Player Ratings: AC Milan 3-2 Parma – Pavlovic in beast mode; impact off the bench | OneFootball

AC Milan somehow came away with all three points in their game against Parma, scoring two goals in added time to complete the turnaround. A couple of substitutes were important, but the main man played from start as our player ratings show.

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

Maignan (6): He could do little about the goals, especially considering he made a great save on the second and got unlucky with the rebound. He also made a big save in the second half on Almqvist, so he deserves to get a pass here.

Calabria (5.5): It was good defending for most of the game by the Italian, but his crossing was very poor in attack. That was a shame because he often found himself with space on the flank, and Milan had men inside the box.

Gabbia (5.5): He missed a great chance to open the scoring in the first half, and perhaps he could have done slightly better on the second goal? It was a great one-two by Parma but the defender certainly could have stopped them before the first shot, and then maybe even the shot which resulted in the goal. Furthermore, while his long balls are good, he still struggles a bit with the short passing.

Pavlovic (7.5 – MOTM): Even before he made that crucial header at the death, he was going to be named MOTM by us. The reason for that is simple. The Serbian fought hard for every ball in both phases, even driving forward when he had the chance, and he also won the penalty (though the goalkeeper almost gifted it). Then, the disallowed goal was a shame but he made up for it almost immediately with the assist for Chukwueze. You cannot ask for much more in both phases (reminder, he’s a centre-back!).

Photo by AC Milan

Hernandez (4.5): Once again, he failed to close down his man. The slip was unfortunate, and the fact is that he recovered after, but the main issue was he failed to stop Cancellieri then. We saw it against Girona as well when Gil cut inside and scored (very narrow offside then disallowed it). It’s becoming a big problem, not to mention he made several mistakes on the ball as well.

Musah (6): It was a mixed bag from the American, as he displayed both good runs forward and a couple of poor back-heel attempts. He did, however, improve in the second half on the right and got the assist for Reijnders’ goal with a nice pass.

Fofana (5): His passing was far from perfect today and it could have been more costly for MIlan than it was. He was also booked due to a silly foul, which 8/10 results in a yellow card so attempting to win back the ball there showed poor judgement. He will miss the game against Inter as a result.

Pulisic (6.5): By no means am I blaming the first goal on him, but he needed to do a lot better in the press (he was easily beaten by the player who started the move and got the assist). Before the penalty strike, which was very nice, he was also poor overall and failed in attack multiple times. Then again, the goal was important in the end and he was also involved in setting up the winner. It could have been a 6 for him, to be honest.

Reijnders (6.5): The Dutchman had a good effort saved at the end of the first half, but aside from that we didn’t see much of him until the goal. You could argue, like with Pulisic, that this should lower the rating but the goals were still crucial, especially Reijnders’. It was a great run and a composed finish.

Leao (5): Considering just how well he played against Girona, he looked weirdly uncomfortable on the ball and thus didn’t have much success in the 1v1s. It was certainly right to take him off, perhaps it will allow him to recover for the crucial Zagreb game.

Morata (5): He was offside several times, which resulted in a disallowed goal as well. He somehow managed to stay offside for that entire sequence, even though he saw the last defender clearly. He had one chance from a narrow angle in the second half but didn’t add anything, so taking him off was right.

Substitutes

Bartesaghi (6): Overall, it was a positive display off the bench from him. He played the cross that Pavlovic headed down for Chukwueze, so that certainly counts for something.

Bennacer (5): Unfortunately, there were simply too many dangerous misplaced passes from him tonight and one resulted in the second goal for Parma. He wasn’t sharp, and that’s a shame considering how well he played against Girona.

Chukwueze (7): The winger was quite unfortunate not to get an assist for Pavlovic after a lovely cross, but the offside was clear. He did get his revenge with the winner, though, and it’s a moment we might look back on at the end of the season in the top-four race.

Abraham (5): Was he even on the pitch? Although we did see a few runs from him at the end, he was way too quiet before that and really didn’t add much in the box either.

Jovic (5.5): The Serbian missed a big chance before the winner, when he easily could have brought it down instead of finishing immediately.