The Italian Seria A returned to action after the international break with a clash of two of the greatest, as AC Milan welcomed Juventus to San Siro on Saturday afternoon. But the reputation of the clubs belied the action on the pitch, and the points were eventually shared with no goals for the fans to enjoy.
The teams
Milan coach Paulo Fonseca left the likes of Christian Pulisic, David Calabria and Strahinja Pavlovic on the bench. He also had Tammy Abraham to call upon if he needed goals at some point, but the former Chelsea and AS Roma attacker remained in the dugout throughout.
With Mike Maignan in goal, Matteo Gabbia and Malick Thiaw formed the centre-back partnership, flanked by Emerson Royal and Theo Hernandez. Youssouf Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tijjani Reijnders were in the middle of the park, and striker Alvaro Morata had the support of Rafael Leao and Yunus Musah on the wings.
Meanwhile, Juventus boss Thiago Motta had plenty of problems upfront. No proper strikers were available for selection, with Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik both out, so he had to improvise a bit to make things work.
Midfielders Teun Koopmeiners and Weston McKennie played closest to the opposition goal, with Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao close in support. The two deeper midfield roles were entrusted to Kephren Thuram and Manuel Locatelli, protecting the back four of Andrea Cambiaso, Federico Gatti, Milan loanee Pierre Kalulu and 21-year-old Nicolo Savona. Michele Di Gregorio stood between the posts.
The game
Despite playing with no designated attackers, Juventus dominated the early stage of the game, keeping the ball mostly in Milan’s half. The best chances they had fell for Conceicao and Koopmeiners, and while the former failed to get a proper shot off from a promising position, the latter smashed his from a tight angle wide of the post.
Milan responded late in the first half, and they came close in literally the last seconds of the stoppage time when Emerson rose high and sent a header just over the bar.
Juventus threatened again as McKennie slipped the ball through Milan’s defence for Cambiaso in the 50th minute, only to see his effort blocked by an excellent Thiaw tackle.
Reijnders had a go from a free-kick at the other end 15 minutes later, blasting high over the bar from around 20 yards. Leao’s run down the left wing in the 69th minute looked dangerous as he danced around Savona, but once inside the box, he went down under the slightest of touches from the young Juventus defender and referee Daniele Chiffi wasn’t interested in giving a penalty for that. Fofana hit an optimistic shot from long way out with 10 minutes left on the clock, not causing Di Gregorio too much worry.
That was about it, concerning the moments worthy of mention in the game. As for the players involved, only Yildiz and Leao showed any willingness or ability to drive forward and create something for their respective teams, and with others not showing the same desire, it simply wasn’t enough for either net to ripple.
The aftermath
Neither Milan nor Juventus will be too pleased with their work for the day. Juventus have dropped down to sixth place in the Serie A rankings, but with only four points separating them from Napoli at the top, this result is obviously better from their perspective than it is for Milan. The fact that they had to play without strikers only strengthens that position. Napoli have 29 points, Atalanta, Inter Milan and Fiorentina are on 28, and Lazio, still to face Bologna on Sunday, on 25, the same as Juventus.
Milan, though sitting directly below Juvenus, are in a completely different situation. There’s six points between them and the Bianconeri still, and though it’s early in the season yet, qualifying for next season’s Champions League might prove more difficult than anyone at the club would’ve expected.
There have been rumours about Fonseca’s job being in danger, and this game won’t have done much to ease the concern for his ability to lift the performances of the team enough for their standings to improve.
Milan face Slovan in Bratislava in the Champions League next, before welcoming Empoli to San Siro next weekend. As for Juventus, they travel to England to face Aston Villa, and then it’s a trip to Lecce.
