Olivier Giroud impressed, but Milan was absolutely dreadful in a 2-5 defeat to Sassuolo. In the first half alone, the Rossoneri allowed three goals, all the result of baffling individual errors. For the opposition, Domenico Berardi terrorized the hosts’ backline, picking up a goal and an assist in a return to form.
Ciprian Tatarusanu – 3.5
It was a tough night for the Romanian. On Sassuolo’s second goal, he was beaten far too easily at the near post. Milan’s backline was the story of the day for all the wrong reasons, but Tatarusanu did not help matters.
Pierre Kalulu – 5
The young centre-back did not make the staggering amount of individual errors that others did, but he was still less-than-impressive.
Matteo Gabbia – 3
Of all Milan’s injury woes, Fikayo Tomori’s absence may be the most significant. Gabbia had a simply terrible day, as his poor one-on-one defending was responsible for two of Sassuolo’s first-half goals. Surely Simon Kjaer would be better than this?
Davide Calabria – 4
More than once, the captain looked out of sorts defensively, as Armand Lauriente often bypassed the full-back with his skill. While Calabria provided sufficient offensive support, he took down the French winger in the box just one minute into the second half, effectively ending the match.
Theo Hernandez – 4
On Sassuolo’s opening goal, Hernandez was horribly out of position, lagging behind on a Sassuolo counter attack. The error forced Matteo Gabbia to defend against Domenico Berardi in space, resulting in an easy goal for the visitors.
Sandro Tonali – 4
Like many of his teammates, Tonali had a disappointing match in all respects. His distribution was lacking, and he was caught ball-watching on Sassuolo’s third goal, when he allowed Berardi a completely uncontested header on a corner kick.
Rade Krunic – 5
Despite distributing the ball decently enough, Krunic struggled to influence Milan’s offense. The Bosnian just does not have the talent to replace Bennacer, and he risked a red card by grabbing the throat of Berardi late in the match.
Charles De Ketelaere – 5
From the attacking midfield, De Ketelaere had a few nice moments, but he was a total nonfactor in the final third. Pioli removed the Belgian at halftime, shifting Ante Rebic into the number ten role.
Alexis Saelemaekers – 5
The winger lost a tooth in an early collision, and, while constantly visiting the trainer, he was never able to get into a rhythm.
Ante Rebic – 5
Simply put, Rebic’s finishing was atrocious, as he wasted several chances throughout the match. During the second 45 minutes, he appeared to finally open his account, but ultimately VAR disallowed a Milan goal for the second time
Olivier Giroud – 8
The striker had an early goal disallowed for an offside call, but he responded with a clutch header in the 24th minute. For much of the match, Giroud was the only source of offense for the Rossoneri, flicking the ball on well and dominating in the air.
Milan fans who woke up at 6:30am to watch this match: pic.twitter.com/ieDZOG51xu
— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) January 29, 2023
Substitutes
Rafael Leao – 4.5
Pioli brought on Leao to inspire Milan’s faltering attack, but the winger barely saw the ball during his 45 minutes on the pitch.
Divock Origi – 8
Despite coming on far too late, the striker netted a wonderful consolation goal with a long-range strike.