Milan Player Ratings vs Atalanta: Theo Unrecognizable

Milan may have effectively given up their Serie A title hopes with a disheartening 2-1 defeat at high-flying Atalanta on Friday night. Another disappointing result leaves the Rossoneri a whopping ten points adrift of table-topping Napoli, who will take on Lazio on Sunday.

Christian Pulisic could’ve fired Milan in front only a few seconds into the game, but Marco Carnesecchi thwarted his close-range effort. Buoyed by their goalkeeper’s early heroics, Atalanta grabbed the lead in the 12th minute through former Rossoneri flop Charles De Ketelaere.

It took Milan ten minutes to equal the score as Rafael Leao breezed past Raoul Bellanova before serving Alvaro Morata on a platter. The Spaniard tapped home from a couple of yards out to secure parity at the halftime interval.

Following an enthralling first half, both sides took their feet off the pedal in the second half, resulting in a chess game for most of the second 45 minutes. However, Paulo Fonseca’s decision to settle for a draw backfired on Milan as Ademola Lookman scored a late winner for Atalanta.

Milan paid the ultimate price for an incomprehensible second-half approach as we look at our player ratings.

Milan (4-2-3-1)

Mike Maignan – 6.5

De Ketelaere’s close-range header left the French goalkeeper powerless, but he made several vital saves to help Milan avoid a more devastating loss in Bergamo.

Theo Hernandez – 5

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this was one of his least impressive performances in the Milan shirt. In addition to being outjumped by the Belgian forward, he was quiet in attack, especially in the second half.

Malick Thiaw – 6.5

Despite his see-saw form since returning from injury, the German talent held his ground against Serie A’s top-scorer Mateo Retegui.

Matteo Gabbia – 7

Particularly dominant in the air, the homegrown Rossoneri defender enjoyed a near-flawless game, even though Milan conceded twice.

Emerson Royal – 5.5

When it looked like the Brazilian was finding his feat, he returned to old habits of being completely useless in attack while losing sight of Lookman for Atalanta’s second.

Youssouf Fofana – 6

The Frenchman’s commendable defensive effort wasn’t insufficient to atone for a near-anonymous offensive role. He needs to take more responsibility in the build-up!

Tijjani Reijnders – 5.5

It was a rare night off from the free-firing midfielder. The most creative Milan player was nowhere to be found at the Gewiss Stadium.

Yunus Musah – 6

Fonseca’s conservative approach with the USMNT star as a winger didn’t pay off this time, as Musah couldn’t do anything noteworthy in the final third.

Christian Pulisic – 6.5

Although he failed to score from a promising position in the first half, his withdrawal toward the end of the first half showed how significant he is to Milan’s attack. They did nothing without their talismanic forward.

Rafael Leao – 6

Except for a blistering run before setting up Morata for the goal, the Portuguese winger struggled to impact the game, especially after the break.

Alvaro Morata – 6.5

Scored one and had another one disallowed for offside, the Euro 2024 winner did his part tonight, but his teammates let him down, denying him proper service in the box.

Substitutes

Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6

Tammy Abraham – 5

Samuel Chukwueze – N/A

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