Juventus vs Milan 0-0: Spoils Shared at the Allianz Stadium

Juventus and Milan failed to hurt each other and shared the spoils at the Allianz Stadium in what was perhaps the last “big match” of the Serie A season. With both sides coming from a disappointing league campaign but having pretty much secured Champions League football next season, pride and the second place in the table were the only things at stake today. 

The goalless stalemate resulted in Milan maintaining their five-point lead over the Old Lady unchanged. Stefano Pioli might come home happy in what was likely one of his last outings as the Rossoneri‘s head coach. However, Max Allegri’s band did a little more than the red-and-blacks and would have perhaps deserved the three points more than the visitors.  

The Lineups: New Chances for Yildiz and Weah

Among the Juve lines, Max Allegri gave a chance from the start to Kenan Yildiz who played alongside Dusan Vlahovic upfront. Federico Chiesa dropped to the bench. Tim Weah was confirmed at right wingback despite a disappointing performance in Cagliari one week ago. 

Stefanio Pioli faced once again a situation of emergency at the back and had to place Yunus Musah at right back. As if that wasn’t enough, Mike Maignan picked up an injury during warm-up so Marco Sportiello was in goal. Olivier Giroud retook his spot in the middle of the front line as Rafael Leao moved back to his natural position on the left wing after the experiment of deploying him at center forward in the recent derby miserably failed. 

First Half Stalemate as Vlahovic Challenges Sportiello

The first 45 minutes passed without any clear goalscoring chance, save for an early shot from Vlahovic that was easily blocked by Sportiello. The Bianconeri were the more proactive side as Milan struggled to find counter measures when Juve attacked from the two sides. Yildiz and Vlahovic found no space as they were man-marked by Malick Thiaw and Matteo Gabbia respectively. 

On the other hand, Weah did a great job in limiting Rafael Leao on the left, well supported by Andrea Cambiaso and Federico Gatti when needed. With Giroud too isolated upfront, the visitors recorded no shots on target for the whole first period. 

During the first half added time, the Allianz Stadium was finally waken up as Vlahovic called Sportiello to action with a tricky free-kick shot. The former Atalanta goalie sprung to the left to keep the score unchanged at half time.