The reigning champions maintained their 100 per cent start to the season with a 1-0 win at San Siro and once again illustrated just how irresistible they are in Italy
Not since the occasion of Sulley Muntari’s infamous ‘ghost goal’ three seasons ago has an AC Milan versus Juventus clash attracted so much attention.
With the Italian giants first and second in the table and Massimiliano Allegri returning to meet his old foe Pippo Inzaghi, the San Siro became a sell-out and set a Serie A record for income generated from ticket sales: €3.2 million.
The action on the pitch didn’t quite justify the big build-up, but Juventus certainly demonstrated once again just what an irresistible force they are domestically.
The Scudetto holders dominated possession and territory throughout the game - enjoying almost 60 per cent of the ball. Until the final 25 minutes they lacked a cutting edge, with Fernando Llorente particularly ponderous as he continued his goalless start to the season.
However, a goal always seemed inevitable such was their stranglehold in midfield. The deadlock was finally broken on 71 minutes by the Rossoneri’s dummy-sucking nemesis, Carlos Tevez, a player who upset Milan CEO Adriano Galliani by signing for Juventus in 2013. The Argentine, who scored a stormer in this fixture last season, slotted home after running onto an outrageous reverse through-pass from Paul Pogba.
Fernando Torres replaced Andrea Poli soon after to make his Milan debut but, like most of his team-mates, he made little impact in an attacking sense. As Allegri noted at full-time, "We only ran the risk on a couple of counterattacks and on Keisuke Honda's header." Stephan El Shaarawy was very quiet and was Milan’s biggest disappointment considering he was up against Angelo Ogbonna for much of the game.
“I want to be realistic. I am ambitious, just like my players, and want to be able to take on anyone. But we have to be honest and acknowledge Juve were better," Inzaghi confessed to Sky Sport.
But there are plenty of positives for Milan to take. While they were clearly second-best, they were never overrun and played a smart tactical game that will yield them plenty of points this season. Inzaghi has moulded a team that is fit, disciplined and smart.
However, a lack of real quality was their undoing. Juventus started without arguably their two best players in Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal, but still oozed class in the centre of the park. Pogba was a force of nature, Claudio Marchisio continued his impressive start to the campaign and rattled the post, while Roberto Pereyra was lively throughout.
While Juventus will probably need to tweak their 3-5-2 formation in order to succeed in Europe, they continue to crush everything in their path in Italy. After their record-breaking 102-point season in 2013-14, they have begun life after Antonio Conte with four straight wins in all competitions under Allegri. They have not conceded a goal for almost five months – the last person to score against the Bianconeri was Simone Zaza for Sassuolo on April 28.
Simply unstoppable.
By Carlo Garganese
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