ROME
Svilar 6.5 – First half practically without touching the ball, in the second half he also puts his signature on the qualification with a couple of important interventions.
Celik 5 – His mistake was really serious, even when seen in hindsight. At half an hour Roma were leading 3-0 on aggregate, risking a red card for such an obvious foul is a truly naive move, which is punished immediately. Exaggerated price tag? Maybe, but the full-back’s mistake is glaring.
Left-handed 8 – He is the man of destiny for this Roma team: after the goal in the derby and the one that decided the first leg he also puts this match downhill with the 1-0 goal, which destiny gives him, with an empty net . Not happy, he was also decisive in the other area, crucially deflecting Loftus-Cheek’s shot to make it 1-0.
Smalling 7 – Another great performance from the Englishman, who seems to thrive in hand-to-hand duels with players similar to him. This is the case of the unfortunate Giroud.
Spinazzola 6.5 – His defensive closure is fundamental in the first half, while the second half is spent chasing Chukwueze, a completely different mix compared to Pulisic.
Bove 6.5 – He gives everything he has, to the point of ending up in tears when faced with the advice of one of his youth heroes, his current coach. He doesn’t make you regret Cristante, sorry if it’s not much. From 88′ Angelino sv.
Paredes 6.5 – Clean and no-frills direction, the Argentine is one of the players completely transformed by De Rossi. Even today an extremely concrete test.
Pilgrims 7.5 – Play as a captain, play as a leader, play as a top-level player. Totally transformed by the arrival of De Rossi, the Giallorossi midfielder plays his best game of the season with a wonderful shot that only the post can stop, then kicks off the doubling action with the through ball for Lukaku. From 88′ Sanches sv.
El Shaarawy 7 – Majestic and infinite: perhaps galvanized by the match as an ex, he plays ninety minutes of elevating quality and incalculable quantity. Full-back, attacking winger or midfielder, nothing changes.
Lukaku 7 – Dybala scores a wonderful goal, but the Belgian’s contribution is equally important: he sprints on a through ball from Pellegrini, wins the physical duel with Gabbia and despite the injury he puts the ball in the middle which Gabbia will then hand to his teammate for the magical left-footed shot of 2-0. From 28′ Abraham 6 –
Dybala 7 – It’s painful for any football fan to see the starting attacking duo leave after just 40 minutes: De Rossi prefers to cover himself with a 3 goal lead and Joya understands. Ah, before the substitution a pearl of his: surgical left of first intention that goes out where Maignan can only dream of arriving. From 42′ Llorente 6.5 – He entered the game in a great way and in the second half a couple of important finishes bore his signature.
Trainer: Daniele De Rossi 7.5 – He had won the first leg tactically, he also dominated the second leg thanks to a super first half hour: he celebrated his contract renewal twice, not only the semi-final but the certainty that fifth place in the standings will lead to the Champions League. The feeling is that a star was born tonight.
MILAN
Maignan 6 – In fact he didn’t touch a ball in the first 45 minutes, not even on the occasion of Pellegrini’s beautiful curling shot which hit the post.
Calabria 6 – Pioli asks him to play midfielder in front of the defense and the captain replies “I obey!”. There are no demerits, in fact when a midfielder needs to be removed the coach chooses Bennacer. In the 46th minute he remains in the locker room for reasons of balance. From 46′ Reijnders 6 – You see very little in the final assault, unlike the first leg.
Cage 5 – Very difficult evening for the Italian centre-back, who loses the physical duel with Lukaku and raises at the feet of Joya on the occasion of Dybala’s goal. There is an element of bad luck, no doubt. But in the second half he made another serious mistake, leaving Abraham free to shoot from close range, although the Englishman pardoned him. The 1-2 goal is a bitter consolation, however beautiful.
Tomori 5.5 – The Rossoneri defense is in great difficulty throughout the match, given that Mancini’s advantage makes qualification even more difficult for the Giallorossi and Milan find themselves defending all over the pitch and constantly unbalanced going forward.
Theo Hernandez 5.5 – Except for a serpentine midway through the first half, this double challenge against Roma is also full of regrets and lacking in decisive plays for the Frenchman.
Musah 6 – In the first half he is among the few Rossoneri to save himself with his strange hybrid position as a right winger, who then returns to being a midfielder with the entry of Jovic. From 69′ Florenzi sv.
Bennacer 5 – On the legs, abundantly finished petrol. Pioli confirms his trust in him but the Algerian does not have the brilliance necessary for a match of this level. In the 41st minute his match ends, without there being the slightest trace of the match. From 41′ Jovic 5.5 – Not very incisive despite his entry coinciding with the home team’s theoretical moment of greatest difficulty.
Pulisic 5.5 – After the bad performance in the first leg it was reasonable to expect a strong match from the American, who instead ends up stuck in the very busy central channel, already occupied by far too many Giallorossi. From 69′ Okafor sv.
Loftus-Cheek 5.5 – He scores the Rossoneri’s only real chance of the first half, with a first-time right-footed shot that Mancini deflects onto the crossbar. It’s one of the sliding doors of the match, given that two minutes later Roma will double their lead. From 46′ Chukwueze 6 – He certainly gives a different push to Milan on the right wing, immediately creating an opportunity and often shooting or crossing in a dangerous way.
Leao 5 – The first noteworthy play arrives in the 60th minute, too soon. Milan guaranteed him a renewal, gave him the number 10 shirt and a clothing line, as well as the status of leader: now it’s up to him to repay this enormous amount of trust. He said yesterday that he is ready to receive criticism: he should prepare for another week of vitriol.
Giroud 5.5 – This Smalling is truly indigestible: as in the first leg, the vast majority of high-altitude duels go to the Englishman, while the Frenchman bids farewell to European competitions with two anonymous performances and a huge goal devoured (in the first leg).
Trainer: Stefano Pioli 5 – Qualification already largely compromised after a while, not even the courageous moves of Calabria as midfielder and Jovic immediately on the pitch pay adequate dividends. Bennacer’s choice is severely lacking, not even numerical superiority puts the team back in the game. The feeling is that the defeat in the first leg weighed much more than the result on the pitch.
Tags: RomaMilan report cards Mancini man #destiny #Giroud #bitter farewell
