AC Milan vs. Sassuolo: Winners and Losers from Serie A Game
A late winner ensured AC Milan won their first Serie A game in over a month with a 2-1 victory at home to Sassuolo on Sunday afternoon.
After a cagey opening with few real chances for either side, Milan were given a penalty on 31 minutes following a good pass from Alessio Cerci that put Carlos Bacca through on goal.
Bacca drew the foul from Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli—who was sent off as a consequence—before converting the penalty to give Milan a 1-0 advantage.
Sinisa Mihajlovic appeared relaxed prior to kick-off, but the smile was wiped from his face early in the second half as a well-struck Domenico Berardi free-kick drew 10-man Sassuolo level on 53 minutes.
With midweek speculation from Sportmediaset (h/t Football Italia) suggesting the Milan coach’s job was possibly in danger, Mihajlovic needed the win more than ever. He duly received it in the dying embers of the game, as substitute Luiz Adriano popped up with a header from close range to seal all three points in the 85th minute.
It was an average Milan performance but, most importantly, a crucial win. Now, the Rossoneri can look to kick on having broken a bad spell of form that had seen them fail to win for three consecutive games.
Here are our winners and losers from a critical match in Milan's season.
Winner: Milan's Forward Line
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In a game of fine margins, Milan’s attack arguably had the most obvious impact on the end result. Carlos Bacca, Alessio Cerci and Giacomo Bonaventura worked well together while also putting in good individual performances.
Per OptaPaolo, Bacca has now scored five goals from his eight shots on target in Serie A this season. His movement was a constant thorn in the side of Sassuolo, as he played on the shoulder of the last man looking to beat the Neroverdi's offside trap, something he did successfully on several occasions including for the opening goal.
Of course, his movement would have been irrelevant without quality supply, which is where Cerci and Bonaventura came in.
Bonaventura grew more influential as the match wore on as he cut inside onto his right foot and tried to make things happen, earning WhoScored.com’s Man of the Match award in the process.
Cerci was far from perfect, but he showed drive as he improved incrementally upon his recent Milan displays. As a result, he deservedly earned his best rating of the season from WhoScored.com (6.88), suggesting he may have a future at San Siro yet.
Loser: Andrea Consigli
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Andrea Consigli didn’t have a lot to do until the half-hour mark, when he was called into action after Cerci's through ball put Bacca one-on-one with the Sassuolo goalkeeper.
Consigli came out but failed to play the ball as Milan’s Colombian striker took it round him before going to ground. The result was a Milan penalty. Consigli also saw red for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Bacca converted the spot-kick to give Milan a 1-0 lead, and the Rossoneri’s one-man advantage undoubtedly helped them secure the eventual victory.
Winner: Domenico Berardi
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Berardi has a tendency to score against Milan, something he continued in spite of his team’s 2-1 defeat.
Starved of the ball, he was unable to wield the level of attacking influence that is usually seen from him, though this had a lot to do with Sassuolo’s being reduced to 10 men after 30 minutes.
From then on, Berardi had to perform more of a defensive role, dropping deep and pressing Milan’s full-backs whenever they entered Sassuolo territory.
The 21-year-old still managed to get on the scoresheet with a beautifully curled free-kick to level the scores, once again proving that—even when only afforded one slight opportunity—he has the quality to punish the slightest mistake.
Loser: Milan's Unimaginative Midfield
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Milan’s midfield seemed devoid of inspiration throughout the match. Captain Riccardo Montolivo preferred negative, backward passes to more dangerous, forward-thinking balls. Juraj Kucka and Andrea Poli struggled in vain to make any impact on the game.
Italian football writer Adam Digby summed up Milan’s midfield issues perfectly, tweeting: “There are many problems at Milan, none deeper than the fact their midfield is Poli-Montolivo-Kucka. Not one player who can tackle AND pass."
In fairness, this problem was exacerbated by the absence of Andrea Bertolacci. A slight knock ruled him out from starting the match, though he did come on as a substitute and show flashes of creativity, the kind Milan had otherwise been missing.
On the basis of this match, Milan will be desperate for Bertolacci to remain fit going forward, as not only does he appear to be hitting his stride with the club, but his midfield colleagues don’t look up to the task.
