Juventus had won their first two games of the season, but it would be entirely fair to say that they had come close to leaving those matches ruing missed opportunities. Each of them could've been put away long time before they were, and indeed one of the major talking points headed into Sunday's matchup against AC Milan was the fact that the Bianconeri had gotten the results without reaching the level of performance they desired. Milan were in the same boat, winning two straight under new manager Ruben Amorim but not convincing in either. It felt as though the team that managed to perform better would be the likelier to come out of the Allianz on top.
It was ultimately Juve that had the better of a game that was equal parts chaotic and sloppy. But once again they failed to take advantage of their performances. They failed to make the most of the chances they made over the game's first 70 minutes before Milan scored on — stop me if you've heard this one before — their first shot on target of the match. It took until the second minute of stoppage time for Juve to finally even things out, when Federico Gatti powered home a Teun Koopmeiners cross from six yards to earn the Old Lady a 1-1 draw.
The problems for Juventus were the same as we've talked about all season so far. The finishing wasn't nearly good enough, the passing was disjointed and often inaccurate, and overall creativity seemed to be lacking. But in spite of all of that, they can honestly say that they were the better of the two sides and deserved victory — even more so when you consider the fact that Milan's goal really should've been disallowed for a foul in the buildup that was never flagged by VAR. Considering they were missing seven players due to injury, several of whom were extremely important, it's far too early to start abandoning hope of a successful year—provided they make the improvements that their play so far suggest is possible.
Luciano Spalletti was missing Kenan Yildiz, Weston McKennie, Khéphren Thuram, Andrea Cambiaso, Jeff Ekhator, Juan Cabal, and Pape Matar Sarr. His 4-2-3-1 formation gave several players their first starts of the year. Guglielmo Vicario started behind the back four of Pierre Kalulu, Bremer, Jhon Lucumí, and Zeki Celik. Manuel Locatelli and Douglas Luiz started in the middle of the park, while Francisco Conceição joined Nico González and Kerim Alajbegovic behind Randal Kolo Muani in attack.
Amorim missed Matteo Gabbia due to an ankle injury, but returned a few players to the starting lineup who had been eased back into things after long World Cup runs. Mike Maignan started in goal, ahead of a 3-4-2-1 setup that was a slight tweak to Amorim's usual 3-4-3. Former Juve prospect Koni De Winter joined Strahinja Pavolovic and Mario Gila in defense. Big-money signing Diego Moreira got his first start of the season opposite Pervis Estupiñán at the wing-back spots, while Luka Modric and Yunis Musah manned the double pivot. Adrien Rabiot joined Alexis Saele
It was ultimately Juve that had the better of a game that was equal parts chaotic and sloppy. But once again they failed to take advantage of their performances. They failed to make the most of the chances they made over the game's first 70 minutes before Milan scored on — stop me if you've heard this one before — their first shot on target of the match. It took until the second minute of stoppage time for Juve to finally even things out, when Federico Gatti powered home a Teun Koopmeiners cross from six yards to earn the Old Lady a 1-1 draw.
The problems for Juventus were the same as we've talked about all season so far. The finishing wasn't nearly good enough, the passing was disjointed and often inaccurate, and overall creativity seemed to be lacking. But in spite of all of that, they can honestly say that they were the better of the two sides and deserved victory — even more so when you consider the fact that Milan's goal really should've been disallowed for a foul in the buildup that was never flagged by VAR. Considering they were missing seven players due to injury, several of whom were extremely important, it's far too early to start abandoning hope of a successful year—provided they make the improvements that their play so far suggest is possible.
Luciano Spalletti was missing Kenan Yildiz, Weston McKennie, Khéphren Thuram, Andrea Cambiaso, Jeff Ekhator, Juan Cabal, and Pape Matar Sarr. His 4-2-3-1 formation gave several players their first starts of the year. Guglielmo Vicario started behind the back four of Pierre Kalulu, Bremer, Jhon Lucumí, and Zeki Celik. Manuel Locatelli and Douglas Luiz started in the middle of the park, while Francisco Conceição joined Nico González and Kerim Alajbegovic behind Randal Kolo Muani in attack.
Amorim missed Matteo Gabbia due to an ankle injury, but returned a few players to the starting lineup who had been eased back into things after long World Cup runs. Mike Maignan started in goal, ahead of a 3-4-2-1 setup that was a slight tweak to Amorim's usual 3-4-3. Former Juve prospect Koni De Winter joined Strahinja Pavolovic and Mario Gila in defense. Big-money signing Diego Moreira got his first start of the season opposite Pervis Estupiñán at the wing-back spots, while Luka Modric and Yunis Musah manned the double pivot. Adrien Rabiot joined Alexis Saele
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