AC MILAN BOUNCE BACK AGAINST JUVE

AC Milan bounced back from their defeat in London and did so convincingly in front of their own supporters. Spurred on by a sell-out San Siro crowd, the Rossoneri beat Juventus 2-0 thanks to Tomori’s finish in first-half stoppage time and Brahim Díaz’s solo effort shortly after the restart. It was a match full of energy and aggression, with the Diavolo emerging victorious from a difficult encounter to claim three very important points in the league. Following the Englishman’s goal, Pioli’s men controlled proceedings in the second half, rediscovering the kind of courage and fluidity that had not been on display against Chelsea.

The Coach shook things up, bringing in Pobega and Díaz and selecting Gabbia in defence. Tomori and the Italian centre-back snuffed out the threat of the Bianconeri’s front pairing, attacking every ball and once again showing how reliable they are. Lady Luck didn’t smile on Leão, who hit the post twice in the first half, but the Portuguese was a key figure for the Rossoneri down a left flank that also contained Theo Hernández, who was back in the side. It’s already time for the Rossoneri to focus on their next fixture, which will see them face Chelsea at 21:00 CEST on Tuesday 11 October at San Siro on matchday four in Champions League Group E.

CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM AC MILAN v JUVENTUS

MATCH REPORT
The two teams didn’t spend much time figuring each other out early on; instead, they aimed to play in a proactive fashion. The first opportunity of the game fell the way of the visitors: Cuadrado was left in space on the right but fired wide (9’). The Bianconeri looked dangerous on the counter and threatened twice in the space of a minute through Milik and Danilo a few minutes later, but neither were able to trouble Tătărușanu. The Rossoneri started to up the tempo and responded on the 20-minute mark: Kalulu headed on a corner for Leão, whose back-heel flick struck the post. Rafa then hit the woodwork again in the 34th minute with a right-footed strike from distance. Two minutes later, Bennacer’s fierce shot finished over the bar. AC Milan continued to push at took the lead in first-half stoppage time: Tomori got in the way of an effort from Giroud from a corner, but the Englishman was able to turn and rifle home with his left foot, meaning the Diavolo led 1-0 at the interval.

AC Milan began the second half brightly, with Leão failing to hit the target on two occasions. In the 54th minute, the Rossoneri doubled their advantage through a brilliant bit of individual play from Brahim Díaz: the Spaniard intercepted a ball in the middle of the park, raced forward, skipped past Bonucci and beat Szczęsny with his right foot. It was a real blow to the visitors, who struggled to put together any meaningful attacks. As for AC Milan, they remained high up the pitch and made the most of the substitutes’ energy to stay in control. Juve tried to get back into the game in the final stages following the introduction of Kean, who had two opportunities to pull one back. First, in the 84th minute, he combined with Milik and let fly, only for Kalulu to make a big intervention; then, on the 90-minute mark, he had a go from the edge of the box but couldn’t keep it down. At the other end, Origi came close in added time but was denied by Szczęsny. After four minutes of added time, the referee blew the final whistle: it finished 2-0.

MATCH DETAILS

AC MILAN 2-0 JUVENTUS

AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Tătărușanu; Kalulu, Gabbia, Tomori, Hernández; Bennacer (84' Vranckx), Tonali; Pobega (58' Krunić), Díaz (64' De Ketelaere), Leão (84' Origi); Giroud (64' Rebić). Subs: Jungdal, Mirante; Ballo-Touré, Dest, Thiaw; Adli, Bakayoko. Coach: Pioli.

JUVENTUS (4-4-2): Szczęsny; Danilo, Bonucci, Bremer, Alex Sandro; Cuadrado (46' McKennie), Locatelli (56' Paredes), Rabiot (79' Soulé), Kostić (56' Miretti); Vlahović (78' Kean), Milik. Subs: Perin, Pinsoglio; Gatti, Rugani; Fagioli. Coach: Allegri.

Referee: Orsato from Schio.
Goals: 45'+1 Tomori (M), 54' Díaz (M).
Booked: 26' Cuadrado (J), 54' Díaz (M), 90'+3 Tonali (M), 90'+3 Paredes (J), 90'+3 Kean (J). 

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