If the outcome of a football game was the exact image of the two opponents’ state of form, then Milan’s win over Juventus in Serie A matchday 9 would come as no surprise at all.
The Rossoneri took all three points on offer at the San Siro as they outclassed the Old Lady 2-0 – the “most classic football score” as Italians put it. Stefano Pioli put some trust in Brahim Diaz and the pocket-sized Spaniard repaid him with the second goal of the day, which came after Fikayo Tomori had drawn first blood for the home side in the first half.
As things stand, the Rossoneri are just one level ahead of a Bianconeri side that still looks like a work-in-progress as Massimiliano Allegri struggles to get the best out of his black-and-white roster. That’s just the synthesis of tonight’s game, which gave Milan some confidence back after they were humbled by Chelsea earlier this week.
Pioli deviated from his traditional setup and proposed a 4-3-2-1 formation where the main piece of news was Theo Hernandez’s comeback. Matteo Gabbia was deployed at center back while Pierre Kalulu moved to the right back position. Tommaso Pobega joined Ismael Bennacer and Sandro Tonali in midfield, while Charles De Ketelaere was left on the bench, making room for Brahim Diaz.
For Juventus, Manuel Locatelli won a spot ahead of Leandro Paredes to join Adrien Rabiot in the middle of the park. Juan Cuadrado and Filip Kostic marshalled the flanks while Dusan Vlahovic and Arek Milik partnered upfront, with Angel Di Maria serving a one-match ban.
The match started at a high pace, Juventus were more aggressive and made the ball circulate to present themselves in the danger zone. There were shots from Cuadrado on eight minutes and from Danilo a few minutes later but both efforts sailed off target.
Vlahovic and Milik had a good connection but the combinations between the two only produces a shot from the Pole that was easily defused by Ciprian Tatarusanu.
The Old Lady’s assault was short-lasting, though. Milan grew by the minute and became more dangerous in the second part of the first period. On 20 minutes, Rafael Leao hit the post with a back-heel deflection from a Tonali corner kick. Later, the Serie A MVP from last season produced a magnificent shot from out of the box that once again only found the post.
The Rossoneri‘s opener was in the air and came in the first period’s added time. From a corner kick, Olivier Giroud’s shot hit Tomori, but the Englishman was quick enough to react and fire the ball past Wojciech Szczesny as the Juve defensive line astonishingly left his free to move. On a side note, Tomori had found his first Serie A goal right against the Old Lady in May 2021…
Juventus protested over an alleged Hernandez foul on Cuadrado in the build-up that led to the winning corner kick, but referee Daniele Orsato would hear none of that.
Allegri replaced Cuadrado with Weston McKennie after the restart in an attempt to reverse the match trend. It didn’t help, though, as Milan had their second soon enough.
On 54 minutes, Tomori snatched the ball out of Vlahovic’s feet and triggered Brahim Diaz’s counterattack. The Spaniard run for 30 meters and kept his cool to beat Szczesny, making it 2-0.
There were more changes for Allegri as Fabio Miretti and Leandro Paredes replaced Locatelli and Kostic. Pioli also started to make substitutions but with the goal of preserving some of his men ahead of the Champions League reverse fixture against Chelsea.
Indeed, Milan seemed to have an easy time of controlling the match tempo as Juventus’ offensive attempts were sterile. On 71 minutes, there was a great cross from Danilo but Milik’s header was disappointing to say the least. It perfectly summarized the Bianconeri‘s offensive struggles.
Allegri’s last changes resulted in some playing time for Moise Kean and Matías Soulé. The two injected some energy in Juventus’ final third as especially the former Paris-Saint Germain man managed to call Milan’s goalkeeper to action. Kean came close to scoring with a shot deflected in corner by Kalulu, then saw his late long-range effort finger-tipped above the bar by Tatarusanu.
Milan could have added a third one but both Hernandez and late substitute Divock Origi came short by a few inches. At full time, the count of corner kick read 9-3 in favor of the Rossoneri, who also collected 16 shooting attempts versus Juventus’ six. That is enough to tell the story of the game.
MATCH SCORECARD
October 8, 2022 – Serie A 2022-2023 Round 9
MILAN – JUVENTUS 2-0
SCORERS: 45’+1 Tomori, 54′ Brahim Diaz
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MILAN (4-3-2-1): Tatarusanu; Kalulu, Gabbia, Tomori, Hernandez; Bennacer (82’ Vranckx), Tonali, Pobega (58’ Krunic); Brahim Diaz (63’ De Ketelaere), Rafael Leao (82’ Origi) Giroud (63’ Rebic) (Mirante, Jungdal, Dest, Ballo-Touré, Thiaw, Vranckx, Bakayoko, Adli) Coach: Pioli |
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JUVENTUS (4-4-2): Szceczny; Danilo, Bremer, Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Cuadrado (46’ McKennie) Rabiot (80’ Soulé), Locatelli (56’ Miretti) Kostic (56′ Paredes) Milik, Vlahovic (78’ Kean) (Pinsoglio, Perin, Gatti, Rugani, Fagioli) Coach: Allegri |
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Cuadrado (J); Added Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 4′
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