Milan paid a hefty price for Malick Thiaw’s first-half red card, relinquishing a five-match unbeaten run against Juventus in their own backyard. After being reduced to ten men with over 50 minutes left on the clock, Stefano Pioli’s side succumbed to a frustrating 1-0 defeat at the San Siro.
Like dealing with several high-profile absences wasn’t enough, Milan surrendered a numerical advantage to Juventus in the first half. Left on an island, Thiaw brought Moise Kean down to the ground outside the box. As the last man standing between the Italian forward and Antonio Mirante, he was immediately shown his marching orders by referee Maurizio Mariani.
While there’s an argument Thiaw should’ve done better, it’s fair to say he had no help from Alessandro Florenzi, who also had a terrible game. The incident that took place in the 40th minute swayed the game in Juventus’ favor, even though Milan dominated the encounter before the German’s expulsion.
After seeing his side fall from a four-match winning league streak, Pioli delivered his verdict on Thiaw’s mistake.
“It was not the result we wanted, but we played well with 11 men, we played well with ten men and were at no point inferior to Juventus, so I feel we could’ve got the result,” the Milan boss said, as quoted by Gianluca Di Marzio.
“On the red card, it was a naive error, both individual and of the team. Thiaw should’ve stalled rather than chase him down. The full-back was also in the wrong position. At the same time, Thiaw was unlucky when he slipped, but he should’ve done better.”
 |
Follow us on Google News for more updates on Serie A and Italian football |