Player ratings: Milan 1-1 Genoa – Leali deserved all three points
Nicola Leali put in a particularly impressive performance to help Genoa to a 1-1 draw away against Milan in Serie A on Thursday evening, but like the rest of his teammates, will go home disappointed not to have claimed all three points against the second-placed Rossoneri.
Lorenzo Colombo handed Genoa a surprise lead midway through the first half, which went unanswered until the 92nd minute when Rafael Leao popped up in the right place at the right time to draw Milan level from a corner. The visitors were gifted the chance to win the game from the penalty spot with virtually the last kick of the game, but Nicolae Stanciu blazed over in a moment of madness.
You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.
Milan 1-1 Genoa: Player ratings
Milan: Maignan 6; Tomori 6, Gabbia 5.5 (Athekame 6.5), Pavlovic 6; Saelemaekers 6 (Fullkrug 6), Fofana 5 (Loftus-Cheek 6), Modric 6, Rabiot 5.5, Bartesaghi 5; Pulisic 6, Leao 6.5.
Best Milan player: Rafael Leao 6.5 – The Rossoneri star looked a touch sluggish at points early on in the second half, but he still popped up in the right place and at the right time when his team needed him the most: This time in the 92nd minute. He also drew a brilliant save out of Leali in the first half, and the unmarked Fofana should have equalised from the rebound had it not been for his comical slip in the penalty area.
Coach: Massimiliano Allegri 5.5 – Allegri will not have been pleased with Milan’s start, nor the fact that they conceded from the first shot on target of the game. They weren’t short on efforts by the end of proceedings though: Seven shots on target from a whopping 28 attempts by full-time. Says more about Genoa’s defensive shift than Milan’s effort or desire.
Genoa: Leali 7; Marcandalli 6, Ostigard 7, Vasquez 6.5; Norton-Cuffy 6, Malinovskyi 6.5 (Ellertsson 6), Frendrup 6, Thorsby 6 (Masini 6), Martin 6 (Stanciu 4), Vitinha 6 (Ekhator 6), Colombo 6.5 (Otoa n/a).
Best Genoa player: Leali 7 – The Genoa stopper was excellent in San Siro, and prevented his side from conceding their lead plenty of times before Leao’s late equaliser. He was particularly impressive in stopping the Portuguese after 37 minutes, and then towards the end of the second half when Pulisic had an opportunity to volley Milan level within the area.
Coach: De Rossi 7 – Genoa would have been delighted with a point before kick-off, yet somehow, this 1-1 draw away against Milan feels like a bit of a loss. The Grifone executed their gameplan well, and were not undeserving of their lead when it fell midway through the first half. Defensively, they were superb for the most part, and they would have been deserving of their win had Stanciu managed to convert his last-minute penalty.