A.C. Milan vs Juventus - Player Ratings (Part 1)
Juventus defeated A.C. Milan this Saturday to jump to 3rd place, 2 points behind second placed Inter Milan. Fabio Quagliarella put the visitors in front with a fine header from Paolo De Ceglie’s perfect cross in the 24th minute. In
the 65th minute, veteran Allesandro Del Piero increased Bianconerri’s advantage and put his name in the history books as he became the club’s all-time leading scorer with his 179th strike.
Former Juve striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled one goal back in the 82nd minute but it wasn’t enough as the Turin giants went on to get the well-deserved three points.
Let’s take a look at the players of both sides and see how they performed for their teams:
A.C. Milan:
Christian Abbiati
The new A.C. Milan goalie made no mistakes and was not to be blamed for the two goals. The Italian made a great save when he denied Del Piero in the 1st half.
Daniele Bonera
He could only get 34 minutes of game time as he was stretchered off after his collision with De Ceglie.
Alessandro Nesta
It wasn’t a vintage or a classy performance from the veteran. Things weren’t easier for the former Italy international as he really missed Thiago Silva’s absence.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos
The Greek international missed two easy free headers in the 2nd period and once again showed that he cannot play in the big games. He failed to hold the back line with Nesta and was stretched again and again by Juve forwards. Sokratis looks out
of place and needs to settle down before he is transferred.
Luca Antonini
The 28 year old was not having his best of games and was getting beaten in the air frequently. His errors led to Juve’s two goals however, he did set up Ibrahimovic’s late goal.
Gennaro Ivan Gattuso
The Italian pitbull once again showed that he has some fight left in him but the veteran couldn’t open up space for Pirlo to work on.
Andrea Pirlo
The midfield maestro tried his best to keep things running for his side but was well cancelled out by Felipe Melo’s physicality.
Kevin- Prince Boateng
The ex-Portsmouth man worked really hard to make something happen and got frustrated for not getting much space to work on while eventually receiving a booking. The Ghanaian was replaced by Seedorf after Rossoneri went 2 goals down.
Robinho
The Brazilian has failed to showcase his abilities since his arrival from Manchester City and seemed almost invisible throughout the match bar the one chance that he got. He has to find his feet soon if he wants to remove the tag of a player who never realized
his full potential.
Alexandre Pato
The Brazilian started brightly and linked up with Ibrahimovic well, causing the Juve back-four some problems but faded away later on.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
If it wasn't for Chiellini, ‘Ibra’ would have had his way and might even have helped his side to a win. The Swede played well and surely deserved a goal but a win would have made him more happy.
Substitutes:
Ignazio Abate
The defender replaced Bonera and looked out of sorts while dealing with Del Piero and Quagliarella.
Clarence Seedorf
Although a substitute, the Dutchman was the best player for Milan. He didn’t start but did set up the consolation goal for Ibrahimovic.
Filippo Inzaghi
Allegri’s introduction of Inzaghi was ineffective as the veteran couldn’t get much space to work on.
Milan Verdict:
Once again Milan showed that they aren't a complete side yet! Their defense needs a total revamp but this match showed that they need to have someone around who can link up well with Pirlo. Although Gattuso, like always, played with heart and passion but
he’s getting old and his legs aren’t as fresh as they used to be. It’s high time that Allegri finds a suitable replacement for the ageing midfielder.
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