AC Milan lost further ground in the Scudetto race as they were held to a second straight 0-0 draw, this time failing to break the deadlock against Torino.
After not scoring against Bologna on Monday night, the attack somehow looked even worse at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino as there was hardly an abundance of clear cut scoring opportunities, and both goalkeepers had merely routine saves to make.
Inter’s win over Hellas Verona on Saturday night means that they have gained two points, while Napoli’s defeat against Fiorentina earlier in the day goes unpunished.
Head coach Stefano Pioli made two changes to the starting line-up that drew with Bologna as Franck Kessie came in for the injured Ismael Bennacer in midfield, while Alexis Saelemaekers got the nod over Junior Messias on the right.
Saelemaekers was the man who had the first sight on goal just over a minute in when a long ball was knocked down by Rafael Leao into the path of the Belgian, whose snapshot ended up being deflected over the bar.
Torino’s first chance of the game came around 10 minutes later as a pinpoint cross was whipped in from their left flank and Andrea Belotti got between Fikayo Tomori and Theo Hernandez to rise for a free header, but the ball was just above him and he couldn’t direct it on goal.
Torino’s strategy when not in possession was very much centred around crowding Milan out and stopping supply into dangerous areas very much like Bologna did with a similar three-man defence on Monday night, with the away side forced to go more direct to find some joy, and Giroud dropping deeper.
Berisha was forced into his first save of the game just after the midway point in the first half when Torino failed to clear their lines and Davide Calabria let off a curling left-footed shot from just inside the box that was parried to safety.
There was a flare-up before the half-hour mark when Saelemaekers cut to the byline after an excellent bit of dribbling and went down under a challenge inside the box from Ricci yet Doveri determined that the Belgian had exaggerated the contact.
Ricci was involved at the other end when he was slipped into space down the left side and was able to fire off a shot yet he sliced it wide of the near post with Maignan not troubled.
Maignan was the first goalkeeper called into action in the second half as a ball fell to Vojvoda on the left side of the box following some pressure from Pobega, and the Frenchman did excellently to prevent it sailing into the top left corner.
In the 55th minute, Pioli decided to make his first change of the game. Brahim Diaz – who had continued his theme of struggling to affect the game – made way for Junior Messias who took up more of a central role.
Milan continued to attack down the left side more than the opposite flank, and a fantastic dribble from Leao nearly carved the home side open as he beat Vojvoda to the byline and tried to round the keeper before Bremer again was the man to intervene.
Ricci made an excellent block to deny Tonali as he attempted to cut the ball back to Giroud who would have had a nearly empty net to finish into, with Vojvodina the man guilty of giving the ball away in a dangerous place.
Tomori was then the man who produced an absolutely decisive intervention when Belotti brought down a ball perfectly on his boot and looked to have beaten the Englishman, who recovered to block heroically.
The back and forth continued as the Rossoneri grappled for supremacy heading into the final 20 minutes, and Tonali was the latest to be denied after a smart chop back on to his left foot, seeing his effort saved low. Up the other end Belotti was found in space behind down Milan’s right but fired from a narrow angle into the side netting.
Another change came in the 82nd minute as a tired-looking Tonali was withdrawn in place of Rade Krunic, with Pioli’s men still failing to show any quality or composure in the final third.
There was nearly a nightmare scenario for Milan moments later when Pietro Pellegri found some space to run into on the left flank and forced Maignan into a save that he gathered at the second attempt.
Another change was made with less than four minutes left as Tomori came off with a grimace on his face and Matteo Gabbia took his place.
The ball fell to Messias a couple of times in the closing stages and he was able to get a shot off, the first time bending one over from 25 yards and the second time seeing it blocked for a corner.
There were late appeals for a penalty rightly waved away when Giroud’s knock-down inside the box fell to Messias again but his compatriot Bremer timed his intervention brilliantly, as he had done all night.
We deservedly finished season in the top 3..dont talk abt scudetto..these kids are way above their heads..leao.theo if both off then Milan really struggles.. new RW and AMC is a must next season if wanna challenge scudetto
And this fucking management wants to sign a center back for 30 million instead of a right winger.
And this fucking management wants to waste 30 million on a center back instead of spending it on a right winger or attacking midfielder.
correct…..our defense is fine, bring in some young talent for the backs and develop, and in case the management has missed the last few games we are UNABLE to score. Inter and Napoli are handing us the Scudetto and it slips thru our hands every week.
We defended like lions but attacking like kittens
Even kittens are more frightening
Kudos to Bremer, Pobega. Great performance
well said we need stikers bring in 3guys that can score some goals
And this management wants to waste 30 million on a center back instead of spending it on a attacking midfielder or a right winger.
Pioli tactic is wierd. Long ball to Giroud not working. Fast tempo like kids running around. No tactical plan. Just throw ball upfront hoping for miracle to happen.
Unfortunately us penny pinching and not spending even a little $$ (loan) on a RW or striker in January to help will doom us in the race for 1st – especially when our rivals did. Huge mistake. Ibra was missing again, Rebic hurt and only striker left to spell Giroud is a 18 yr old kid who hasn’t played a minute. Poor management IMO. We could have brought in a veteran on loan or something to help or spent on a RW (Ikone, Faivre, etc…for a reasonable price (15m)) in the second half of season. Zero goals in two of the last 6 games -extremely difficult to expect us to win a title that way
Woeful indeed. We are doing everything possible to let Inter win Scudetto. Our game is way too predictable and infantile. It is pathetic not to score in two consecutive games against teams like Bologna and Torino. Our defense is doing an amazing job, but we cannot win without scoring a goal. 😣😣
as long as pioli there, they will play as a contender, not a champion….
kick pioli….
It hate to say “I told you so”. But yes, I said it.
Maldini should not invest 30 millions on defender and 25 millions on defensive midfielder
We have kalulu, tomori, kjaer, gabbia and incoming pobega next year to replace kessie
It is the attacking department who concerns me. Awful
Absolutely useless attack! They can’t score to save their lives! There battling for the title and this is the performance they put in! There is no sense of urgency whatsoever! Giroud, Diaz, Messias and Saelemakers are useless and offer nothing! Leao as usual looks disinterested with no grit and determination. These so called attackers are a joke! When it matters most, unfortunately our players have shown they don’t have what it takes to be the best!
The race for the title should have already been out of the reach of your rivals but we are sliding down hill.
Milan biggest need is a n10. This team has a bunch of players who are just runners with very little technical and creative ability.
That midfield is so bad in build up play that it’s constantly overleaped by either Maignan or Tomori who just launch the ball forward towards Giroud.
People can hype up Tonali all day long, he is just a better athlete Gattuso. There is zero Pirlo in Tonali s game.
Kessie is just a muscle, Brahim is not a real football player.
Leao is naturally gifted player who has no winning mentality or will to be great. Without the ball at his feet he is useless. With the ball at his feet he just wanna go 1v1 where 95% of the time he losses the ball.
This is an average team who is lucky enough to play at bellow average league
Well said. We hate him but hakan was a creator who could create chances through all this chaos. Tonali should not be classified as a creator, he only knows how to bring the ball out of defense just like benna.
correct…..our defense is fine, bring in some young talent for the backs and develop, and in case the management has missed the last few games we are UNABLE to score. Inter and Napoli are handing us the Scudetto and it slips thru our hands every week.
Can’t imagine Diaz or Saelemakers getting onto the teamsheet of any of the teams in the top half of the table. These two guys need to be shipped…
And why wasn’t Lazetic given 20 mins?..
Pioli is a one-trick pony – If plan A doesn’t work, do it to death anyway..