Milan continued their impressive run of form in Serie A by beating Torino 1-0 at the San Siro. Olivier Giroud scored the only goal of the game with the simplest of tap-ins after Rade Krunic headed the ball towards him
Torino started the match strongly but it was Milan who opened the scoring after only 14 minutes thanks to the Frenchman.
Ivan Juric’s side put in a good performance in the Rossoneri’s backyard and ended up bettering their opponents in a number of aspects, including attempts on goal and possession. However, they were unable to find the net with Ciprian Tatarusanu and the Milan defence foiling them persistently.
After the hard-fought win, Stefano Pioli’s side are now at the top of the Serie A table but could go down to second position if Napoli beat Bologna on Thursday.
Now, let’s take a look at how each player fared in tonight’s fixture at the San Siro.
Milan XI
Ciprian Tatarusanu- 7
The Romanian goalkeeper had a pretty good outing and made a number of important saves for his side during the second half. Tatarusanu kept his first clean sheet of the season and Milan’s first since September 22.
Davide Calabria- 6.5
Had more touches than any other Milan player but also lost possession 20 times. Calabria managed a key pass but wasn’t too threatening offensively. The 24-year-old did a decent job defensively though.
Fikayo Tomori- 7.5
A solid performance at the back from the former Chelsea man, making some important blocks and clearances. Tomori was a menace for the Torino attackers and was up to the task whenever needed. Made a crucial intervention to deflect Dennis Praet’s shot out for a corner which eventually amounted to nothing.
Alessio Romagnoli- 7
The Milan captain started today after being benched against Bologna. Romagnoli played the first half and was efficient, making three interceptions and a tackle. He was subbed off at the interval for Simon Kjaer
Pierre Kalulu- 5.5
The Frenchman was handed his third league start of the season and was kept busy by the Torino attackers. Not convincing enough to excel as a left-back yet and he was subbed off at half-time for Theo Hernandez.
Sandro Tonali- 7
A pretty good performance from the 21-year-old as he helped Milan win the midfield battle and also delivering two key passes. Tonali was subbed off in the 65th minute but he could well be in the starting lineup against Roma during the weekend.
Franck Kessie- 7
Solid display from the Ivorian as he was always working hard throughout the game. Kessie was solid defensively and had a passing accuracy of 837%. He also won ten out of 14 duels.
Alexis Saelemakers- 7
The Belgian was looking to create scoring opportunities for his teammates, providing two key passes. Saelemakers had the best passing accuracy among Milan players and also tried to shoot on a few occasions.
Rade Krunic- 6.5
Provided the assist for Giroud’s winner but had a quiet game otherwise. The Bosnian was subbed off shortly after the hour mark.
Rafael Leao- 6.5
Had a good first half as he persistently troubled the opposition defense. Leao took a couple of shots from distance but was unable to find the net. Had a relatively quiet second half.
Olivier Giroud- 7
Scored the easiest of goals to win the game for Milan and take his season’s tally to four. The Frenchman has so far been among the best transfers of the summers from a Serie A viewpoint.
Milan substitutes
Simon Kjaer- 7
Came on for Romagnoli in the second half and partnered Tomori well. The Dane made life difficult for the likes of Brekalo, Belotti and Sanabria while also having an impressive passing accuracy of 92.3%.
Theo Hernandez- 6.5
The Frenchman was making his first appearance after recovering from the coronavirus and had a decent half. Made a few of his trademark attacking runs while also taking a shot at goal, which was way off target.
Tiemoue Bakayoko- 6.5
A decent show from the midfielder after replacing Tonali. Was good defensively while also having one key pass to his name.
Ismael Bennacer- 6.5
The Algerian came on for Krunic and was industrious as usual.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic- N/A
Torino XI
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic- 6
There wasn’t much he could do to avoid the winner and did not have much to do after that as the Rossoneri forwards’ shots were mainly off-target. Tried to do an Alisson during the dying minutes of the match but was unsuccessful.
Koffi Djidji- 6.5
Put in a decent display at the back with a couple of interceptions and three tackles. Made things difficult for the likes of Giroud, Leao and Saelemakers.
Bremer-6.5
The Brazilian was kept busy by the Milan attackers but was up to the task when needed. Bremer had more interceptions than any other player throughout the game- 7.
Alessandro Buongiorno- 5
Was probably the worst out of Torino’s centre-backs and was expectedly subbed off after the interval.
Wilfried Singo- 6
Played a good ball across the face of the goal but Belotti was unable to get a proper touch on it. Was always involved in the team’s attack but nothing much came from it.
Sasa Lukic- 6.5
Had more touches than any other player involved in the game and had a good passing accuracy of 89.1%. The Serb played in a box-to-box role throughout the game and was among Torino’s best players tonight.
Tommaso Pobega- 6.5
The 22-year-old linked up well with his teammates and was always involved in Torino’s teammates. Pobega had a chance to score from a corner early in the second half but his header soared over the crossbar.
Ola Aina- 6
The former Chelsea man played at left wing-back and often tried to whip in crosses. However, it all amounted to nothing.
Karol Linetty- 6.5
The Pole linked up well with the midfielders and attackers, providing two key passes. He also maintained a passing accuracy of 90.9%. Linetty will probably start against Sampdoria this weekend and there will be hopes pinned on him
Josip Brekalo- 7
The Croat was perhaps Torino’s best player tonight and troubled the Milan backline. He managed four key passes but unfortunately could not contribute to his team finding the net.
Andrea Belotti- 5.5
The Torino skipper made his first start after returning from injury and his performance was far from effective. A few chances were created for Belotti, particularly one from Singo but he was unable to cash in and was eventually subbed.
Torino substitutes
Ricardo Rodriguez- 6.5
The Swiss international came on for Buongiorno and had a decent outing, managing two key passes.
Antonio Sanabria- 6
The 25-year-old replaced Belotti and had Torino’s best chance of the match when he was through on goal. However, Tatarusanu made the save to deny him.
Dennis Praet- 6
Took a shot on goal during the last few minutes but it took a deflection off Tomori for a corner.
Mergim Vojvoda- 5.5
Came on for Singo during the final 15 minutes,
Simone Zaza- N/A