Second Half Surge Sees Milan Roll Past Roma

Roma looked good early on, and had the first big chance in the 20th minute when Kluivert’s deflected cross reached Džeko, whose header from 6 yards out went wide.

Then, it was Milan’s turn to have a headed chance. Theo found Çalhanoğlu with a cross, but the Turkish international put his header high and wide.

Çalhanoğlu had yet another chance in the 65th minute, after he combined with Saelemaekers to go through down the left, but was kept out by Mirante.

Two minutes later, the Roma keeper was called into action again, as he tipped Paquetá’s deflected shot wide.

Milan finally broke through in the 76th minute. Saelemaekers allowed Kessié to have an acrobatic shot, but he was kept out by Mirante. The keeper also responded to Rebić’s follow-up by tipping it onto the post, but it only fell to the Croatian international’s feet, who promptly smashed it home.

The hosts got a penalty in the 88th minute as was Theo brought down by Smalling. Çalhanoğlu stepped up and scored.

And so, it ended 2-0 to the Rossoneri.

Tactics:

Milan tried to build out from the back, but were not able to do so very often early on. Otherwise, they were well organised.

Roma looked to stay on the front foot for as long as they could, and they pressed high to help their cause. In the second half, they dropped the press due to fatigue, and lost intensity.

Ratings:

Milan

Gianluigi Donnarumma – Didn’t have too much to do except pluck a few crosses which were straight at him. 5.75

Andrea Conti – Looked good down the right, as he kept Kluivert quiet. 6.25

Simon Kjær – Strong in defence, as he did well to keep a clean sheet. 6.5

Alessio Romagnoli – Rock solid in defence, as he made a lot of challenges and repelled crosses too. 7

Theo Hernandez – Didn’t do too much at the back, but he created a couple of good chances in attack. Won the penalty too. 6.5

Franck Kessié – Made a few good challenges in the first half, but he almost went missing in the second. 5.75

Ismaël Bennacer – Helped his defence out well, and his passing was good too. 6.25

Samu Castillejo – Failed to have a real impact on the right flank. 4.25

Giacomo Bonaventura – Saw very little of the ball, and didn’t create anything. 4

Hakan Çalhanoğlu – Seemed to be his side’s most potent attacking threat, as he had a couple of good sights of goal. Converted the penalty as well. 8

Ante Rebić – Worked his socks off up front, as he spent most of the match chasing long balls. Got a very good goal with his last touch too. 8.25

Subs:

Lucas Paquetá – Looked lively after coming on, as he had a couple of good chances. 6.25

Alexis Saelemaekers – Good impact off the bench, as he created a couple of good chances. 6.5

Team – Milan were not too impressive in the first half, as they created virtually nothing in front of goal and almost conceded. But they came out flying after the break, and dominated proceedings in the second period. After creating a few chances, Rebić put them in front, and Çalhanoğlu doubled their lead late on to give them the three points. A good performance and a good result for the Rossoneri. 6.75

Roma

Antonio Mirante – Made numerous good saves, but couldn’t keep out the goal. 7.5

Davide Zappacosta – Looked decent in his first appearance at right-back, but he’ll probably only be remembered for his loose pass which led to the goal. Didn’t go forward either. 4

Chris Smalling – Made a lot of clearances and blocks at the back as he tried to keep things tight. However, he gave away a very needless spot-kick. 6.25

Gianluca Mancini – Didn’t do too much defensive work. 5.5

Leonardo Spinazzola – Delivered one or two decent crosses, but didn’t have a real impact. 5.25

Bryan Cristante – Screened his defence well, but didn’t do anything in attack. 6

Jordan Veretout – Decent in the middle of the park, but he didn’t have an impact at either end. 5

Justin Kluivert – Made a few good runs as he drew defenders with him, but didn’t do too much on the ball except the one chance he created. 5.75

Lorenzo Pellegrini – Didn’t have a real effect up front. 4.5

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – Had a couple of good chances, but failed to have a major impact. 5.5

Edin Džeko – Except the big chance he had early on, Roma’s captain had virtually nothing to work with, as he cut a lonely figure up front. 4.75

Subs:

Carles Pérez – Zero impact off the bench. 4

Diego Perotti – Didn’t do too much after coming on. 4.5

Nikola Kalinić – Like Džeko, he had nothing to work with. 4.25

Team – Roma looked good in the first half, as they pressed with intensity and almost went ahead through Džeko’s header. But they were nowhere in the second half, and got bossed in every aspect of the game. They allowed Milan to have quite a few sights of goal, while never threatening Donnarumma themselves. They deservedly lost after a very disappointing display. 5.5

Referee:

Piero Giacomelli had a relatively simple match, and he got all of his calls right. 6.5

What This Means:

Milan stay in 7th spot, but are now level on points with Napoli.

Roma also hold position in 5th place, but they are 6 points away from the top 4 (until Atalanta play).