Antonio Mirante made his first Serie A start for Milan since joining the club as a free agent in October 2021. It wasn’t a happy debut for the 40-year-old veteran as Juventus toppled 10-man Rossoneri 1-0 at the San Siro.
With Mike Maignan suspended after receiving a straight red against Genoa last time out and Marco Sporitello out injured, Stefano Pioli had to rely on the ex-Roma goalkeeper to fill the vacancy. Considering he has been a marginal figure at Milan over the past few years, many were skeptical about his ability to perform in such a high-profile contest.
However, Mirante silenced his doubters with an extraordinary performance against one of Milan’s fiercest rivals. He rolled back the years in front of a sold-out San Siro, making numerous brilliant saves to keep Milan in the game until the final whistle.
Mirante parried Dusan Vlahovic’s effort flying into the top corner with an acrobatic stop before pulling off a sensational double save to deny Andrea Cambiasso and Vlahovic. It’s a shame Milan failed to capitalize on his heroics between the sticks, but Malick Thiaw’s expulsion took its toll.
“Great emotion to return to play after a long time, I am very sorry for the defeat, we did not deserve it,” the Milan stopper told Sky Sport, as relayed by Tuttomercatoweb. “Our attitude in 10 against 11 was strong, it made me want to play another 10 years. We played against a defensive team, it wasn’t easy and we knew that, but today we were unlucky.“
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