Luca Bruno/Associated Press

AC Milan and Vincenzo Montella Show the Bravery Juventus Need

Adam Digby

Massimiliano Allegri must hate the sight of San Siro. While the old stadium is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious venues in world football, it has provided the Juventus coach with some painful memories.

Many of those stem from his ill-fated tenure with AC Milan—he was fired despite winning the club a Serie A title in his debut season after that perfect start slowly became a nightmare. Through years of mismanagement, the Rossoneri were forced to dismantle the team, leaving Allegri with very little to work with.

That could never be said of Juventus, with the Turin giants undoubtedly a well-run organisation who have invested wisely in recent seasons and have clearly provided their coach with a talent-laden squad.

Yet while the Bianconeri have won seven of their first nine league games in 2016/17, their two trips to San Siro have ended in disaster. Back in mid-September, they took a lead against Inter Milan only to see Mauro Icardi inspire the home side to a 2-1 victory with a rapid-fire goal and an assist to match-winner Ivan Perisic.

That result sounded alarm bells for the Old Lady, with captain Gigi Buffon expressing the hope that it would act as something of a wake-up call when he spoke to Sky Italia (h/t ESPN FC):

A team like ours cannot and must not lose a game like this in 25 minutes.

It's fair enough that we can concede an equaliser, but not lose because you've got to close a game like this out. But I think that it's normal to have highs and lows at the start of the season and I believe in the end that this defeat will do us good.

Comfortable victories over Cagliari, Dinamo Zagreb (both 4-0) and Empoli (3-0) followed, and it seemed as if the goalkeeper’s analysis was correct. Hard-fought and narrow triumphs over Udinese (2-1) and Olympique Lyonnais (1-0) saw them start October taking results despite not performing well, but then another trip to San Siro arrived.

Gigi Buffon’s heroics in Lyon secured a vital clean sheet. Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Juventus have dominated AC Milan in recent years, winning home and away against the Rossoneri in the past two seasons while also claiming a 1-0 victory in May’s Coppa Italia final between the two storied rivals.

Yet there is something special happening in the red-and-black half of San Siro this term. The lack of funding that destroyed Allegri’s title-winning Milan side continued, until the club was forced to finally turn to its homegrown talent.

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has shone at one end, while Carlos Bacca continues to provide a devastating threat at the other, and new boss Vincenzo Montella has somehow fashioned the rest of his low-cost squad into a cohesive unit.

With very few expensive acquisitions, the former Fiorentina and AS Roma coach has crafted a wonderful team who are attentive in defence and cavalier in attack, striking almost a perfect balance between the two.

Winning five of their opening eight games saw them enter this clash in joint-second place in Serie A. Despite being just five points behind the champions, Montella was typically modest at his pre-match press conference.

“I don’t know what the cause of our improvement is, but it’s to the lads’ credit,” he told reporters. “You get there by working step by step, and the lads have shown this from day one.”

Vincenzo Montella has downplayed his impact. Claudio Villa./Getty Images

If Buffon was right to be alarmed at the loss to Inter, then perhaps what unfolded in Allegri’s latest difficult return to San Siro was an even harsher lesson. The statistics appear to show that Juventus dominated the fixture, with figures from WhoScored.com highlighting the fact they enjoyed 59 per cent possession and outshot their opponents 22-8.

The same source also shows that they completed more passes (391-232) and had more corners (9-5), but the only number that ultimately counts is the final score. “AC Milan 1-0 Juventus” read the old-fashioned LED scoreboard at the final whistle, and the only goal of the game was stunning on a number of levels.

Midway through the second half, Manuel Locatelli burst into a huge space on the Juve left and unleashed an unstoppable right-footed shot that bounced in off the underside of the bar and left Buffon helpless.

LOCATELLI ROCKET GOAL ! Milan 1-0 Juventus pic.twitter.com/s9vUiGa5SM

— ItalianFootballTV (@IFTV_Official) October 22, 2016

Juventus have a few reasons to feel aggrieved. Miralem Pjanic scored a free-kick in the first half that was seemingly ruled out after protests of offside from Milan players and Paulo Dybala was forced off by injury, and both factors weighed heavily on the result.

Yet the fact that the scorer was just 18 years old arguably highlights a number of major differences between the two teams at present.

Locatelli is playing because Italy international midfielder Riccardo Montolivo—who is also the club captain—has been ruled out with a long-term injury. Montella had a variety of unimpressive options available to him, including the likes of Andrea Poli or Keisuke Honda, who have never really delivered for Milan. Instead, he opted for Locatelli, a youth-team product who had previously made just three brief appearances as a professional.

Supporters of other clubs may feel that was a simple decision made without the pressures Allegri faces in Turin, but that is simply not true. Milan still believe they should be contenders, have rapidly changed coaches over recent years and would have no problem firing Montella if he failed to produce results.

Yet the 42-year-old made the decision anyway, also putting faith in the likes of Suso (22 years old), Alessio Romagnoli, M'Baye Niang (both 21) and Davide Calabria (19) at the expense of other more established players.

He has also pushed his team to take risks in pursuit of victory, and his bravery has been rewarded with wins like the 4-3 triumph over Sassuolo in early October. Tough matches like the 0-0 away draw at Fiorentina in September show he has learned to be calm, something Montella occasionally lacked during his time with La Viola.

Allegri could learn much from Montella. Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press/Associated Press

That stands in stark contrast with a Juventus team who have laboured in 2016/17. With the game on the line last night, Allegri sent on Mario Mandzukic and Stefano Sturaro, two players who were never likely to overturn the result.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old starlet Moise Kean spent his third-straight match as an unused substitute, and the striker is still waiting for a chance to prove he deserves the praise that has rained down upon him recently.

His potential was discussed in this previous post, but he cannot showcase his ability if he is not allowed to step on the field. Instead, the Bianconeri watched as so many of their players continued to struggle, with the likes of Sami Khedira and Leonardo Bonucci looking far from their best in this encounter.

Of course, the season is long, and Juve’s aspirations both in Serie A and the UEFA Champions League do not hinge on whether Kean makes his debut. But at San Siro on Sunday night, Montella and Milan showed what can be accomplished with a little faith and a willingness to gamble.

It is a lesson the Bianconeri would do well to learn and learn quickly. Matches against Sampdoria, Napoli and Lyon await. It’s time to be bold.

   

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