Despite conceding early to Ciro Immobile, Milan stormed back to beat Lazio 2-1, scoring a dramatic goal in added time. The Rossoneri started the match in poor form, but Pioli’s side was able to establish its superiority after halftime. Sandro Tonali, Rafael Leao and Junior Messias led their Milan to victory, while the hosts’ downfall was a rough day at the office for the defense.
Lazio
Thomas Strakosha – 7.5
Early on, Strakosha made a near-disastrous error when Junior Messias blocked his clearance, and the goalkeeper committed a handball outside of the box. However, his form improved significantly afterward, as he made a number of important saves.
Patric – 5.5
On the backline, Patric had a solid day distributing to the midfield, but he failed to keep the defense organized with Francesco Acerbi, which ultimately resulted in the late equalizer.
Francesco Acerbi – 4.5
Acerbi had an unassuming match until added time, when his failed clearance attempt allowed Zlatan and Tonali to combine for the game-winning goal.
Stefan Radu – 7
Though he had the challenging task of defending against Junior Messias, Radu held up well in one-on-one situations. He also cleared a goal-bound corner kick off the line in the second half, keeping Lazio’s hopes alive.
Manuel Lazzari – 7
Lazzari did a decent job running the wing with Felipe Anderson. He used his pace to his advantage in the first half, playing high and wide against Theo Hernandez.
Lucas Leiva – 6.5
The former Liverpool man provided solid defending in front of the centre-backs. Soon after he picked up a yellow card, Sarri replaced the midfielder with Danilo Cataldi, increasing the athleticism in the midfield.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – 8
While he did not help the defense enough, Milinkovic-Savic was on his game in the attacking third. He played a beautiful cross to open the scoring and was the only commanding midfielder on either side.
Luis Alberto – 5
Alberto struggled to create and find space in the match, putting just one shot on target. With 30 minutes left, Sarri replaced him with Toma Basic.
Felipe Anderson – 6
While he was fairly active in the first half, Anderson’s influence on the right wing waned as Milan began to dominate possession.
Mattia Zaccagni – 6
When Lazio seemed in control early on, the winger had flashes of brilliance, but he was unable to replicate his performance in the second 45.
Ciro Immobile – 8
For the opening goal, the striker made a great run to free himself from Pierre Kalulu, and he was rewarded with an easy tap-in. Against Milan’s backline, Immobile used his speed and tactical intelligence well, frequently getting on the ball and playing his fellow forwards into space.
Substitutes
Danilo Cataldi – 6.5
Replacing Lucas Leiva, Cataldi rotated well in the midfield and provided a consistent deep option to his attacking counterparts.
Toma Basic – 5
Basic was brought on to bring a higher level of play to Lazio’s midfield, but he struggled to make any sort of impact while Milan gained momentum.
Adam Marusic – N/A
Luiz Felipe – N/A
Elseid Hysaj – N/A
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Sandro Tonali pokes it home and sends Milan BACK to the top of the #SerieA ?⚫
FT | Lazio 1-2 AC Milan pic.twitter.com/q9Gnx4sULm
— SuperSport ? (@SuperSportTV) April 24, 2022
Milan
Mike Maignan – 7
Milan’s goalkeeper did not face too many difficult shots, but he again made an outstanding save in the first half. When Immobile played Zaccagni behind the backline, Maignan charged out and won a perfectly timed slide tackle to halt the attack.
Pierre Kalulu – 6
Kalulu lost track of Immobile on an early Lazio corner, allowing him the easy opening goal. However, the young defender was not rattled, and he rebounded with his typically strong defense for the remainder of the match.
Fikayo Tomori – 5.5
Also partially at fault for the fourth-minute concession, Tomori later committed a poor turnover in the defensive third that nearly led to another goal. However, like Kalulu, his form improved, and the defender ultimately compensated for his mistakes.
Davide Calabria – 6
On defense, the right-back did not allow Radu or Zaccagni much time or space, but he was fairly quiet on the offensive end of the pitch.
Theo Hernandez – 7
Alongside Leao on the left, Hernandez gave quality support and combined well with his teammates. After Milan’s disappointing first half, Hernandez played less conservatively in a more advanced position, which greatly improved the team’s chemistry.
Franck Kessie – 7.5
From the defensive midfield, Kessie had a great showing, winning several tackles and providing a needed box-to-box presence. He also contributed to the Milan attack more than usual.
Brahim Diaz – 5.5
Diaz did not involve himself in play nearly enough, getting just 26 touches in the first 60 minutes. He was able to find decent passing lanes throughout the match, but his creativity was not exactly inspiring.
Sandro Tonali – 8.5
For 90 minutes, Tonali had a normal match, facilitating play well from a deep midfield position. Then, as Milan pushed for a winner in added time, he received a headed ball from Zlatan in the box and buried it from close-range, scoring a monumental goal in Milan’s chase of the Scudetto.
Rafael Leao – 8
Despite close marking on the wing, Leao turned in another phenomenal performance. He ripped several accurate shots from outside the box and played a great back-pass to Olivier Giroud to create the equalizing goal.
Junior Messias – 8
On the right wing, the Brazilian was one of Milan’s more dangerous attacking players. He was dynamic in the channel and created several chances for the Rossoneri. In the second half, he nearly scored the go-ahead goal, but his low show curled just wide of the post.
Olivier Giroud – 7
In the first half, Giroud had numerous shots and finally bagged a goal five minutes after the break. The striker’s form was much-improved, and his distribution, which had been lacking the last several games, was better as well.
Substitutes
Ante Rebic – 7
As a surprising replacement of Leao, Rebic greatly helped Milan’s late push for a second goal.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 7.5
While recording the winning assist, the Swede also managed two shots on just 11 touches in his first appearance in some time.