the air and won each of his ground duels as well. A decent performance from the youngster.
Theo Hernandez: 5/10
90th min.
JUGADORAZO. pic.twitter.com/lmECpO1elc
— leão_fan (@Susolista8) November 8, 2020
Theo Hernandez did not face much of a challenge defensively and as a result, he made his way into good areas in the attacking third. Theo ended the night with 2 big chances missed – something that Milan will certainly rue over the international break. The Frenchman also lost the ball 13 times.
Theo was very impactful and caused Verona trouble. However, the inability to take his chances hurt Milan as the game ended as a draw. Nevertheless, it was his cross that was converted by Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the late equaliser.
Ismael Bennacer: 6/10
It was not the best of games for Bennacer, who worked hard but was often caught out of position and seen sprinting to make ground. He won 9 of his 16 ground duels, but lost the ball a total of 18 times and committed 5 fouls. Considering Verona’s threat from set-pieces, 5 fouls seems like a lot in hindsight. Bennacer did improve in the second half, but it was not the best of performances.
Franck Kessie: 8/10
It was yet another hardworking performance by Kessie. The Ivorian dominated the middle of the park – winning both aerial and ground duels with aplomb. Kessie even got at the end of an Alexis Saelemaekers cross that made its way to the back of the net. Won a penalty that Ibrahimovic failed to concede in a fantastic performance. He has truly been one of the best in the league this season.
Franck Kessié's first 7 Serie A-matches 2020-21:
-52 ball recoveries
-31 duels won
-12 interceptions
-2 goals
-1 assist— Maxi (@MaaxiAngelo) November 8, 2020
Alexis Saelemaekers: 7/10
One of the few bright spots in the AC Milan team in the first half, Saelemaekers assisted the goal scored by Kessie. He played 3 key passes in the first half and looked very lively on the ball. The most impactful player in the first half, his substitution was quite surprising. Stefano Pioli has some explaining to do.
Hakan Calhanoglu: 7/10
After a rather anonymous start to the game, Calhanoglu looked like a changed man in the second half. His heat map showed that the Milan playmaker was all over the pitch. Calhanoglu registered a whopping 12 key passes and completed 8 crosses. His xA was the highest on the pitch, and with the amount of risky passes he played, he naturally lost the ball a total of 20 times.
Despite a host of chances created, Calhanoglu ended the night with 0 goals and assists, but 1 disallowed goal.
Rafael Leao: 6/10
Looked lively in phases, but overall this was an average performance by Leao. The Portuguese needs to add end product to his game. Not the best of nights for him.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: 7/10
Ibrahimovic experienced it all in the game versus Hellas Verona. He hit the woodwork, skied a penalty, but also earned the Rossoneri a late point. The top scorer of the Serie A got into some fantastic performances, and if it wasn’t for his missed penalty, his rating could have been a perfect 10.
Zlatan is the first ever AC Milan player to score in seven consecutive games.
?? ? pic.twitter.com/UqNHLWeXuw— Purely Football (@PurelyFootball) November 8, 2020
Milan would rue the missed chance to get back to winning ways. It was a really busy day for Ibrahimovic as he seemed to be in the thick of things, scoring in a seventh consecutive game in the Serie A. Seems to have relinquished his penalty duties, though, and rightly so.
SUBSTITUTES
Ante Rebic: 7/10
Rebic came on for the lively Saelemaekers and produced a satisfying performance. 2 key passes, 2 crosses and 1 big chance created, Rebic was impactful in the second half as Milan looked keen to win the game. Having just returned from injury, Rebic can take a lot of positives from this performance.
Brahim Diaz: 6/10
Came on as late as the 78th minute and apart from the crucial assist to Zlatan in the 93rd minute, Diaz did not seem to impact the game as such.
Jens Petter Hauge: N/A
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
