AC Milan vs. Juventus: Winners and Losers from Serie A Game
Juventus extended their perfect start in Serie A to three matches this season, thanks to a 1-0 win away to AC Milan on Saturday.
The in-form Carlos Tevez scored the only goal of the match midway through the second half, and over the 90 minutes the Bianconeri exhibited considerable territorial dominance while keeping things tidy in their own half of the pitch.
For Milan, Jeremy Menez impressed with his ability to spark counter-attacks from deep-lying areas, but other than the Frenchman, the Rossoneri were bereft of consistent performers when in possession.
Following are some of the winners and losers from the encounter.
Winner: Carlos Tevez, Who Continued His Hot Streak
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Tevez came into Saturday’s match against AC Milan on the back of a two-goal outing at home to Malmo in the Champions League.
Mostly subdued in the first half, he came to life after the restart and ended up scoring the only goal of the Bianconeri’s 1-0 win at the San Siro.
Making a well-timed run through the Milan area, he latched onto Paul Pogba’s exquisite pass and finished with the confidence of a striker in unstoppable form.
Loser: Adil Rami, Who Was Out of Position When Tevez Scored
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Adil Rami made several important clearances in the first half, most notably to deny Paul Pogba and Carlos Tevez.
But the AC Milan defender played himself out of position when Pogba stroked the ball to Tevez in the 71st minute, and he could only watch as Ignazio Abate made a desperate attempt to block Tevez’s shot before it went in the back of the net.
Then, late in the second period, Rami launched an ill-advised shot that was easily blocked and turned downfield for a counter-attack that quite nearly produced another Juventus goal.
Winner: Jeremy Menez, Who Didn’t Stop Working
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After scoring against both Lazio and Parma, Menez didn’t find the back of the net for AC Milan against Juventus, but he nevertheless justified his place in manager Filippo Inzaghi’s starting XI.
Time and again the Frenchman turned defense into attack from midfield on Saturday; time and again he made important interceptions before sliding the ball to Keisuke Honda or Stephan El Shaarawy.
That he was his side’s best attacker doesn’t say much, given the fact that he didn’t score, but his work rate was exemplary.
Winners: The Goalkeepers, Who Made Some Spectacular Saves
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Both goalkeepers made several outstanding saves on Saturday.
AC Milan’s Christian Abbiati did exceptionally well to keep Fernando Llorente from scoring in the 31st minute, and not long after he also prevented Llorente from finding the back of the net.
Gianluigi Buffon, meanwhile, earned his third clean sheet of the Serie A campaign after denying each of Honda, Menez and El Shaarawy.
Losers: The AC Milan Fans, Who Put on a Show but Left Disappointed
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The AC Milan supporters displayed some impressive choreography before kick-off, depicting both the Scudetto shield and European Cup alongside a banner that read, “One season of anger to become great again,” as per Matteo Bonetti.
Unfortunately for the Rossoneri faithful, they departed the stadium after watching their side lose 1-0 to a Juventus outfit that generally dominated and fully deserved the three points.
Winner: Paul Pogba, Who Keeps Making Things Happen
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Paul Pogba wasn’t at his best at the San Siro, and at the final whistle he had only completed 63 percent of his passes, according to WhoScored.com.
That said, Saturday’s match was anything but a free-flowing affair, and the Frenchman’s distribution numbers were a result of his willingness to dirty himself in the trenches as much as anything else.
Crucially, Pogba put Tevez through to score in the 71st minute when, having held off his marker, he slid a superb ball into the path of the streaking Argentine, who made no mistake from in close.
