The Milan Derby: Rating the AC Milan Players

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Inter Milan grabbed a crucial victory today against local rivals AC Milan, and they moved within six points of league leaders Juventus. Diego Milito's second-half goal proved to be the decisive goal that has denied Milan to cement their place at the top of the Serie A. With all their possessions, Milan was unable to create any real openings and had been punished. 

How did the players perform? Here are the ratings.

GoalKeeper: Christain Abbiati

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He did not have a great game. He had been beaten by the header off Thiago Motta, which was incorrectly ruled offside because he was beyond the last Milan defender. Perhaps, the offside positions of Diego Milito and Giampaolo Pazzini had contributed to the confusion. 

Score: 5.5/10

Defenders

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While Nesta and Thiago Silva were solid in defence, Zambrotta and Abate were horrid in defence. Nesta got a vital block against Maicon, and was composed throughout the game. Silva was equally impressive both defensively and offensively—he made great runs throughout the game. 

Zambrotta looked quite shaky throughout the whole game, and allowed too much room on his wing. He was replaced by Robinho. 

Ignazio Abate was great in defence; however, he made a crucial error that changed the game. He completely misjudged Zanetti's cross, thus allowing Milito time and space to score. 

Nesta: 7/10

Silva: 7.5/10

Zambrotta: 5/10

Abate: 6/10

Midfielders

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Mark van Bommel was excellent throughout the game. He was a constant threat and had nearly scored when he rattled the cross bar just before half time. His delivery and distribution were excellent, and put in some excellent balls. 

Kevin-Prince Boateng didn't make a great mark in the game. He did get into great spaces, but he disappeared several times during the match. 

Urby Emanuelson also had an uneventful game. He did show glimpses of his talent, but he left the keeper undisturbed. More is required of him in the future. 

Antonio Nocerino was completely overwhelmed in the midfield area. He looked out of position constantly and never looked like a threat going forward. 

van Bommel: 8/10

Boateng: 6/10

Emanuelson: 5/10

Nocerino: 4/10

Strikers

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Alexandre Pato did show glimpses of what he is really capable of, but he couldn't cement his authority in the game. His passes were proficient and he set up several attacks. However, he failed at testing Julio Cesar, firing wide and being out of position on several occasions. 

Ibrahimovic looked dangerous in attack and could've been on the score sheet had it not been for Walter Samuel. Samuel had a great game for Inter and frustrated Ibrahimovic constantly.

Pato: 5/10

Ibrahimovic: 6/10

Substitutes and Recap

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Clarence Seedorf was brought in for Nocerino and had a superb long range effort saved by Julio Cesar. Robinho had two decent chances, but failed to convert either of them—one from the other substitute Stephan El Shaarawy and the other from Ibrahimovic. 

So here's a recap of all the ratings: 

Abiati: 5.5/10

Nesta: 7/10

Silva: 7.5/10

Zambrotta: 5/10

Abate: 6/10

van Bommel: 8/10

Boateng: 6/10

Emanuelson: 5/10

Nocerino: 4/10

Pato: 5/10

Ibrahimovic: 6/10

 

What do you think of the ratings? Leave your comments. 

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