AC Milan Player Ratings: AC Milan vs. Bologna

The champions' grip on the title is loosening more and more as the weeks go by. The gap at the top of Serie A is now three points after AC Milan could only draw against Bologna. Meanwhile, Juventus hammered Roma 4-0 in Turin last night.

Milan spent 70 minutes of the match in low gear, and thanks to Antonio Cassano, Milan was able to turn their tired performance into something less abject. Manager Massimiliano Allegri got it wrong that day by fielding a very defensive midfield along with the slow Clarence Seedorf playing in the trequartista position.

The Scudetto holders will face Genoa in midweek, a club that is having their own problems, and will need a victory to ensure they keep pace with the Bianconeri.

But before that, here is how Milan's players fared against Bologna.

Christian Abbiati, Goalkeeper: 6.25

Just like against Fiorentina a few weeks ago, Christian Abbiati was hung out to dry by his outfield players. At fault this week was midfielder Mark Van Bommel. The Dutchman lost the ball in his own half, prior to Gaston Ramirez expertly putting the ball away from 12-yards out.

Despite giving up that goal, Abbiati was unbeatable for the remainder of the match. Bologna didn't have too many attacks, but the few shots they had were taken care of by the big Italian.

His two best saves came from a Marco Di Vaio close range shot and a stinging left-footed Alessandro Diamanti free kick.

Ignazio Abate, Right-Back: 5.5

Ignazio Abate didn't have much to do in defense over the course of the 90-minutes. Bologna parked the bus, to steal a phrase, and tried to hit Milan on the counter-attack; which worked.

The right-back had little to do in defense, but he never made a difference in the attack. Abate did get forward regularly, but his crosses could never find the head or feet of his teammates. Not a terrible game, but not a great one either.

Alessandro Nesta, Centre-Back: 5.75

Alessandro Nesta returned to the heart of Milan's defense against Bologna, and turned in a fine effort. He was able to corral the Rossoblu's Marco Di Vaio for the most part, and prevent Bologna from adding to their 1-0 advantage.

He even got into the attack by bringing the ball out of defense like the classy defender he has always been. Unfortunately, he couldn't prevent Bologna's early goal after Van Bommel's turnover. Regardless, the Italian put in a good day's work.

Daniele Bonera, Centre-Back: 5.0

Up until the 80th minute, Daniele Bonera had a good game. The defender was unfortunately sent off for his reckless tackle on Bologna striker Roberto Acquafresca. Luckily, Milan was able to press forward and get a late goal.

Bonera has been recently slotted into the side due to Thiago Silva's thigh injury and Philippe Mexes' inability to defend. He has once again proven himself to be an adequate back-up.

Along with Nesta, they kept Bologna's attack at bay. It must be remembered that the Rossoblu sat deep in their own half, resulting in a few calculated attacks.

Luca Antonini, Left-Back: 5.5

Luca Antonini is having one of his best seasons in a Rossoneri shirt. He has played very well this year, and Sunday's performance was another good one.

He had a tough task on the day to keep Bologna midfielder Alessandro Diamanti at bay. He was able to do this for the most part. However, when the attacker moved inside it became a different story.

Antonini's attacking work-rate was better than Abate's, but he too, rarely got in decent crosses. The left-back was relieved on the 69th minute in a tactical move that brought Urby Emanuelson on. Milan was chasing the game in a big way, and replacing the Italian with Emanuelson was a logical move.

Antonio Nocerino, Midfield: 7.0

Antonio Nocerino continues to be Milan's best midfielder this season. His attacking work-rate on the right side of midfield was outstanding.

He regularly was in the Milan attack, and won important fouls that lead to close range free kicks. Nocerino's urgency and desire was also apparent yesterday. Any time a ball went into touch he was running after it, urging Milan to play a quicker tempo.

Mark van Bommel, Midfield: 5.25

Van Bommel returned to the Milan starting lineup after several weeks out with an injury. Though he has been out for a while, van Bommel played quite well.

Van Bommel's performance will be overshadowed by his mental lapse that allowed Diamanti to win the ball and start a quickfire counter attack.

Sulley Muntari, Midfield: 5.25

Sulley Muntari's defensive work-rate was very good throughout the match on Sunday. But with Milan in attack for much of the game, it was his passing that let him down once more.

Add in his desire to strike the ball from deep, like his goal against Chievo, few of Milan's attacks were ended prematurely.

Muntari did have a chance to level the game late on. However, he skewed his shot off of the side netting.

His performances of late have not warranted a permanent move.

Clarence Seedorf, Midfield: 5.0

Clarence Seedorf looked tired and out of ideas against Bologna. The Dutchman tried all his usual flicks and elegant touches, but none of them came off.

His passing was poor during his 56-minutes on the field. Seedorf gave the ball away countless times and seemed to make thumping passes into areas he expected his teammates to run into; but didn't. 

Seedorf was the poorest player on the pitch, and his inclusion as the trequartista was a mistake by Allegri.

Robinho, Striker: 5.0

Unlike Seedorf, Robinho stretched his poor performance over the course of a full 90-minutes. He missed shots and passes during that time, and rarely got into positions to trouble the defense.

Robinho is looking less and less like a top quality football player and Milan can rarely count on him to get the goals or create them. Last week he was linked with a move back to Brazilian club Santos in a swap-deal for Ganso.

Ganso may not be the creative player Milan needs, but he couldn't be any worse than Robinho has been of late.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Striker: 6.5

Milan should have been in the lead after 15-minutes, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic shot over the crossbar from eight-yards out. His day didn't get much better from there as his touch and control continued to let him down.

Ibrahimovic looked tired for much of the match, but his performance got better in the second half. Ibrahimovic leveled the match in the 58th minute, however, the linesman ruled the Swede off-sides.

In the end, Ibrahimovic got his 24th goal of the season in the 90th minute with a lovely strike. Unfortunately, it should have been his second of the day.

Antonio Cassano, Striker: 6.5

Antonio Cassano came on in the 56th minute for the ineffective Seedorf. Within minutes of coming on, the Italian changed Milan's tired, slow tempo into a quicker attack. It was Cassano that setup Ibrahimovic's goal, which was ruled offside.

Cassano's passing was everything Seedorf's wasn't: calm, accurate, and cutting.

Milan needs Cassano to return to full fitness, however, that may be compromised due to his early season heart surgery.

Urby Emanuelson, Midfield: 6.0

Urby Emanuelson replaced Antonini in the 69th minute as Milan chased the game. He played on the left side of the pitch covering both the left-back and left-wing spot. 

He put in a cross to Alberto Aquilani, who headed it just wide. However, it was Emanuelson's cross that Ibrahimovic expertly slotted home for the draw. He came up with the big cross when it was needed. 

Alberto Aquilani, Midfield: 5.5

Alberto Aquilani replaced Van Bommel in the 73rd minute to give the club another attacker in midfield. Aquilani wasn't much of an attacking presence, but he did well tracking back.

Aquilani isn't much of an impact substitute and Milan may be better off having the Italian on the pitch from the start. 

All in all, Milan was lucky to get the equalizer and should have put their chances away earlier in the game.