22 October 2023
Juventus made it four wins out of four against Milan coming off the international break. More importantly Manuel Locatelli ended a 50-match barren run in front of goal with the game-winning strike, which ended a five-match winless run against the Rossoneri.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men when Malik Thiaw was sent off five minutes before half-time, an advantage Juventus slowly made the most of as the second half progressed. Locatelli grabbed the only goal of the game on 64 minutes.
Only two points now separate the top three teams in the table.
THE MATCH
Both sides had to contend with important absences ahead of the first clash between Juventus and Milan since 2016 with both teams occupying places in the top-3 - a match decided by Manuel Locatelli, then wearing the red and black stripes.
Milan were forced to field third-choice goalkeeper Antonio Mirante due to number 1 Mike Maignan’s sending-off against Genoa before the international break. Another Milan player would see red before halftime against the Bianconeri.
Daniele Rugani stepped in to replace Danilo, injured on international duty, on the right side of the defensive three, while in attack Arkadiusz Milik paired up with Moise Kean.
Kean led the line with power and determination and his tussle with central defender Malik Thiaw supplied the first-half’s talking point. In the 40th minute, Kean slipped the Germany international’s close marking with a fine dummy and would have been through on goal had Thiaw not chopped the striker down. For the referee it was a case of halting a clear scoring opportunity, worthy of a straight red card.
Before the flashpoint, Wojciech Szczesny had made a prodigious fingertip save to deny Olivier Giroud on 15 minutes. At the other end, Timothy Weah had a sight of goal on seven minutes but his shot struck international teammate Weston McKennie. Weah then won a free-kick against another USMT teammate Christian Pulisic at the edge of the Milan penalty area on 23 minutes. After Milik’s effort was blocked by the wall, Filip Kostic fired the rebound that flashed just wide.
In the final minute of the opening period, Kean popped up between two Milan defenders at the edge of the six-yard box, but poked his shot wide. It was Juve's best chance of the first half.
After the break the extra player advantage was used wisely. Never showing impatience, Juventus managed possession in search of the right opening to make the breakthrough. An opening which arrived just after the hour mark. Locatelli completed a personal circle - this time scoring the game’s only goal wearing the black and white stripes of the team he has supported since a boy, Juventus. The midfielder’s shot from the edge of the area took a deflection off Rade Krunic, which sent the ball spinning into the net.
A goal and a player to the good, Juventus never allowed Milan a chance to get back into the contest, and could have eased Massimiliano Allegri’s nerves by adding a second. However, Dusan Vlahovic was twice denied by Mirante, the second from close-range after the veteran keeper had first kept out Andrea Cambiaso’s effort.
Vlahovic and Cambiaso were the first fresh players brought on by the Juve coach, and were followed by Federico Chiesa, Dean Huijsen on his first team competitive debut and Fabio Miretti.
The strength of the squad pulled through as the Bianconeri inflicted a second defeat of the campaign on Milan with a fourth straight clean sheet, the 16th this calendar year.
MILAN 0-1 JUVENTUS (HT: 0-0)
Scorer: 64′ Locatelli
MILAN: Mirante; Calabria (79′ Kjaer), Thiaw, Tomori, Florenzi; Musah, Adli (60′ Krunic), Reijnders (79′ Romero); Pulisic (42′ Kalulu), Giroud (60′ Jovic), Leao. Subs not used: Nava, Bartoccioni, Pellegrino, Jimenez, Pobega; Okafor, Traore. Coach: Pioli.
JUVENTUS: Szczęsny; Gatti (78′ Huijsen), Bremer, Rugani; Weah (83′ Miretti), McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic (55′ Cambiaso); Milik (78′ Chiesa), Kean (55′ Vlahovic). Subs not used: Pinsoglio, Perin, Yildiz, Iling-Junior, Nicolussi Caviglia, Nonge Boende. Coach: Allegri.
Referee: Mariani
Bookings:51′ Weah, 61′ Reijnders, 66′ McKennie, 70′ Gatti, 72′ Locatelli
Sending off: 40′ Thiaw
