Player ratings: Lecce 2-3 Milan – Rossoneri substitutes help turn it around | OneFootball

Milan needed the best part of an hour to get going after falling two goals behind away against Lecce in Serie A on Saturday evening, but Sergio Conceicao’s inspired substitutions helped to turn things around as the Rossoneri eventually rose to a 3-2 comeback victory.

Here are the player ratings from a surprisingly competitive match at the Via Del Mare.

You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Lecce 2-3 Milan: Player ratings

Lecce

Lecce: Falcone 6.5; Guilbert 6.5, Baschirotto 5, Jean 5.5, Gallo 5.5; Coulibaly 5.5 (Banda n/a), Berisha 6 (Pierret 5.5); Morente 6.5 (Rebic n/a), Helgason 7 (Ramadani 6), Pierotti 6 (Veiga 5); Krstovic 8.

Best Lecce player: Nikola Krstovic 8 – Two very well taken goals to end a Lecce goal drought that had gone on for four full matches before tonight. It would have been a hat-trick as well had it not been for the upright in the first half.

epa11949665 US Lecce’s Nikola Krstovic (L) celebrated by his teammate Santiago Pierotti (R) after scoring during the Italian Serie A soccer match US Lecce – AC Milan at the Via del Mare stadium in Lecce, Italy, 8 March 2025. EPA-EFE/ABBONDANZA SCURO LEZZI

Lowest Lecce rating: Federico Baschirotto 5 – It wasn’t the most defensively sound display from the Lecce captain. He was one of several defenders caught out by Milan’s early attempt, which was later ruled out. Gave away the costly penalty that led to the Rossoneri equaliser.

Coach: Marco Giampaolo 5.5 – A run of four full Serie A matches without a goal was put to an end after seven minutes against Milan. Lecce didn’t always look comfortable defensively, but were let off in the first half by a disjointed Rossoneri attack – and the offside flag, twice. Things began to change in the second half, and the hosts were not able to deal with Milan’s effective substitutions.

Milan

Milan: Sportiello 5; Walker 5 (Sottil 6.5), Thiaw 5.5, Gabbia 5.5, T. Hernandez 6.5; Musah 5 (Fofana 6), Bondo 5 (Joao Felix 6), A.Jimenez 5 (Leao 7), Reijnders 5.5, Pulisic 7.5; S.Gimenez 5 (Abraham 6.5).

Best Milan players: Christian Pulisic 7.5 – Played a massive role in getting Milan back into it, winning the penalty and coolly converting from the spot, straight down the middle. Timed his run excellently to get on the end of a wicked Leao delivery to put Milan in front for the first time in the 81st minute.

epa11949848 Christian Pulisic scores a penalty goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match against US Lecce at the Via del Mare stadium in Lecce, Italy, 8 March 2025. EPA-EFE/ABBONDANZA SCURO LEZZI

Lowest Milan rating: Warren Bondo 5 – There were several Milan candidates to choose from against Lecce; The first-half performance was not particularly easy to watch. It was a particularly bad start to life in Rossonero for Bondo, who was on for his full debut, which lasted an hour before being hooked. Not strong enough at the base of the Milan midfield, not convincing enough on the ball and not too much help in recovery either.

Coach: Sergio Conceicao 6.5 – Appeared frustrated to not get the desired reaction from his players after falling behind in the first half. Milan’s attack in the first half looked like they were already chasing the game at times; The shape was a bit messy and some sloppy touches made it look a bit panicky. It was a different story in the second portion of the second half, and the coach’s substitutions worked very well, particularly Leao, Abraham and Sottil, who was a surprisingly effective replacement for Walker at right-back.