Milan’s poor run of form worsened after a 1-1 home draw with Udinese. The Rossoneri controlled the first half of the match, but a lackluster second 45 minutes saw the hosts concede a weak late goal to Destiny Udogie. The result overshadowed several great individual performances for Milan, including those of Rafael Leao, Fikayo Tomori and Franck Kessie.
Milan
Mike Maignan – 7.5
Maignan returned to his good form against Udinese. He made a handful of quality saves and had no chance to stop Udogie’s late equalizer.
Davide Calabria – 6
Despite his strong defensive play against Beto, Calabria’s execution in the final third was lacking. The left-back found the ball in dangerous positions on the wings several times, but he struggled to complete the subsequent pass or shot. His overall form was decent, but not great.
Fikayo Tomori – 8
Facing Beto and Gerard Deulofeu, Tomori used his pace to his advantage. The centre-back was aggressive and unrelenting toward the Udinese attack, and he was easily Milan’s best defender of the day.
Alessio Romagnoli – 5
Just when his form seemed to be improving, Romagnoli’s poor man-marking allowed Udinese to equalize. The centre-back lost Udogie on a long throw-in, and his play disintegrated from there on.
Theo Hernandez – 7
The Frenchman had a solid day, especially on offense. He was critical to moving the ball on the left side of the pitch, and he made one important tackle in the defensive third.
Franck Kessie – 7.5
As usual, the Ivorian was quietly a key contributor for Milan. He made several tackles and helped build play from the back with his distribution. For the game, he managed over 80 touches.
Sandro Tonali – 7
Despite his side’s poor offensive performance, the deep-lying playmaker helped pull the strings from deep. The young Italian assisted Leao’s goal with a pinpoint long-ball over the top.
Brahim Diaz – 5
After a solid first half, Diaz disappeared in the second. He struggled against Udinese’s double pivot and was unable to create a spark on offense.
Junior Messias – 5.5
Messias played well on defense, putting in his typical high work rate. However, he was not frequently involved in the attack and struggled to possess the ball in the attacking third.
Rafael Leao – 8
With yet another dazzling performance, the Portuguese winger was the man of the match for Milan. While picking up a number of knocks, he scored the opening goal for the Rossoneri with a fantastic controlling touch and dominated the left-wing with his creativity.
Olivier Giroud – 5.5
The striker held up play well for his side, but he was largely unconvincing in the final third. Positively, he was active when defending against corners and had multiple clearances for Milan.
Substitutes
Ante Rebic – 6
The Croatian replaced Messias late in the match, and he increased Milan’s midfield productivity. At one point, he nearly created a goal with his dribbling, but his side was unable to finish.
Alexis Saelemaekers – 6
After coming on for Giroud, Saelemaekers put in a decent shift. His work rate was there, but he was unable to create any meaningful attacks.
Daniel Maldini – N/A
Milan about to undo so much of the good work by dropping points to Spezia, Salernitana and Udinese.
Banter era PTSD resurfacing
— Matteo Bonetti (@Bonetti) February 25, 2022
Udinese
Marco Silvestri – 5
Milan failed to consistently challenge Silvestri, putting just three shots on goal in the match. However, his positioning was poor on the goal he allowed to Leao, which possibly could have been saved.
Rodrigo Becao – 6.5
The usually brilliant centre-back was responsible for Milan’s opening goal, after going down far too easily against Rafael Leao in the box. Despite this error, the Brazilian defended well overall, especially against Giroud.
Pablo Mari – 6
The most central defender for La Zebrette, Mari did not have an especially busy day. He largely man-marked Giroud and did not have to make many challenges.
Nehuen Perez – 5
Perez had a subpar day and looked lost at times as the left-sided centre-back. After sending Samir to Watford, the Udinese front office has had a hard time replacing the Brazilian.
Nahuel Molina – 4
After a quiet first half, Molina found himself in a fantastic position for one of Udinese’s best chances of the match. One-on-one with Maignan, he bizarrely decided to play a listless pass into the box, spoiling a perfect opportunity.
Marvin Zeegelaar – 5
Calabria dominated Zeegelaar in the channel, restricting the wing-back’s attacking capabilities, while beating him down the pitch on offense. Alongside Jean-Victor Makengo, Zeegelaar was taken off early in the second half.
Tolgay Arslan – 7
Arslan, playing a defensive midfield role, was pivotal in preventing Milan from attacking through the centre of the pitch. While his efforts were semi-effective, he was successful in harassing Giroud when the striker was attempting to hold up the ball.
Walace – 6.5
With his partner Arslan, Walace completed the double pivot. He made several important defensive contributions and helped restrict the space between the lines.
Jean-Victor Makengo – 5
Makengo had a poor day and failed to involve himself in play from the central midfield. After 54 minutes, Gabriele Cioffi replaced him with Roberto Pereyra.
Gerard Deulofeu – 7
Though he made a few ill-advised passes, the Spaniard was by far Udinese’s most threatening player in the attack. From his second striker role, Deulofeu used his skill to create space and to combine with Beto in the final third.
Beto – 6
Beto created a number of opportunities with his exceptional pace and heading ability, but he was unable to finish any of them. The striker, who has breathed life into Udinese’s offense, greatly struggled against Tomori on the backline.
Substitutes
Roberto Pereyra – 7
After replacing Makengo, the Argentine improved Udinese’s creativity in the final third in the second half.
Destiny Udogie – 7
Minutes after entering the game, Udogie made Milan pay with an easy goal. On a long throw-in, the Italian eventually found the ball for a point-blank volley.