Brahim Diaz scored a brace while Rafael Leao and Divock Origi were also on target as AC Milan breezed past a wasteful Monza to secure a 4-1 victory on Saturday evening.
AC Milan playmaker Brahim Diaz netted a brace as the hosts cruised to a 4-1 win over Serie A newcomers Monza at San Siro on Saturday, lifting them to second place.
It just took 16 minutes for AC Milan to break the deadlock at San Siro as Brahim Diaz lit up the game with a wonderful forward run from the centre circle into the box, bustling his way past Monza defenders and then bundling to poke the ball home.
The Spaniard single-handedly put the game to bed by doubling the lead shortly before halftime after forward Divock Origi set him up with a neat pass inside the box. The Real Madrid loanee took his marker out of the equation with a mesmerizing first touch and blasted a powerful drive into the net.
Origi then scored his first goal for the Rossoneri with a rocket into the top right-hand corner in the 65th minute, before Monza’s Filippo Ranocchia pulled one back with a superb free kick from 30 yards. But that proved to be a mere consolation as Rafael Leao calmly slammed past the goalkeeper after Theo Hernandez stole the ball from the Monza defender.
A massive performance!!! 🤩#MilanMonza #SempreMilan@Acqua_Lete pic.twitter.com/8rrDmysHct
— AC Milan (@acmilan) October 22, 2022
The result sends Milan to the second spot in the Serie A standings. Here are our player ratings for the Milan stars after what was yet another comfortable win for Stefano Pioli’s men at the San Siro.
Ciprian Tatarusanu: 7/10
Could have done a bit better about the free-kick that he conceded, but it was well-struck, giving him little chance. Otherwise, he always looked sharp and focused and ended up making a couple of superb stops.
Tatarusanu was able to show his quality with the distribution and helped set up the opener with a lovely pass to Brahim Diaz. He has come under extensive criticism from the Milan fanbase, but they should have no complaints after this stellar display.
Sergiño Dest: 6/10
Dest was hard done by tonight; he looked more confident and was able to beat his man in the first half, but was taken off at halftime as Pioli wanted to switch to a three-man defence.
Simon Kjaer: 6/10
The Dane certainly didn’t have much to do this evening and had a much quieter match than his defensive peers, operating in a much more reserved role in a back three. He was eventually substituted by an in-form Gabbia.
Fikayo Tomori: 7/10
Solid defensive display from the Englishman, who was strong and assertive in his defensive actions, and did not give the opponents much space or time with the ball. From his advanced defensive position, he was in the thick of the action and won several tackles and interceptions, while he also helped in build-up play by progressing the ball up the pitch on a couple of occasions.
Theo Hernandez: 8/10
A flawless display from Hernandez yet again, whose distribution was always on point, his defensive contribution was crucial, and offensively, he was deadly creating a number of opportunities for the hosts. Brilliant all around. Rewarded for all of his good work when he nicked the ball from Valentin Antov before unselfishly finding Rafael Leao in the box to put the game beyond the visitors’ reach.
Tommaso Pobega: 7/10
Despite operating in a box-to-box role, Pobega saw a lot of the ball and produced several good opportunities while supplying the Milan attack thanks to his driving forward runs. Added a physical presence in midfield, but lacked some composure in the final pass during the game.
Ismael Bennacer: 7/10
Bennacer ran the show from his role in the double pivot and was the heart of the midfield as he controlled the rhythm of the game and was always available when his teammates needed to find a way out of trouble. The Algerian not only facilitated the play but impressed with his grit, technique, and sharpness around the field.
Junior Messias: 6/10
Messias had somewhat of a mixed game tonight. He was impressive with his technical skills and did well in the lead-up to Origi’s goal, but could not create anything of note apart from that.
Brahim Diaz: 10/10
Brahim Diaz has not been able to consistently show his undoubted quality throughout his spell with Milan. However, when he is in his groove, he more often than not steals the show completely. And that was the case tonight; he scored two superb and quite different goals that clinched the game for Milan before halftime.
🤩 STOP IT @Brahim! pic.twitter.com/QaaYv5r2XR
— SempreMilan 🏆 (@SempreMilanCom) October 22, 2022
The first one came through an excellent Messi-Esque solo run, surging past players and finishing in the bottom corner despite virtually being on the ground. The second one was even better as he took a peach of a first touch from Origi’s cross, spun his marker, and fired an effort into the far corner. Man of the match by some distance. Hopefully, his injury isn’t a long-term one as Milan really needs his creative spark.
Ante Rebic: 5/10
After some promising displays, Rebic was back to his usual as he failed to leave any major impact on the game, managing just 35 touches and one shot while posting a dismal 52% passing percentage. His relentless work rate and commitment to the cause were never in doubt, though.
Divock Origi: 8/10
Earlier this month, there was some ludicrous chatter in the Italian media about the Belgian striker being a flop and one of the club’s worst-ever acquisitions. Origi silenced his doubters with a goal and an assist here. He looked very lively up front and caused all sorts of problems for Monza’s defence with his sharp runs in behind.
Scored his first goal for Milan, blasting a powerful shot into the top corner before showing some great hold-up play and vision to pick out a ball for Diaz who was waiting just in front of the penalty spot and made no mistake to score his second.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Pierre Kalulu: 6/10
Despite not having much to do, Kalulu put up a good defensive performance.
Charles De Ketelaere: 6/10
Should have found the back of the net with that final chance, but that really shouldn’t be the marker to downgrade him as he was thrown into his unfavoured striker role and did okay with his buzzing movement.
Rafael Leao: 6/10
Leao was brought in as a sub on the hour mark, but the maverick winger was anonymous up until his goal, after some good work from Theo Hernandez down the left flank.
Mattia Gabbia: 6/10
Gabbia was given a breather from the starting role after delivering some excellent displays in recent weeks. He put on a solid display at the back, but that’s about it.
Aster Vranckx: N/A
Didn’t play enough to warrant a rating.
