Milan relinquished their four-match unbeaten streak against Paris Saint-Germain with a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the Parc des Princes. Silvio Berlusconi once said that the Champions League is part of Rossoneri’s DNA, but Stefano Pioli’s men are on the verge of playing down that claim.
After a brace of 0-0 draws against Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle United, Milan headed to Paris hoping to get off the mark in the so-called ‘Group of Death.’ Things didn’t go according to plan, even though the Italians enjoyed a bright start to the game, as Kylian Mbappe’s individual brilliance split Pioli’s backline in half.
The Frenchman’s outstanding solo goal helped PSG enter the break 1-0 up, with Milan harboring slim hopes of pulling off a second-half comeback following a decent first-half performance. However, when Randal Kolo Muani tapped home from point-blank eight minutes after the break, there was no way back into this fixture for Rossoneri.
Lee Kang-in’s late strike only sweetened the deal for Luis Enrique’s rampant side, leaving Milan nailed to the bottom of Group F without a single goal! Pioli’s men have now gone five Champions League matches without scoring, and it’s hard to imagine them returning to a top-two race in the final three rounds.
Let’s look at our player ratings.
Milan (4-3-3)
Mike Maignan – 6
Made several fantastic saves to deny Mbappe and save some dignity for Milan. Looked comfortable with the ball despite being pressured by PSG’s lightning-fast attack. A poor deflection leading to the home side’s second goal was the only blemish on an otherwise impressive performance from the highly-rated goalkeeper.
Theo Hernandez – 5.5
While Milan fans cannot argue about the Frenchman’s attacking aspirations, his defensive display was far from satisfying. Often caught in transition, he frequently let Ousmane Dembele too much space down the flank.
Malick Thiaw – 5
Like picking up a silly red card against Juventus wasn’t a valuable lesson, the inexperienced center-back received another early booking for an identical challenge on Dembele. Forced to play with lower intensity for the rest of the first half, he made things easy for PSG’s frontline.
Fikayo Tomori – 4.5
Arguably his worst showing of the season came at the worst possible moment for Milan. He was awful tonight! Made too many mistakes at the back, proved too slow for Mbape & Co, and misplaced too many simple passes.
Pierre Kalulu – 4.5
Humiliated by Mbappe’s pace time and time again, the youngster, who has recently recovered from a long-term injury, would want to forget this match as soon as possible.
Yunus Musah – 6.5
His speed and fighting spirit were the only reasons Milan stayed in the game in the first half. Won back possession on numerous occasions and made several crucial interceptions to break the counters but couldn’t contribute in attack.
Rade Krunic – 5.5
Too afraid to move the ball forward, the Bosnian often played it backward instead and had no clue how to bring his offensive colleagues into play. Despite his valiant attempt to provide additional cover to his backline, the deep-lying midfielder was outmuscled and outrun by his PSG counterparts.
Tijjani Reijnders – 6
Arguably the only Milan midfielder capable of creating something meaningful in the final third! But had more than one loose touch on his own half and lost some balls he should’ve done better. There’s plenty of room for improvement.
Rafael Leao – 6.5
Did a great job of making a menace of himself down his favorite left flank, dribbling past his markers all game long but let his poor decision-making cast a shadow on his electrifying performance.
Christian Pulisic – 6.5
Following a relatively quiet first half, the in-form USMNT forward showed some tricky footwork and blistering acceleration after the break but couldn’t capitalize on his mazy runs through the lines.
Olivier Giroud – 6
A frustrating night for the Milan striker! Despite winning countless aerial duels against Marquinhos and Milan Skriniar, he never had a clear sight of goal, mainly due to Leao’s decisions not to pass him the ball.
Substitutes
Davide Calabria – 4.5
Wayward might be the best word to describe tonight’s performance from the captain.
Yacine Adli – 5
He was out of his league!
Tommaso Pobega – 4.5
Didn’t have any meaningful touch with the ball.
Simon Kjaer – N/A
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