Italian media slam AC Milan side with player ratings and award two Liverpool stars 7.5 in victory

Liverpool’s Champions League opener was a huge success as they won away at the San Siro against AC Milan.

Dominating possession, shots and overall chances, the Italians were swept aside despite taking the lead in the third minute. The Italian media have been hugely critical of their team in the aftermath of the game, giving low player ratings across the board.

While it was hailed as a brilliant performance in England, it was certainly the opposite for Paulo Fonseca’s side. The outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport published their ratings and it saw the boss earn a 4.5 - which was the lowest rating alongside full-back Davide Calabria and midfielder Tijjani Reijnders.

The full-back gave away the free-kick for Liverpool’s opener and was beaten on multiple occasions by Cody Gakpo who was in imperious form. While Reijnfers, who was tipped to be a key player, was largely anonymous and barely affected the game in any way despite his recent good form. Fonseca also failed to impact the game from the bench as Liverpool controlled the game with a certain ease.

Star player Rafael Leao also scored a 5/10 for his quiet performance. Mustering an expected assist of just 0.02 and expected goal figure of 0.07, he failed to threaten at any point. Strangely enough, it was Tammy Abraham who was awarded their highest rating of 6.5/10 despite managing just nine touches and no shots in his 21 minute performance off the bench.

For Liverpool, they hailed Dutch duo Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo as standout performers as both received a 7.5/10 but it was the latter who was awarded the player of the match in their eyes. He enjoyed one of his best displays in a Liverpool shirt, consistently being a threat and beating players at will with pace to a level that we haven’t quite seen so far across his career on Merseyside, laying down a marker to Luis Diaz and Slot has two fantastic options on the left. In terms of Gravenberch, he was also instrumental in the middle of the park as part of a strong midfield trio.

On the other hand, Diogo Jota ranked lowest at 5.5/10 for his performance. He missed a golden opportunity in the first half as most of the quality happened around him rather than going through him. Usually a shrewd finisher, he wasn’t on top form and was perhaps the only weak link on a night where everyone in Red had a strong evening.