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.
14 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Edward Barett 6 months ago
Congratulations, it was a great win.
And a superbe match. I was very pleased with it, despite the result.
However, the season is far from being over :) Let's see if we can get back to the top again. From worst conditions we've returned!
Edit Comment Cancel
Marzia Hazra 6 months ago
Thanks Edward ;)
You're definitely right, Milan have come back from far worse, but they need to get the injured players back first. But like you said, the season is far from over and anything could happen ;)
Edit Comment Cancel
Danny Penza 6 months ago
Obviously I enjoyed this game as much as you did, but I was really disappointed with Milan. Obviously they were missing Kaka and Gattuso, but it's Milan vs. Juve. They didn't play well at all and Juve took advantage of it in every possible way.
Edit Comment Cancel
Marzia Hazra 6 months ago
Definitely! Juve have gotten accustomed to playing without all their "Key-players" as they have done so for most of the season, but Milan suffered the injuries recently and I guess.. now we wait for Inter to screw up so we can close the gap ;)
Edit Comment Cancel
Danny Penza 6 months ago
It shows what kind of bench Juve have. Secco gets a lot of crap for a lot of his signings, and for some those he rightfully deserves it, but he has assembled a pretty dam good bench. They will have two strikers after the New Year, Trez and Iaquinta, on the bench who could start on almost any other team. Not too bad.
Edit Comment Cancel
Marzia Hazra 6 months ago
He's done alright I suppose, cos not all signings can be successful. Just think how good they can be when they get rest of the team back from injuries. Just read that Kaká could be out for as long as three months, not looking like Milan's season..
Edit Comment Cancel
illya mclellan 6 months ago
How long is Camoranesi out?
Edit Comment Cancel
Marzia Hazra 6 months ago
He was racing against the clock with the Milan game, but I guess this coming weekend or after the Christmas break at the latest.
Edit Comment Cancel
Danny Penza 6 months ago
Considering they are playing a mid-table Atalanta team next weekend, Camo should just be held out until the New Year and not risk anything that would keep him out longer. He was trying to get healthy for the AC Milan game, but Juve have done fine without this year and they need him at full health for the Champions League.
Edit Comment Cancel
Marzia Hazra 6 months ago
Yeah and hopefully they'll manage just fine without him for that game. Atalanta had a pretty dramatic game last weekend though, but hopefully Juve can go into the Christmas break with a win on their backs :)
Edit Comment Cancel
illya mclellan 6 months ago
I was amazed to see him score the other week when he had that injured arm, and the goal he got as well, pure class.
Edit Comment Cancel
Marzia Hazra 6 months ago
Yeah he played out the entire first half with a partially dislocated shoulder, but it was great to see him get the goal anyways.
Edit Comment Cancel
Jermaine Koko 6 months ago
Watched the full game and I must say it was fully deserved win. Ronaldinho was disappointing and I dont get what all the fuss about Pato, he looks average to say the least. Ambrosini's chance was gilt edged. I could have finished that header with my eyes closed. Congratz to you and your team. Your still a few points behind Inter and with Ibrahimovic destroying everything that comes before him, it doesn't look like you'll catch them...
Edit Comment Cancel
Marzia Hazra 6 months ago
Yeah, Juve really deserved the win. Inter are only six points ahead and last season Roma managed to close in a 12 point gap towards the end and were "scudetto-winners" for an hour.. well before Ibra once again stepped up.. anyways we'll see what happens, the season is far from over ;)
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.