Milan vs Torino 1-0: Giroud Lone Goal Keeps Rossoneri Top of the Table

The maximum result with the minimum effort: a lone goal from Olivier Giroud – the fourth of the Frenchman this season – was enough for Milan to make full score against a tenacious Torino side in Serie A round 10.

The Rossoneri thus maintained the top spot in the table as they wait for Napoli to tackle Bologna on Thursday. It was not a great game from Stefano Pioli’s side but Milan managed to keep a clean sheet for the first time since the injury of their starting goalkeeper Mike Magnain.

Milan needed some turnover as a real trial of fire is expecting them – with Roma, Porto and Inter to be faced in the next 12 days. And so, Pioli gave space to Alessio Romagnoli and Pierre Kalulu in defense, while Olivier Giroud was deployed as central striker. For Torino, Andrea Belotti came back as a starter 59 days after his injury.

The Rossoneri and the Granata did not exactly stage a spectacular showdown at the San Siro. The start was rough on both sides, with Alessandro Buongiorno and Romagnoli booked early in the game, soon followed by Wilfried Singo and Kalulu.

However, Milan took the lead from their very first chance. On 13 minutes, from a corner kick, Rade Krunic headed the ball in and Giroud materialized right on the goal line to push the ball into the back of the net.

Torino tried to react by building their play up from the back, while Milan preferred to wait for the right chance and hit the Granata on the counter. None of this helped either side, however, as the two team went for the half time break without having suffered any additional threat.

⏱️ 46'
Back out for the second half. Now to finish the job ?#MilanTorino 1-0 #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/FHKtaJptgc

— AC Milan (@acmilan) October 26, 2021

After the break, Stefano Pioli pulled out both his booked men, sending in Simon Kjaer and Theo Hernandez – fully recovered from Covid. Ivan Juric did a similar move and had Buongiorno replaced by the former Rossonero Ricardo Rodriguez.

Belotti’s game lasted only 53 minutes as his place was taken by Toni Sanabria. Pioli then continued to rotate his options and gave some playing time also to Ismael Bennacer and Tiémoué Bakayoko. The substitutions were only real worthwhile moments of a match that continued to be a cagey affair and offered very little to the show. 

Torino had their best chance on 75 minutes, when Tommaso Pobega ignited Sanabria’s progression. The Paraguay international’s shot was however parried by Ciprian Tatarusanu.

Juric’s last move was Simone Zaza for Ola Aina to enhance the Granata‘s offensive power. The Croatian coach wanted to snatch at least one point but, despite a desperate final assault also featuring their goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Torino didn’t manage to find the back of the net – with Kjaer clearing almost on the goal line their last scoring attempt during stoppage time.

The Granata once again came home empty-handed despite holding their own against some much-better equipped opponents. As for Milan, this was not the most shimmering performance on the Rossoneri part, but the road to the Scudetto is also paved with such clinical performances as tonight’s. 

 

MATCH SCORECARD

October 26, 2021 – Serie A 2021-2022 Round 10
MILAN – TORINO 1-0

SCORER: 14′ Giroud