Milan wasted a comfortable two-goal cushion at halftime to draw 2-2 against out-of-sorts Lecce at the Stadio Via del Mare on Saturday afternoon. Rossoneri were on the verge of halting a three-game winless run in Serie A before the home side’s blitzkrieg denied them a much-needed victory.
Piling injury setbacks forced Stefano Pioli’s hand as he reverted to his Scudetto-winning 4-2-3-1 formation. But the game couldn’t have started any worse for Milan as they lost standout forward Rafael Leao to injury after just ten minutes. It didn’t slow them down as they took the lead in the 28th minute through the evergreen striker Olivier Giroud, who latched onto Theo Hernandez’s cutback to break the deadlock.
Seven minutes after grabbing the opener, Milan doubled their lead as Tijjani Riejnders finally got his first goal in the Rossoneri shirt, firing the visitors 2-0 at halftime. Pioli’s men were in cruising control of proceedings and had several decent chances to kill the game off. But when they didn’t, Lecce made them pay as second-half substitute Nicola Sansone scored with his first touch of the ball.
Lameck Banda completed the comeback only four minutes later, taking advantage of Yunus Musah’s poor giveaway.Milan were ultimately lucky to get away with a draw as Lecce hit the post late and had what would’ve been an injury-time winner disallowed by VAR.
Milan (4-2-3-1)
Mike Maignan – 4
His fantastic save to deny Banda from point-blank midway through the first half will probably be in contention for the ‘save of the season.’ Caught off guard twice in quick succession, though there was nothing he could’ve done for both goals. Had VAR to thank for saving his skin in added time.
Davide Calabria – 6
Much less effective than Hernandez on the left but still solid enough to defend against Banda and keep the Milan backline weather some nervy moments. Nowhere to be seen in the final third, though. Replaced at halftime.
Malick Thiaw – 7
The young gun must pay more attention to his over-zealous tackles, especially the ones inside the box. He was lucky not to give away a first-half penalty after a reckless challenge on Gabriel Strefezza. But gradually improved as the game progressed
Fikayo Tomori – 7
The level of confidence streaming through this guy’s veins is mind-blowing! Every tackle was on the money, every pass was well-measured, and he even had time to fill for Thiaw’s shortcomings.
Theo Hernandez – 7
Turned on the jets to fly past his marker and set up Giroud for the opening goal. Lost some flair in the latter stages, perhaps due to his lack of understanding with Noah Okafor and the fact he picked up a needless yellow toward the end of the first half.
Rade Krunic – 6.5
Fulfilled his defensive duties with a typically energetic performance in front of his backline but often lacked guile when in possession.
TIjjani Reijnders – 7.5
Grabbed his long-overdue Milan opener with a fortunate strike through Wladmiro Falcone’s legs and almost doubled his tally before the break, but the woodwork stood in his way. Was at the thick of every Milan move in the attacking third!
Tomaso Pobega – 5.5
Milan fans can’t complain about the midfielder’s defensive contribution. However, it feels like a mistake waits to happen whenever he’s on the ball. Too slow to play it to his teammates, ruining several promising chances with his indecisiveness.
Samuel Chukwueze – 6
Back to the starting lineup for only the second time this season, one of the marquee Milan arrivals looked a bit rusty, which is nothing to be surprised about given his lengthy spell on the sidelines and a lack of first-team opportunities.
Rafael Leao – N/A
It was a pity that a muscular injury forced him off only ten minutes into the game, especially after his electrifying performance against Paris Saint-Germain.
Olivier Giroud – 5.5
Proved his ‘killer instincts’ again to open the scoring with a poacher’s finish. It was the only chance he had the whole game. Frustration got the better of him in stoppages as he received his marching orders for insulting the referee.
Substitutes
Noah Okafor – 6
Could’ve scored an absolute stunner after breezing past two of his markers, but Falcone stopped him with a superb diving save.
Yunus Musah – 2
Struggled against Banda upon his introduction and lost track of Sansone for Lecce’s first. Gave the ball away cheaply to inspire the hosts’ comeback! Nightmarish performance from the USMNT star!
Alessandro Florenzi – 5
Uneventful since coming on. Misplaced too many passes.
Luka Jovic – N/A
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