Genoa vs. AC Milan: Winners and Losers from Serie A

Genoa defeated Milan 1-0 at the Luigi Ferraris on Sunday, opening up fresh questions over the strength of this Rossoneri side. 

The only goal of the game was a deflected Blerim Dzemaili free-kick from 25 yards early in the first half, but the Rossoblu were superior throughout the match and probably should have scored more.

Milan saw Alessio Romagnoli sent off just before half-time to compound a miserable, sluggish start to the match, and although they improved in the second half, it was a case of too little, too late.

"I think Genoa were superior to Milan on the day and we played better," Genoa manager Gian Piero Gasperini told Mediaset Premium after the game (h/t Football Italia).

Here, Bleacher Report picks its winners and losers from the game.

Winner: Diego Laxalt, Genoa

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Diego Laxalt was arguably the best player on the pitch on Sunday, dominating the flanks as Genoa put Milan under considerable pressure and created a slew of chances from the touchlines.

The Uruguayan started on the left and tormented young full-back Davide Calabria, beating him incessantly one-on-one and crossing to good effect. Late in the second half, he moved to the right side and collected several switch-passes and instigated fresh attacks smoothly.

Laxalt shot to prominence thanks to an early transfer to Internazionale in 2013, but the first opportunity we had to evaluate him—the U-20 World Cup that summer—revealed an unathletic player who made poor decisions in forward areas. Now, though, thanks to tutelage and practice, he's blossoming into a difference-maker and his football IQ is shining through.

Loser: Alessio Romagnoli, Milan

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All young players have their ups and downs, but Alessio Romagnoli's extremely slow start to life at Milan is grating fans because of his price tag.

As ESPNFC's Julian Martinis detailed on Twitter, the club spent €50 million combined on Romagnoli and Andrea Bertolacci this season, but the return so far has been zero clean sheets and three losses from six games.

Romagnoli will one day become a great defender. He has all the raw tools to succeed, but right now he's playing rash football and the Rossoneri are suffering for it. On Sunday against Genoa, he was sent off for two bookable offences before the half-time whistle had even blown.

Winner: Diego Perotti, Genoa

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Diego Perotti put in a brilliant display at the Luigi Ferraris on Sunday, utilising brilliant movement and speed to run rings around Milan's defensive structure.

His darts into space and piercing runs were a feature of how Genoa attacked, constantly looking to penetrate between the lines and over the top.

He got through an immense amount of running, tracked back studiously (eight tackles, per WhoScored.com) and consistently created space in the box to receive crosses and trouble Diego Lopez in goal.

Loser: Cristian Zapata, Milan

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Cristian Zapata is not the Milan fanbase's favourite player, and it's performances like this that are the clear reason why. 

The Colombian managed a few key clearances in the first half when Diego Laxalt and Co. were threatening from the left, but he managed to undo any good work by playing a horrifying hospital pass into the feet of Diego Capel during build-up from deep—a mistake which led Alessio Romagnoli out from the back and into a foul, resulting in a red card.

Rodrigo Ely came on at half-time to man the line in Romagnoli's absence and looked much better.

Winner: Gian Piero Gasperini, Genoa

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Credit to Gian Piero Gasperini, who produced a superlative game plan to lead Genoa to victory against Milan.

Tomas Rincon did a stellar job of pressuring Riccardo Montolivo on the ball, stopping him from dictating play, and as a result, the ball frequently fell to Nigel De Jong in the first half, who couldn't produce the passes to cut the Rossoblu open.

Diego Laxalt and Diego Perotti, meanwhile, ran riot on the left and through the middle respectively, with the former providing an overload option Milan simply did not have an answer to. The goal may have come from a deflected free-kick, but it was richly deserved on the balance of play, and Gasperini receives full marks for the scheme he put in place.

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