Milan Player Ratings vs Venezia: Pulisic Inspires Scrappy Win | OneFootball

Milan eked out a 2-0 victory against relegation-battling Venezia to temporarily close the gap on Serie A top six. Sergio Conceicao’s side suffered a lot at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo but took home all three points.

Brimming with confidence after a scintillating 3-0 romping of bitter rivals Inter in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final tie, Milan entered the round seeking redemption for a 1-0 home loss to Atalanta last weekend. However, motivation was at a premium for the visitors, given their dire position in the Serie A standings.

Marooned in mid-table, Milan could hardly haul back a substantial eight-point deficit on sixth-placed Lazio. Yet, they flew out of the traps as Christian Pulisic’s fifth-minute opener fired the Rossoneri to a promising start. Little did anyone know it would be Milan’s only shot on target at Pier Luigi Penzo heading into second-half stoppages.

Indeed, their performance for the rest of the game flattered to deceive, with imprecision and poor decision-making preventing them from building on their early advantage. Venezia nearly punished Milan for a lethargic approach in the first half, but Eusebio Di Francesco’s side ran out of steam after the break.

Santiago Gimenez landed a knockout blow in the dying seconds. As a result, Milan returned to winning ways in Serie A and will travel to Genoa next weekend in high spirits. Without further ado, let’s look at our player ratings.

Milan (3-4-3)

Mike Maignan – 6

Venezia’s inability to create many scoring opportunities only required two saves from the French goalkeeper, who had a relatively comfortable afternoon at Pier Luigi Penzo.

Strahinja Pavlovic – 6

Over-zealous tackles in the opening half an hour saw the towering Serb get away without a booking several times. Yet, his anticipation and timing improved as the game progressed.

Matteo Gabbia – 6.5

It was another decent showing from the Italian center-back as he dominated in the air and made a few crucial interceptions when Milan were on the back foot.

Fikayo Tomori – 6

The ex-Chelsea defender blew hot and cold, showing a solid recovery pace and decent composure under pressure despite a few lapses in concentration.

Theo Hernandez – 7

Despite minor defensive hiccups, the talismanic left-back completed numerous progressive runs with the ball and often created danger in the final third.

Youssouf Fofana – 7.5

Attacking-wise, this was probably his most eventful display in the Milan shirt. In addition to assisting Pulisic for the opening goal, the robust midfielder excelled in the offensive third.

Tijjani Reijnders – 6

The Dutchman wasn’t up to his high standard today. Rarely on the ball, he couldn’t impact the play as he would’ve liked.

Alejandro Jimenez – 6

Struggled immensely at the back early on but made up for his defensive shortcomings in the attacking phase, though he must work on releasing the ball sooner.

Christian Pulisic – 7

The USMNT forward scored a crucial opener but afterward faded from the game, struggling to maintain his early influence as Milan’s attacking momentum gradually fizzled out.

Rafael Leao – 5.5

Far from his peak form, Leao endured another underwhelming match, losing possession one too many times and misplacing simple passes when Milan desperately needed composure and clarity in the final third.

Tammy Abraham – 5.5

The Roma loanee cut a frustrated character as a lack of service prompted him to drop deep in search of the ball, limiting his influence in and around the penalty area.

Substitutes

Santiago Gimenez – 7

Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 5.5

Kyle Walker – 6.5