In the fierce battle of the Italian Serie A, Sassuolo sat at the Mapei Stadium to meet the challenge of AC Milan. Pinamonti broke the deadlock in the first half with a brilliant volley, before Laurent showed his ability to double the lead with a follow-up shot past several men, while Rafael Leao responded with a cool effort to pull a goal back for AC Milan. The second half was up and down, with Laurent scoring twice and Jovic's clever cushion shot narrowing the gap again, and although Chukwueze had a series of strikes and one of his brilliant headers disallowed by VAR, Okafor was called on as a substitute and scored the crucial goal before the break to make it 3-3 and the two sides shook hands.
Here are the specific player ratings:
Sportiello (6): There was no obvious fault in the first two goals against Sassuolo, with Pinamonti's pinpoint right-footed shot and Laurent's lucky strike both struggling to cope with it, and although he made a hard save in the 3-1 goal, he touched the ball but was not strong enough to keep it out of the net.
Florenzi (5): The former Roma defender improved after the break with a nimble Laurent, who struggled to get away at 2-0.
Kjaer (4): Too slow and often in the wrong position. Not surprisingly, he was replaced early. After a poor start to the game, Sassuolo's second goal was a low point in his performance on the counter-attack. In the second half, Pioli adjusted his lineup in time and replaced him with Gabia, and the effect was immediate, and Gabia scored 6 points.
Jiafu (4.5): Poor in the opening stages, with the defence looking passive in the opponent's two decisive goals. Poor performance, in the game against Inter Milan he will receive a yellow card and a suspension. He appears to have been injured in the last few minutes.
Theo Hernandez (5.5): The performance on the field was very volatile, and the cooperation with Leao did not have the desired effect. Although Consili saved a couple of his attempts, his free-kick accuracy left much to be desired.
Adli (4.5): The number 7 was in a slump of form and was the same man who could drive the pace and create chances against Roma before, but still finished the game with 91% passing accuracy. Okafor, who came off the bench in the 82nd minute, was outstanding and quickly contributed to the crucial goal of the equalizer, with Okafor scoring 6.5 points.
Moussa (6): A source of energy in the midfield position, he was able to squeeze the attacking attacks of his Sassuolo players with a nimble weave of space, with a passing accuracy of only 82 per cent, but he won three of his five duels. (Olivier Giroud came on in the 55th minute, who scored 5.5 points and came close to another goal thanks to Christian Pulisic's assist, forcing Sassuolo to step up the pressure and Milan find more space to attack.) ）
Chukwuezelen (6): Sadly, VAR cancelled out two of his brilliant goals, and he made the right choices in attack on a number of occasions, but the execution was slightly flawed. Even in the second half, he had chances to make it 3-3 and was eventually replaced by Christian Pulisic, who remained active on the right and created a number of underutilised opportunities for his team-mates, who were six points.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (4.5): Seems to be under heavy pressure and limited on the court. It was a clear dip in form against Roma. (In the 55th minute, he was replaced by Reynders, who scored six points and his introduction injected much-needed energy into Milan.) ）
Rafael Leao (7): The most active and consistent threat to the Sassuolo defence in the first half, scoring a spectacular goal that boosted the morale of the whole team. However, he was often isolated due to a lack of support from his team-mates, but he was able to set up Jovic's goal in the second half and did his best until he was exhausted.
Jovic (6): He was actively involved in the attack in the first half, and when Giroud came on as a second striker, he not only scored the crucial 3-2 goal, but also deeply integrated into the team's tactical system. However, after returning to the pure center forward position, he encountered difficulties again and struggled a little.
Stefano Pioli (5): As a manager, there was some solace in the draw, but it was clearly not as good as it could have been compared to the big win you had hoped for. There are shortcomings in the team's tactical arrangement, and when they are 0-2 down, they once appeared extremely passive, and the problem on the defensive end is particularly prominent. It was only when Sassuolo's fitness dropped that Milan were able to fight back. It is a critical time for the season, and the team as a whole is in a state of tension and disconnection.