AC Milan fought back to draw 1-1 with Sampdoria in Serie A at San Siro on Sunday night.
Roberto Soriano fired the visitors into a second half lead before Nigel De Jong’s goal-bound effort took a heavy deflection off Alfred Duncan to ensure both sides shared the spoils from the game.
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AC Milan
Diego Lopez – 6 – Blameless
Produced good saves to deny Eto’o and Eder’s powerful free-kick. Had no chance to deny Soriano, who had virtually the entire Milan box to himself.
Ignazio Abate – 6 – Caught
Started off well, but was caught out more often as the game went on with the visitors enjoying swift counter attacks down his flank.
Gabriel Paletta – 5.5 – Susceptible
Looked susceptible against the pace of Eder, picked up a booking for a heavy challenge. Caught out of position for Soriano’s goal.
Philippe Mexes – 6.5 – Tight
Afforded little space to the Samp forwards, however was nut-megged and out-smarted by Eto’o for the opening goal. Posed a threat during set pieces at the other end.
Luca Antonelli – 6 – Average
Had a better game than Abate on the other flank, but was nothing more than average.
Marco van Ginkel – 6 – Defensive
Had two long range efforts in an otherwise anonymous first half, enjoyed more success defensively, winning three tackles.
Nigel de Jong – 6.5 – Controlling
Controlled possession for the hosts. His acrobatic effort found beat Viviano courtesy of a huge deflection off Duncan.
Giacomo Bonaventura – 6 – Quiet
At times it was easy to forget the 25-year-old was on the pitch. Decent deliveries from set-pieces were the best of his contribution.
Alessio Cerci – 5.5 – Wasteful
Wasted the Rossoneri’s best chance of the first half. Enjoyed plenty of space, but both his final ball and finishing were poor.
Mattia Destro – 6 – Starved
Tamely tested Viviano on two occasions, was eating off scraps throughout and was starved of opportunities before picking up an injury.
Jeremy Menez – 6.5 – Deep
Often picked up possession deep and his dribbling asked some questions of the Blucerchiati. Rarely posed a threat to the goal, however, but improved as the game became stretched.
Substitutes
Suso – 6.5 – Unlucky
Replaced the ineffective Cerci on the hour, unlucky to strike the woodwork late on.
Mattia De Sciglio – N/A
Giampaolo Pazzini – N/A
Sampdoria
Emiliano Viviano – 6 – Untested
Was rarely tested and looked to have De Jong’s effort covered until Duncan deflected it into the opposite corner.
Lorenzo De Silvestri – 6 – Indifferent
Picked up a late injury after an indifferent performance.
Matias Silvestre – 6.5 – Restrictive
Alongside Romagnoli helped to restrict the Rossoneri to long range efforts for much of the game.
Alessio Romagnoli – 6.5 – Preventative
Did well to prevent Destro having any space in the box and often put an end to Cerci’s runs.
Djamel Mesbah – 5.5 – Generous
Allowed Cerci plenty of space to play in, was fortunate that the winger was below-par on the night.
Angelo Palombo – 6 – Effective
Was Sampdoria’s answer to De Jong, quietly effective in dictating his side’s pattern of play.
Pedro Obiang – 6.5 – Steel
Provided the steel at the heart of the Blucerchiati midfield, winning more tackles than anyone else.
Roberto Soriano – 6.5 – Composed
Remained composed when it mattered to fire past Lopez from inside the area. The goal aside, had little influence on the game.
Eder – 6 – Threatening
The Italy international threatened on the counter, especially when Paletta was isolated. Forced Lopez into a strong save with his free-kick.
Samuel Eto’o – 7 – Creator
The most dangerous player of the first period, testing Lopez and fizzed an effort just wide. Created the space for Soriano’s strike with his inch perfect pass.
Stefano Okaka – 6 – Willing
Using his physicality and pace, he was always a willing runner down the lines without offering much of a threat.
Substitutes
Alfred Duncan – 6 – Deflector
A defensive substitute for Soriano, was in the wrong place to deflect De Jong’s strike past Viviano but otherwise put in a decent effort.
Luis Muriel – 6
Carried on in a similar vein to Okaka.
Pawel Wszolek – N/A
