With all eyes falling on Turin on Sunday night time, historic rivals Juventus and AC Milan performed out what was a largely uneventful 0-0 stalemate.
Watching probabilities come at an actual premium in the course of the first-half, former Chelsea star Christian Pulisic was handed the prospect to steal centre stage as ex-Newcastle defender Lloyd Kelly clumsily introduced down Santiago Gimenez within the field.
Nonetheless, lacking out on the prospect to notch a fifth Serie A strike of the season, Pulisic blazed over from the penalty spot simply eight minutes after the break.
Regardless of making use of some late stress, the returning Rafael Leao squandered a pair of golden alternatives within the closing 10 minuets and former Juventus boss Max Allegri missed out on the prospect to grab all three factors on his emotional return to Turin.
Whereas French shot-stopper Mike Maignan might need produced a spectacular level clean save to disclaim Federico Gatti moments after the interval, Juve failed to seek out any form of fluidity within the closing third and so they have now performed out a stalemate in all of their earlier 5 appearances throughout all competitions.
Failing to place a single victory on the board over the previous six weeks, the Previous Woman have additionally sacrificed their spot within the Champions League locations.
In a heavyweight showdown that failed to provide the fireworks that neutrals from throughout the continent had been hoping for, we now have taken a have a look at the primary speaking factors from Turin.
Milan prolong on their stellar begin
Settling for an eighth-place end amongst Italy’s elite final season and lacking out on reserving any form of European ticket, AC Milan received a brand new period underway over the summer season following Allegri’s arrival on the San Siro.
Regardless of getting the brand new marketing campaign underway with a 2-1 defeat at house in opposition to Serie A newcomers Cremonese on August twenty third, Sunday’s visitors have come roaring again in a sensational vogue.
Clinching a 2-1 victory in opposition to defending champions Napoli final weekend, the Rossoneri had received all of their earlier 5 home appearances throughout all competitions forward of Sunday’s journey to Turin.
Whereas AC Milan is likely to be rueing an actual missed alternative right here as each Pulisic and Leao wasted golden second-half alternatives, Allegri’s camp have loved a dominant begin to proceedings.
Regardless of heading into October’s worldwide break sat in bronze medal place, they’ve registered 13 factors from their earlier 5 outings and the temper of their camp ought to be at an actual excessive.
One more draw for Juve
Successful all of their opening three Serie A appearances by an mixture rating of 7-3 and marking their return from September’s worldwide break with a well-known 4-3 victory in opposition to Inter Milan, it appeared that Juventus had been beginning to be thought-about a real title contender.
Nonetheless, regardless of flying out of the traps when opening up the brand new marketing campaign, Sunday’s hosts have largely did not discover a comparable stage over the previous few weeks.
Struggling late heartbreak away at Spanish outfit Villarreal earlier within the week as they finally needed to accept a 2-2 draw on overseas soil, Igor Tudor’s aspect have now performed out a stalemate in all of their earlier 5 appearances throughout all competitions.
Lacking out on the prospect to say a heavyweight scalp earlier than heading into October’s fortnight interval, Juventus additionally sacrificed their spot within the top-four.
Displaying lots of the inconsistencies that haunted them final season, Tudor’s camp should spend the following couple of weeks going again to drafting board and discovering a method to reignite their marketing campaign.
An evening to overlook for Leao
Though Leao might need returned from a muscle harm as he made a cameo look off the bench in opposition to Napoli final weekend, the 26-year-old is shortly turning into the forgotten man in Milan.
Whereas Pulisic might need shockingly blazed his penalty over the bar simply minuets after coming back from the half-time break, the previous Chelsea ace has shortly cemented his spot as the brand new poster boy on the San Siro.
With the USA worldwide registering six direct objective contributions in as many appearances to this point this season, it has been questioned the place Leao would slot in this season.
Solely notching eight Serie A strikes final season – his lowest home objective return for the reason that 2020/21 marketing campaign – Leao might need to just accept that he’ll take a extra backwards seat this yr.
Squandering a pair of golden probabilities late on and lacking out on the prospect to depart Turin as Milan’s hero, the Portuguese worldwide will face extra backlash over the following fortnight.
Match Report
Juventus: Di Gregorio, Gatti, Rugani, Kelly, Kalulu, McKennie, Locatelli, Cambiaso, Conceicao, Yildiz, David
Subs: Openda, Thuram, Kostic, Vlahovic
AC Milan: Maignan, Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic, Bartesaghi, Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modici, Rabiot, Pulisic, Gimenez
Subs: Leao, Loftus-Cheek, Nkunku
Objectives: N/A
Yellow Playing cards: N/A
Purple Playing cards: N/A
Referee: Marco Guida
