Ending their 51-year trophy drought in the process, Lewis Ferguson skippered Bologna to a 1-0 victory over AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday evening – and fans of the Rossoneri have given their verdict on Kyle Walker’s 30-minute cameo after he replaced compatriot Fikayo Tomori.
Inside a raucous Stadio Olimpico, Sergio Conceicao and his entourage were looking to win the second trophy of the 2024/25 campaign. In January, Tammy Abraham’s 93rd-minute winner saw them add another Supercoppa to their bloated cabinet.
The team who got to stand triumphant to collect their winners’ medals, however, were Bologna – Dan Ndoye opened and closed the scoring after evading pressure in the box and lashing his effort past the hapless Mike Maignan in the Milan goal.
The Englishman – widely regarded as one of the best right-backs in Premier League history – has been sent out on loan by Manchester City as a means of keeping his legs ticking over – and since the move in January 2025, he’s played just 16 times.
A strong start was full of promise for Walker – evidenced by the fact that he managed to find his way into Thomas Tuchel’s maiden England squad – but his honeymoon phase quickly faded, and he’s struggled to cement himself as a nailed-on starter in the Italian capital.
Walker is known among Premier League circles for being a rapidly reliable right-back – and his introduction in the second half, when his Italian employers were chasing a goal, made sense. Though, he was largely anonymous during his brief stint on the turf.
He enjoyed a lot of touches – due to AC Milan mounting pressure in the dying embers of the affair – but what came from said touches is where the issues lie. Seven passes into the final third is pleasing on the eye, but his long ball success rate (1/3; 33%) just proves how unfruitful his attempts were.
In their Player Ratings piece, Sempre Milan said: “A shocker from someone who’s supposed to be very experienced. Very poor decisions in attack, not crossing when needed and not following through with his runs, plus some really bad passing overall.”
Not only has he been lambasted by the Italian media – but the Rossoneri faithful have made their feelings known, too. “Kyle Walker really refuses to cross the ball,” one said as another added: “This is a hall of shame performance from Kyle Walker.”
What irked the San Siro faithful the most was his inability to burst forward and make a difference in the final third. There were times when his teammates – dressed in red and black – were waiting for a delivery but the loanee opted to go back instead. They said:
“Kyle Walker saw most of his teammates in the penalty box and decided to do a back pass.”
On the fact that Conceicao – who, according to Fabrizio Romano, will leave the club at the end of the season – and his staff couldn’t secure another piece of silverware, Walker’s ‘disasterclass’ was scapegoated by one supporter. “Kyle Walker disasterclass is gonna cost AC Milan a second trophy.”
