Player Ratings: Cagliari 0-1 Milan – Leao inspires Rossoneri’s narrow win

Rafael Leao is the MOTM in Milan’s 1-0 win over Cagliari, the first game of 2026 in Serie A, but two other Rossoneri players received the same rating.

Cagliari: Caprile 6; Zappa 5, Luperto 5.5, Rodriguez 6; Palestra 6, Adopo 6, Prati 5.5 (61′ Borrelli 5.5), Mazzitelli 5.5 (83′ Cavuoti N/A), Obert 6 (60′ Idrissi 5.5); Esposito 5.5 (66′ Gaetano 6), Kilicsoy 5.5 (83′ Pavoletti). Coach: Pisacane 6.

Best Cagliari players: Rodriguez, Adopo, Obert 6 – Overall, a decent performance from the Sardinians, who started strong and had the best chances in the first half. Rodriguez was the best performer at the back, Adopo recorded 90% passing accuracy (via Sofascore), Obert won several duels, but ultimately, Cagliari lacked the quality up front.

Lowest Cagliari rating: Zappa 5 – The versatile Italian defender was in the wrong position when Milan scored the opener. Furthermore, he won just two duels and lost possession 14 times.

Cagliari coach: Pisacane 6 – The commitment was there. Cagliari did all they could to give a hard time to Milan, but they lacked the quality to hurt the Rossoneri.

Milan: Maignan 6; Tomori 6.5, De Winter 7, Bartesaghi 6.5; Saelemaekers 6, Fofana 6 (69′ Ricci 6), Modric 6.5, Rabiot 7, Estupinan 5.5 (79′ Gabbia N/A); Loftus-Cheek 6 (79′ Pulisic N/A), Leao 7 (69′ Fullkrug 6). Coach: Allegri 6.5.

Best Milan players: Leao, Rabiot and De Winter 7 – Leao scored the winning goal from a Rabiot assist, which marked a big second-half performance from the Frenchman. Rafa is becoming a proper centre-forward when you consider that he only made 27 touches before making room for Fullkrug’s debut in the second half. De Winer has been criticised in recent weeks, but tonight he played with great confidence in the middle of a three-man defence.

Lowest Milan rating: Estupinan 5.5 – In fairness, not a terrible performance, but the Milan left wing-back lacked quality with the ball at his feet, and it’s no coincidence he was rarely involved in the build-up, only making 41 touches in 79 minutes.

Milan coach: Allegri 6.5 – He does love performances like this one, doesn’t he? Milan achieved the best possible result with an average performance, but the Rossoneri created enough chances in the second half to win it. Some of their top players were not fully fit: Pulisic only played for 10 minutes, Leao was returning from an injury, and Pavlovic had a fever. It was hard to expect more than this, but it was vital to bring home all three points.