AC Milan’s winning run came to an end on Sunday night as they played out a goalless draw against Juventus, in a strange encounter.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write that on first glance the draw appears to have positive aspects for both sides. Juventus remain unbeaten, drawing level with Inter in the table and go into the break in the top four.
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Milan showed their solidity again under Massimiliano Allegri, racking up a fourth clean sheet in six games, something they have not done since 2006-07. After defeating Napoli, they overcame a potential trap, remaining just two points off the top.
On closer inspection, it’s actually a point that should displease both sides. Juve posted a fifth draw, without showing any improvement in their play or tactical identity. They have not won since September 13th, so there is some bitterness going into the break.
Max Allegri also has cause for complaint, precisely because his side played better and created more. A penalty wasted by Christian Pulisic (Milan’s fifth missed spot kick in seven) and two missed chances by Rafael Leao saw two extra points slip away.
A cagey start
It was a timid first half. Low blocks, not even a hint of pressing, slow passing in the face of a packed defence. In these conditions, it’s hard to expect any spark of excitement. Milan thrive on Modric’s geometry, positioning his position between the two central defenders to escape McKennie’s marking.
Pulisic dropped to play as a playmaker, leaving Gimenez up front and moving to find the ball between the lines. Fofana and Rabiot were tasked with connecting the two creative poles.
Tudor, instead of keeping the two attacking midfielders close to David, confines them to the flanks to widen the pitch (it’s often a 4-3-3). This move makes sense especially on the right, where, as time goes by, a glaring mismatch develops with Conceicao getting the better of Bartesaghi.
It took until the 32nd minute for a thrilling moment: Gimenez cuts diagonally through the field from the right side, hitting it with his left foot, into Di Gregorio’s gloves. Juve responded two minutes later when a cut-back was whiffed at by David, who slipped.
Gimene heaed wide a cross from Pavlovic, who had burst down the left in the 43rd minute, just as he did so successfully against Napoli. The first corner comes in the 46th minute, which shows the intensity of the attacks.
Waste and regret
The second half immediately seemed to contradict the first. Juve had a huge chance in the third minute after the restart: following a corner, Gatti found himself two metres away from Maignan, but the French goalkeeper produced an instinctive miracle.
In the 51st minute, Modric demonstrated why his feet are Ballon d’Or-worthy: he dropped the ball right in front of Gimenez, who was running between two defenders. Kelly dragged him down, resulting in a penalty that Pulisic disastrously squandered.
Milan had improved and were now in control of the match. Allegri tried to support their growth with Leao replacing Gimenez and bringing on the legs of Loftus-Cheek (for Fofana). Tudor’s response in the 24th minute was more questionable: a 3-5-2 that cost the sacrifices of Yildiz and Conceiçao.
The Rossoneri validated their superiority with a huge opportunity in the 28th minute: Pulisic found Leao all alone behind the Juventus defence, with basically an empty net in front of him, but Rafa squandered it.
The Portuguese had a chance to redeem himself in the 45th minute on another magical feed from Modric, but the softness of the finish made Di Gregorio happy. Therefore, while the Bianconeri left amid boos, the Rossoneri couldn’t head to the showers with a full smile.
Yeah, Gimenez, Pulisic and Leao missed quite good, even amazing chances. You can’t win when everyone in attack does that and Nkunku was invisible for 20 minutes. He did 0. I’d rather have a player that gets into chances than the one that has 0 crosses, 0 shots, 0 through balls, 0 runs, 0 everything but touches and short passes. What is the point of a player like that?
For once I agree with you. Nkunku wasn’t what we needed yesterday. Taking Pulisic off meant kissing goodbye to 2 points. Pulisic was the heart of Milan attacking plays and Nkunku? Completely anonymous and missing. Not good enough.
Most of the media gave him a passable rating and I don’t understand for what. Any Primavera kid would try much harder and would 100% do better.
I think the others would have played better without him. Impact sub – but completely the wrong way. Killed the game for us.