Milan Player Ratings vs Lazio: Toothless Rossoneri Denied Late Scudetto Push

Serie A runners-up Milan suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico as Lazio eked out their second consecutive league win. Massimiliano Allegri’s men squandered a golden chance to close the gap on runaway leaders Inter.

Brimming with confidence after a hard-earned 1-0 win in last Sunday’s Milan derby, the Rossoneri knew anything other than a victory in Rome would significantly derail their Scudetto hopes. Indeed, Atalanta handed Milan’s title hopes a major boost yesterday by holding Cristian Chivu’s side to a 1-1 draw at San Siro.

However, Milan would soon find out that holding up their end of the bargain could be easier said than done. After settling the Derby della Madonnina with his first goal in Serie A, Pervis Estupinan made a catastrophic mistake to gift Gustav Isaksen the opener in the 27th minute.

Despite taking control of the game in the second half, Milan created very little. Apart from one brilliant save from Edoardo Motta to thwart Christian Pulisic and a disallowed goal from Zachary Athekame, the visitors didn’t do much to spring a comeback, wasting probably their last chance to blow the title race wide open.

Without further ado, let’s look at our Milan ratings.

Milan (3-5-2)

Mike Maignan – 7/10

Beaten from a point-blank range, there was nothing he could do to stop Isaksen’s shot, but he made a massive stop to deny Daniel Maldini in a one-on-one situation.

Fikayo Tomori – 7/10

Made several key interceptions to break Lazio’s attempts to catch Milan in transition and kept Mattia Zaccagni relatively quiet for most of the game.

Koni De Winter – 6/10

His recklessness nearly allowed Maldini to put Lazio 2-0 up, but he had Maignan to bail him out. After surviving that scare, the rest of the evening went smoothly for the former Genoa defender.

Strahinja Pavlovic – 8/10

Another outstanding display from the Serbian center-back, commanding the backline, winning aerial duels, and plugging all the holes at the back.

Pervis Estupinan – 2/10

Came close to scoring early on with a superb diving header, only to undo his promising start with a cheap error. Never managed to recover, forcing Allegri to take him off just before the hour mark.

Ardon Jashari – 5/10

Handed a rare chance to start in the absence of Adrien Rabiot, the Swiss midfielder looked a bit rusty, losing possession on several occasions and often struggling with wrong choices.

Luka Modric – 6/10

Too many misplaced passes from the 40-year-old suggest fatigue could be catching up with the veteran amid a string of grueling fixtures.

Youssouf Fofana – 7/10

Even though he wasn’t as inspired as he was against Cremonese a fortnight ago, the Frenchman was arguably the best midfielder for the visitors tonight, maintaining composure and possession throughout. Nearly scored with a weak header.

Alexis Saelemaekers – 5/10

Too many poor giveaways from the Belgian winger, coupled with consistently wrong decisions, left him largely ineffective down the right flank.

Christian Pulisic – 4/10

Not one of his flashiest performances in the Milan jersey by any stretch of the imagination. Denied by Motta’s superb save at the start of the second half, extending his Serie A drought to 11 matches.

Rafael Leao – 3/10

Playing as a center-forward doesn’t suit the Portuguese superstar, as he had another frustrating game, failing to find space or make any meaningful impact in the final third.

Substitutes

Davide Bartesaghi 5/10

Zachary Athekame 6/10

Niclas Fullkrug 4/10

Christopher Nkunku 6/10

Samuele Ricci N/A