Juventus 1-2 AC Milan: Five things we learned – two halves and good subs

It was always going to be an interesting game between Milan and Juventus, but this was elevated by the fact it was Sergio Conceicao’s first game. Thankfully, the Portuguese manager started off on the right foot. 

The new manager barely had time to work with his squad ahead of the game; a tough semi-final against a Juventus side that hadn’t lost domestically. On the other hand, Milan knew they could benefit from the ‘new manager effect’ and perhaps spark a turnaround.

That being said, the game started in poor fashion for Milan as they lacked creativity in attack, while playing slowly and predictably in the build-up. As such, Juventus were able to pounce and take the lead through Kenan Yildiz.

In the second half, however, Milan completely transformed their game and we got to see some of Conceicao’s main traits: passion and energy. Indeed, the Rossoneri raised the intensity quite a bit and combined faster which caused a lot of trouble for Juventus.

Eventually, the Rossoneri found the back of the net twice (in quick succession) and while they weren’t pretty goals, they deserved to at least score one of them. Below are five things we learned from the win, which sent Milan through to the final against Inter.

1. A tale of two halves 

As already mentioned, it looked like Paulo Fonseca’s Milan in the first half and Conceicao’s Milan in the second half. Indeed, the first half was slow, sloppy and all too familiar, while the second half introduced the playing style we have seen at Porto under Conceicao.

Despite the goal not being the prettiest, Milan upped the tempo quite a bit after the break with faster passes, more aggression and smart runs that overwhelmed Juventus at times. The Rossoneri even had more than one chance to get a third goal following their comeback.

We also saw a great defensive display in the second half, as the team looked really compact, and Theo Hernandez finally managed to switch on after his underwhelming first half (and miss early in the second half).

Speaking of Theo, the style we saw in the second half suggests that the Frenchman will be free to make his favourite forward runs a bit more often under Conceicao as he was very static under Fonseca. The former Porto coach seems to enjoy those fast combinations down the flank and the No.19 will be one to benefit from that.

2. Thiaw – Tomori choice paid off

Conceicao opted for Fikayo Tomori instead of Matteo Gabbia for this game, which raised some eyebrows, but the Englishman looked very solid. There was one situation in which Dusan Vlahovic failed to capitalise, but other than that he did well.

As for Thiaw, he was probably the best Milan player on the pitch. He was solid defensively, covered for his teammates and in addition to that, wasn’t afraid to carry the ball forward and attempt forward passes between the lines. An impressive and composed performance by the German, who, at the age of 23 has still plenty of room for improvement.

3. Abysmal by Theo

The Frenchman had an awful first half, marked by his dreadful positioning on the first goal as he kept looking between the ball and Yildiz. He didn’t know what to do in that situation and it left the winger alone with Mike Maignan, who was beaten (as you would expect from that position).

Furthermore, early in the second half, the left-back had a fantastic opportunity to score from close range but somehow sent it above the bar. He joked about it himself after the full-time whistle, but that miss could have sent Milan back to Italy.

Following those awful moments, Theo improved for the final third of the game with some positive runs forward. He kept the ball well after Milan gained the lead and was solid defensively to help his side seal the win, but overall he was the flop of the game and needs to do much better.

4. Conceicao’s subs turned it around

The coach didn’t wait long after the dreadful first half and replaced Ismael Bennacer with Yunus Musah. Tammy Abraham then came on a bit after to replace Alex Jimenez, which meant Milan played with two strikers.

Bennacer was very sloppy, which is probably expected given he was injured for a long period of time, while Jimenez wasn’t really having the best of games so the substitutions were spot on in terms of the player he chose to take out.

Furthermore, Musah and Abraham had a massive impact on the game. The American brought a lot of energy to the midfield with his ability to drive the ball forward with pace. He got a bit lucky on the second goal, but his movement was great and the way he improved the midfield in the second half was impressive.

Abraham also did well and despite not racking up a goal or an assist, he often received the ball and managed to beat his man. He was very useful on the counterattacks and on one occasion, he really should have gotten the assist but Christian Pulisic failed to bury the chance.

To top it off, Conceicao subbed on Matteo Gabbia and Filippo Terracicano for the last ten minutes of the game which made it difficult for Juventus to find empty spaces when attacking. And the one time they did find the space, the shot was impressively blocked by Gabbia.

5. A team transformed

Leaving the first half aside, we saw a transformed team in the second half with a lot of intensity as well as desire. The pressing was much better compared to previous games and the Rossoneri also pressed deep into the game showing just how much the win meant to them.

After the game, we saw a united group celebrating the victory and it was truly a scene that seemed like a fantasy as under Fonseca, Milan looked nothing like a team. It seems the latter is about to change and a win on Monday could seal the deal.