Cesena and Milan met in Serie A to see if the Rossoneri could put themselves at the front of the pack chasing Roma and Juventus, but Cesena were the team most likely to have taken win the win.
Davide Succi put Cesena in front as the newly-promoted side held Milan, who gave an average performance that won them a point thanks to Adil Rami’s header.
Milan are rooted in amongst the chasing pack in 6th, while Cesena will be happy with 12th position after 5 games.
Check out our player ratings and send in a comment if you agree, or disagree.
Cesena
Nicola Leali- 6 – Beaten
Didn’t have much chance for the goal, but the shots he had the ability to keep out: he kept out.
Daniele Capelli – 5 – Tested
Bonaventura gave him a good test, which he didn’t always deal so well with.
Stefano Lucchini – 5 – Pressured
Perhaps needed to use his experience more in these high-profile games, the 33-year-old marshalled the defence but may be disappointed with his performance.
Massimo Volta- 6 – Control
Kept Fernando Torres under wraps for large parts, but was generally unthreatened by Milan’s soft attacks. Made a vital clearance on Jeremy Menez to keep his side in the game.
Francesco Renzetti – 5 – Unsupported
Needed more support to stop Keisuke Honda and Ignazio Abate, but made no major errors.
Franco Brienza – 7 – Threat
Seemed like Milan were eager to have him off the ball, which is a complement as he took the game to the away side on more than one occasion.
Emmanuel Cascione – 6 – Spine
Did a job to keep the midfield together, but looked laboured throughout large parts.
Manuel Coppola – 5 – Safe
Milan felt safe for the majority of the game he was in play, and his goalscoring record is reason enough to believe them.
Ze Eduardo – 5 – Subbed
Only made 45 minutes, and had an impact to a small extent, but we will see the true level of the Parma loanee soon enough.
Davide Succi – 7- Difference
The man who put his team in front, Succi looked dangerous for the entire time he was on the pitch.
Guido Marilungo – 6 – Thorn
Always a threat when on the ball, but typically lacked end product.
Substitutes
Giuseppe De Feudis – 6 – Dictate
Tried to dictate the play but wasn’t always so succesful.
Gregoire Defrel – 6 – Impact
Had the game by the grasp of it’s neck when through on goal, and was brought down by Cristian Zapata, which changed the game in the latter stages.
Gabriele Perico – 6 – Helping
Came on to stop the vibrant wing-attacks of Milan, and Cesena held them out of the goal for while he was on the pitch.
AC Milan
Christian Abbiati – 5 – Rebound
Beaten for the goal, when he could have done better, and dodgy aerially.
Ignazio Abate – 6 – Overlap
Available down the right-flank for attacks, and decent defensively, too.
Mattia De Sciglio – 6 – Decent
Cesena were threatened by him, and he wasn’t too worried when he was attacked. Not world class, but a decent display.
Cristian Zapata -4 – Dismissed
Not a bad game while on the pitch, but dropped his team in a world of issues when sent off. Some might say he prevented a winner in doing so…
Adil Rami – 7 – Goalscorer
A class header from the Frenchman, who wasn’t too worried by Cesena’s runners.
Andrea Poli – 6 – Partnership
A good partner to Nigel De Jong, and today he was the stronger of that duo. Ran hard and played ok.
Nigel De Jong – 5 – Defensive
Only really useful to the defence today, his passing was wayward and surrendered possession a few times.
Giacomo Bonaventura – 6 – Threat
A big impact from the Italian on the flanks, and unlucky not to have been awarded an assist for his efforts.
Jeremy Menez – 6 – Power
Had the directness and power to worry the home side with his runs, another strong Menez performance.
Keisuke Honda – 5 – Halves
Got a good save out of Leali in the first-half, and the assist for Rami. Sadly, Honda had no impact afterwards.
Fernando Torres- 6 – Worker
Once renowned for his finishing, he is now a good work-hard striker, but lacks end product that once made him a top European striker.
Substitutes
Giampaolo Pazzini – 6 – Shuffled
Sort of messed around Milan’s formation when introduced, but the player himself tried hard for 15 minutes.
Michael Essien – 6 – Fresh
Came on for Poli to freshen up the midfield, which he did fairly well.
Alex – 5 – Duty
Did his job as a late sub to keep out Cesena, which he did when occasionally required.
