Italian media's reaction to Kyle Walker's performance in AC Milan defeat at Feyenoord speaks volumes

The Italian media have reacted to Kyle Walker's latest showing for AC Milan as the were condemned to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of a Champions League play-off round against Feyenoord.

After a dismal run of form for Manchester City, Walker, having been captain of the team, left the Premier League champions in the January transfer window and agreed a loan deal with Italian giants Milan.

Walker took the No.32 shirt previously worn by David Beckham at the San Siro and it's emerged that the Rossoneri have the option to make the loan permanent for a fee of £4.2 million.

The England international made his fourth appearance for Sergio Conceicao's side on Wednesday night, lining up for Milan in the Champions League for the first time.

But things did not go to plan for Walker and Milan, who lost 1-0 in Rotterdam courtesy of a strike from Igor Paixao just three minutes into the contest.

The shot squirmed past goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who did not cover himself with glory and was guilty of a mistake for the goal.

Yet Walker also allowed Paixao to cut inside from the left and received a lot of heat for his display. Paixao was given the Man of the Match award, with Walker only managing to win 42% of his duels.

La Repubblica gave Walker a low 4.5 rating for his showing and also said he went "haywire" at De Kuip. Meanwhile, Gazzetta said that the former Spurs right-back had "a difficult evening".

Sempre Milan handed him a 5/10, stating that Walker "certainly lost his 1v1 battle tonight and struggled overall in defence". After he had a pass success of 72%, the outlet claimed that Walker "added very little in attack and wasn’t exactly best friends with the ball".

Kyle Walker suffered a first defeat playing for AC Milan. Image: Getty

And finally, on X journalist Matteo Bonetti said that Walker had his "most challenging game with Milan since joining" and added that his opponent, Paixao, looked "unstoppable".

“They scored and we didn’t. This is football. We need to have more conviction in front of goal.”

Walker reacts to loss

Walker suffered defeat for the first time in Milan colours and gave a simple assessment for the loss in a post-match interview with Amazon Prime Video.

“They scored and we didn’t," Walker said.

"This is football. We need to have more conviction in front of goal.”

"We have to do more, the team has a lot of quality. If we don’t score goals it’s because we have to attack better as a team. We have to attack and defend all together.”

Milan will be hoping to respond on Saturday when they host Verona in Serie A.