It was a sold out affair for the showdown between Juventus and AC Milan at the Olimpic Stadium in Turin. Both teams had injury troubles ahead of the game as the host Juventus were missing Mauro Camoranesi as well as the visitors Kaká both were ruled out on the day of the game.
Four-star Juventus beat 10 man Milan as Gianluca Zambrotta saw red and the final scoreline read 4-2 in Juve’s favor. The Turin club keeps pace with table-topping Inter and are showing Mourinho’s men that they are true Scudetto contenders while the defeat may possibly have ended Milan’s title campaign.
First Half
History and past glories aside, this was in firsthand about the crucial points. The game shot of with pace and intensity and there was no mistaking the importance of the outcome. Juventus had a great opportunity in the opening minutes through Amauri but the Brazilian’s volley went over the crossbar.
The Bianconeri would get their lead and it came in the 16th minute when Marek Jankulovski brought down Alessandro Del Piero and lead the referee to point towards the penalty spot. Il Capitano made no errors and converted the penalty in a stylish manner, 1-0 to Juventus.
Two minutes later Massimo Ambrosini had a golden opportunity to score the leveller as he rose to meet Clarence Seedorf's cross but the midfielder headed just over an open goal. Both sides were really fired up and continued to produce chances, with Juventus having the upper hand.
On the 30 minute mark Pavel Nedved picked up a muscular injury and had to be substituted for Paolo De Ceglie. A minute after Juventus’ first substitution came the leveller for Milan. Ronaldinho’s perfect cross from the right hand side of the penalty area found his countryman Pato and the wonderkid easily put it behind Manninger.
The reply from Juventus didn’t take long as Giorgio Chiellini’s towering header later put the Old Lady back in the lead once more only two minutes later.
The frustration from the Milan players started to show through by now but the misery from the first half was yet to be over. Five minutes before the halftime whistle it was Amauri’s turn to add his name on the scoresheet. Marchisio intercepted a Milan counterattack and passed the ball on to De Ceglie who found the Brazilian-born striker with a brilliant cross and the scoreline read 3-1 in Juventus’ favor.
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