AC Milan were one of the worst semi-finalists in years, they would be 10th best team in the Premier League

AC Milan came in for heavy criticism after their Champions League semi-final first leg Milan derby defeat to Inter, and it could have been much worse for them.

The San Siro played host to both of its teams on Wednesday night, but only the blue and black of Inter really looked at home inside the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium.

Simone Inzaghi's side were quick out of the blocks and scored after just eight minutes, with Edin Dzeko, preferred upfront to Romelu Lukaku, opening the scoring.

The Nerazzurri only had to wait three minutes to double their lead, after Henrikh Mkhitaryan struck just after the 10 minute mark, as the 'visitors' threatened to run away with it.

Things really could have go even worse, when the referee adjudged that Lautaro Martinez had been brought down in the area, only for VAR to call the referee over to the screen.

The penalty was controversially overruled and Inter then had further chances to score and extend their lead, but Stefano Pioli's side did well, and rode their luck, to at least give themselves a chance in next week's second leg.

Despite holding off any more goals, and having the odd chance themselves in the second half, fans didn't hold back their criticism of the Rossoneri.

"AC Milan being in the semi-finals is the worst team to be here since Lyon 2020. And even they at least tested Bayern slightly," argued one fan.

"AC Milan have to be the worst team to touch a semi final in recent memory," claimed a second.

After they beat Serie A champions Napoli in the quarter-finals, despite Luciano Spalleti's side being favourites to make the final, a third supporter added, "Napoli really lost to these boneheads smh."

"People clocking a Milan team that got smoked 5-0 by the worst chelsea team in 30 years aren’t actually good," joked a fourth, about the Italians' results over two games earlier in the season.

Even a Milan fan joined in, replying, "Just sad, man. All that hype and that's the performance. Unbelievable, man."

And a sixth angrily commented, "AC Milan just wasted a Semi Final slot."

It was a poor night for Milan. Image: Alamy

The red and black half of Milan are still battling their neighbours for a top four finish this season as well, with five Italian teams making up the remaining 12 teams left in the three UEFA competitions this season.

Despite that seeming like strength in Serie A, Milan would actually only be 10th in the Premier League, or would at best only be the 10th strongest team.

That's according to boffins FiveThirtyEight, who work out the strength of each team to predict results and use their supercomputer brains to decide where teams will finish in their leagues, or who will get through in cup competitions.

They claim that Milan's 'Soccer Power Index' score is 73.7, which would put them below Manchester City, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Liverpool in the Premier League.

Milan would be ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, but they're punching above their weight in the league right now, and the Italian side's SPI is below Brighton, Aston Villa, Brentford and even Chelsea!