Player Ratings: Lecce 2-3 AC Milan – Pulisic back to his best; Gimenez struggles | OneFootball

AC Milan clinched three very important points against Lecce this evening, coming back from 2-0 down in the second half. A couple of players did well, including Christian Pulisic, and below are the ratings for the Rossoneri.

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out how we decide the player ratings. From the scale to what affects the rating, we have compiled everything there.

Starting XI

Sportiello (6): The veteran could do nothing about the goals conceded, as the defenders left him exposed, so we can’t exactly blame him for those. He had very good positioning, though, averting a couple of dangerous balls over the top. So it was enough to get a pass here.

Walker (5.5): Overall, you could argue that it was a decent performance seeing as he had some good passes in the build-up, not just going back all the time. However, he lost a couple of 1v1s and also had some poor crosses in attack, hence the slightly worse rating.

Gabbia (5.5): He was really unlucky not to get a goal, truth be told, as it was ruled out for a narrow offside by VAR. In defence, meanwhile, he wasn’t his usual self as Krstovic clearly won the battle tonight. The academy product even failed with some tackles that usually are very easy for him.

Thiaw (5.5): A very poor clearance int he first half, resulting in a dangerous chance for Lecce, is perhaps what most fans remember from this game. In addition to that, though, he also wasn’t too convincing tonight and the passing was far from perfect.

Hernandez (6.5): Given just how poor he has been in recent months, we must give him praise here. He was really unlucky not to get two great assists, with the goals ruled out for narrow offsides, and he had a few more good crosses after that. Lecce did create some good chances on his flank so it pulls down the rating a little, but it definitely wasn’t bad from him tonight.

Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images)

Musah (6): He looked composed this evening and almost always made the right decisions, usually playing it simple rather than attempting something silly. His movement in attack also helped Milan open up space a lot, even if he missed a good header in the second half.

Bondo (5.5): It was his debut tonight and with that in mind, he actually did well for the most part and looked composed on the ball. However, his defensive work on the second goal was far from good enough, first tracking back to cover the right flank. He then switched with Walker but still failed to cover the central area, where he should have been.

Jimenez (5.5): It wasn’t great from the Spaniard, but seeing as he only got 45 minutes, we didn’t exactly see any big mistakes from him either. He just wasn’t that involved in the game, that’s all.

Reijnders (5.5): It was a big mistake on the first goal from him, with a really poor pass, but he picked himself up after that and was involved in some good attacks. Especially on the second goal, helping get the ball to Abraham who found Pulisic (who won a penalty).

However, he also jogged back on Lecce’s second, when he could’ve intercepted the ball, so we cannot give him a pass. Maybe he even deserved a 5?

Pulisic (8 – MOTM): Back to his best, finally. He has had some subpar performances – by his standards – in recent weeks so tonight’s display was really nice. He was involved in almost everything positive going forward, and we’re not just saying that because of the goals.

The move before the first disallowed goal and a few good crosses attest to his importance. It was a great little touch to put it past Baschirotto as well when he won the penalty, and the strike was brilliant. Just as the shot on the winner was easy because of his great run.

Gimenez (5): This is a tough one, as anyone could see that he got a bit unlucky in a few moments (Falcone with a great save in the first half on a backheel). However, He saw Theo all the way on the first goal and definitely should have been able to stay onside, even if the actual offside was narrow in the end.

He wasted a few good chances after that, including in the second half, even if the post denied him once. More so than the missed chances, though, it’s the fact that he didn’t look at all in sync with his teammates in open play.

Substitutes

Leao (7): He wasn’t brilliant by any means at the start of the second half, but as we have seen so many times before, he ended up being decisive anyway. Two assists, for the first goal and for the winner, as well as some good play to defend the lead.

Joao Felix (6): Conceicao’s favourite perhaps added a bit of ability in possession but truth be told, his shot was lucky to end up in the back of the net (Milan’s first goal). Still, he made the run and it ended up mattering for the game so we’ll give him a pass here.

Abraham (6.5): The Englishman was involved in the first two goals, first passing to Leao on the flank and then hitting it one-time for Pulisic before the penalty was won. He played it simple and it was just what Milan needed.

Fofana (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating.

Sottil (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating.