Milan's 3-0 cushion nearly vanishes as Rabiot and Gila vent frustration
Adrien Rabiot and Mario Gila said they were angry after AC Milan let Atalanta claw back from three goals down before holding on for a 3-2 win at San Siro.
AC Milan needed a late save from Mike Maignan to protect a 3-2 win over Atalanta at San Siro, after surging into a 3-0 lead and then nearly throwing it away. Goncalo Ramos converted a penalty, Adrien Rabiot added a second, and Mario Gila headed in a third before Atalanta hit back through Gianluca Gaetano and Nikola Krstovic, according to Football Italia.
Ramos also saw a second penalty saved by Marco Carnesecchi, a miss that in hindsight left the game more open than the scoreline suggested at the time.
Both scorers from the opening period were frank about how the match slipped away from them. Rabiot told Sky Sport Italia, as reported by Football Italia, that Milan had controlled the first half before unravelling. "We did very well in the first half, then strangely we lost control of the game," he said.
Why the dominance evaporated after the hour mark
Gila pinpointed the same stretch of the match, telling Football Italia that Milan had been in command for 65 minutes before losing their footing. "We had dominated for 65 minutes, but then we tried to move the ball around too hastily, we lacked patience and lost control of the match," he said.
That description matters because it locates the problem in possession rather than simply defensive frailty. A team three goals up with the game seemingly settled does not need to force tempo; it needs to manage the ball and the clock. Gila's account suggests Milan abandoned the patient build-up that had earned them the lead and instead rushed possession, inviting pressure they did not need to invite.
Rabiot's frustration ran deeper than the result. "It is a problem, because we had done so well, but if we don't keep that up, then it's not worth anything," he said. He added that the eventual win did not fully convince him Milan deserved it: "Fortunately, we were able to get the victory, but I'm not so sure we deserve it. I feel quite angry, we cannot suddenly stop after playing that well."
A goal from an unlikely source exposes a wider issue
Gila's header, flicked on by Rabiot from a corner, was his first Serie A goal since 2024. A centre-back scoring from a set piece is not itself a concern, but the context around it is telling: Milan needed contributions from defenders at one end while conceding twice at the other inside the same evening.
Gila called the first half "perhaps our best performance of the season," which only sharpens the contrast with what followed. A team capable of producing its best football for 65 minutes and then losing structural control entirely is not simply unlucky; it points to a lapse in game management once the scoreline suggested the contest was decided.
The timing adds further context. Milan had thrashed RB Salzburg 4-0 away in the Europa League days earlier, with Alphadjo Cisse scoring a hat-trick, according to Football Italia. Cisse did not feature against Atalanta, and whatever freshness that midweek rout offered did not carry over into sustained control at San Siro.
The record stays intact but the pattern is a warning
Milan remain unbeaten in Serie A this season, a fact that sits awkwardly alongside Rabiot's own admission of defensive problems. Winning while conceding control for long spells is not sustainable evidence of progress under Ruben Amorim; it is evidence that individual quality and moments like Maignan's late save are currently compensating for lapses in structure.
The point both players made, in their own words, was less about the three points and more about repetition. Finishing games the way they start them is the standard Rabiot and Gila set for themselves after this one, and Amorim's side will be tested on whether that lesson sticks the next time a lead looks comfortable.