AC Milan 0-0 Juventus: Rossoneri fail to begin Scudetto fightback at San Siro

AC Milan failed to take the right steps to claw themselves back into the Scudetto picture as they drew 0-0 with Juventus at San Siro on Saturday evening. 

In his pre-match press conference, Paulo Fonseca had stated that the game was important, but not decisive, and this showed in the first half of the game. Despite an enthralling opening five-minute period, there was little to get excited about the Rossoneri’s first 45 minutes.

Instead, it was Juventus who were the aggressors, and perhaps, you would imagine it was them fighting to get back into the Scudetto picture, rather than the hosts.

The second half was more of the same, and whilst the Rossoneri tried to insert themselves into the game more, there was little, if anything to show for it. You would have to say the same for the Bianconeri, as they failed to put themselves ahead, despite arguably having the better chances.

Within the opening five minutes, Milan were certainly the more aggressive side in everything. When building from the back, the Rossoneri operated in a 3-5-3 shape with Maignan sitting alongside the two central defenders to try and outnumber the Bianconeri’s press.

It is certainly fair to say that the visitors were certainly not granted the same luxury, and Fonseca’s side pressed very aggressively, trying to force mistakes from the defenders. Given Thiago Motta has attempted to get his side playing heavily out of defence, it seemed his Portuguese counterpart was looking to limit this at every opportunity.

The first chance of the game did come as a result of some heavy Juventus possession. After some build-up, Yildiz attacked down the left – which has been a commodity for the Rossoneri this season – and his ball to Conceicao was not met as sweetly as the Portuguese winger would’ve liked, and Milan cleared with ease.

It would only be a minute or so until the visitors had another chance, this time through Koopmeiners. However, the Dutchman could only fire his shot into the side netting, not testing Mike Maignan in the slightest.

Maignan received his first test if you can call it that, just five minutes later with Gatti taking fire from about 25 yards out, and whilst the shot was straight at the Frenchman, it could’ve taken a slight deflection off Ruben Loftus-Cheek, so he had to be wary.

Shortly after, the Old Lady attacked down the left-hand side and Yildiz once again got the better of Emerson Royal, this time working his way centrally before releasing a venomous shot which flew past the wrong side of the post. Another wake-up call for the defence.

Barring two bookings – one for Leao and one for Gatti – the following 10 minutes offered very little for either team. However, it must be said that the Bianconeri were certainly gaining more of a foothold on the game, with a lot more positivity in their play than their opposition.

The following period followed a very similar trend. Albeit with the Rossoneri looking to offer slightly more going forward, but there were no notable chances to write home about. Given the magnitude of the game, though, caginess was always to be expected.

Milan’s first real notable chance came at the end of the half, with Emerson Royal heading wide from a corner. In all fairness, probably a good summary of the half: something, but not much to get excited about.

Much like the start to the first half, Milan opened the second 45 very strongly, looking to hit Juventus early on, and their first opportunity arrived just three minutes after the interval, as Emerson won a corner down the right-hand side, but no one at the back post met the delivery. A wasted chance, but a sign, perhaps, of something.

The Rossoneri were almost put behind in the minute that followed, as Cambiaso was slipped through in the box, but his early low shot was blocked by Malick Thiaw. Had it not been blocked, it could have been costly as Maignan was shifting away from what would’ve been the ball’s path.

Fonseca’s half-time words had likely involved asking his team for more aggression in the press – similarly to how they were in the opening stages of the first half – as there were several occasions where Juventus were boxed in by several Rossoneri shirts.

As the game progressed, it began to get more stretched, with both sides looking to launch counterattacks at every opportunity. However, a long-range, easily saved, attempt from Thuram was the most fruitful outcome.

60 minutes in, and no real major threat created by the Rossoneri, and barring Cambiaso’s chance early in the second half, nothing much to get excited about from a Bianconeri perspective. A cagey affair lacking an injection of inspiration from any of the stars of either team.

Milan finally received notification of Emerson’s struggle in the game as he was booked for a foul on Yildiz outside the penalty area – a consistent story from the game but not one that was seemingly not being learned from.

Just minutes later, the Rossoneri thought they should’ve had a penalty as Leao went down in the Juventus area, but as the claims were dismissed, Fofana was booked for his complaints to the referee.

At this point, Fonseca decided it was time to inject some new legs and inspiration into the attack, bringing Christian Pulisic onto the pitch in place of Loftus-Cheek for the final 20 minutes and returning the Diavolo to a more familiar shape.

Despite the addition of Pulisic to the game, little changed in the minutes that followed, with Milan failing to look any less disjointed in the Bianconeri’s half. However, it was clear that the American was looking to have an impact, as he was consistently looked for by his teammates.

The final 10 minutes were opened by substitute Fagioli entering the hosts’ area, and he looked to try to bend the ball into the far corner, but Matteo Gabbia was equal to the strike, ending the threat.

Fonseca then opted to make a triple change shortly after, ending Emerson, Gabbia and Musah’s nights, bringing Davide Calabria, Strahinja Pavlovic and Samuel Chukwueze into the mix, hoping for a late spark.

A spark that ultimately, did not arrive, despite Theo’s last second header which forced Di Gregorio’s first save of the game, as the clash ended in a draw.

Certainly not the worst possible outcome, but a less-than-ideal one for the Rossoneri. Given Inter played earlier in the afternoon, the gap to the league leaders stands at nine points, a gap that could be 10 points after Napoli’s fixture.