Gonçalo Ramos blanks as AC Milan lose to Bologna

AC Milan got the first defeat of their Serie A season and Gonçalo Ramos had his quietest night yet. In the 4-2 home loss to Bologna in AC Milan vs Bologna, Ramos played 87 minutes, finished with no shots and no shots on target, and is still on two league goals in nine appearances this season.

Ramos’ output under the microscope

The fee and the role are starting to look badly out of step. On one reading, as Gazzetta put it, he is “more of a victim of circumstances than a culprit”, and they also described him as someone who “isn’t a traditional penalty-box striker”. Both lines explain why Milan are asking him to do work that does not always lead to box-fixing chances.

Even so, the output is thin for a forward signed to be decisive. His 6.44 Serie A rating reflects that, and the Bologna game did not move the dial at all. Ramos spent the whole night without a single attempt, which is hard to dress up when Milan were chasing the game at home.

Bologna's night at San Siro

Samuel Mbangula provided the opposite story, scoring three times for Bologna in what was his first start under coach Raffaele Palladino. He struck after eight minutes and completed his first professional hat-trick, with SPORT1 quoting him after the game as saying it was “one of the best evenings of my life” and, on the treble, “My first hat-trick, but hopefully not my last.”

Bologna's win was a strong away result and a reminder that Milan's afternoon unravelled quickly once Mbangula got going. If the focus stays on Ramos, it is because a €73m forward cannot keep offering this little in matches of this size, especially when the league return remains at two goals.