Talking points from Milan’s stunning 4-2 win over Juventus
By Sachin Bhat
The Rossoneris put four past the Old Lady for the first time since 1989!
AC Milan produced a stunning comeback to beat Juventus 4-2 at the San Siro and continue its remarkable resurgence. Adrien Rabiot and Cristiano Ronaldo struck in quick succession early in the second stanza to put the visitors comfortably up by 2-0, but what followed next barely believable.
The Rossoneris, unperturbed, mounted a fightback for the ages as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Frank Kessie, Rafael Leao, and Ante Rebic all struck apiece just 18 minutes apart to turn the screw.
Juventus was responsible for its own downfall with some utterly shambolic defending, and must go back to the drawing board to address some glaring loopholes.
For the first time since the 2017 UCL final against Real Madrid, Juventus have conceded 4 goals in a single game..
— Arjun Pradeep (@IndianRegista) July 7, 2020
For the first time since 2013, Juventus have conceded 4 goals in Serie-A.
For the first time since 1989, Juventus have conceded 4 goals to Milan.
The talking points from an epic game of football:
Juventus in shambles without De Ligt
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The Bianconeris were missing out on two key players last night – Paulo Dybala and Matthijs De Ligt, both of whom were suspended for accumulation of yellow cards. But while the Argentine wasn’t exactly missed by the vanguard, the latter was certainly conspicuous by his absence at the back.
Without the Dutchman anchoring the defense, the holders were an incoherent mess. They were all over the place and left way too many gaps for Milan to run into. Kessi and Leao made a delicious meal out of it with a goal each.
On either side of those strikes were two individual gaffes. Leonardo Bonucci handled the ball inside the box leading to the penalty which started the onslaught, but Alex Sandro‘s horrific crossfield pass that culminated in Milan’s fourth, truly summed up Juve’s night.
Rabiot scores ‘goal of the season’ contender
Adrien Rabiot doesn’t normally score, but as he did last night, made sure he kept the recent Juve tradition of scoring golazos with an astronomic solo effort, probably one of the best goals of the entire season.
On winning the ball at the edge of the midfield, the ex-PSG star burst forward like a drop of fat fizzing on a hot plate, scampering up by about 35 yards, and then lashing a blistering shot into the far post from just outside the box.
There was no way in hell Gianluigi Donnarumma was stopping it. That was also Rabiot’s first goal for the Bianconeris since arriving last year, so its quite some way to open the account!
Contrasting fortunes for in-form strikers
With another strike last night, Cristiano Ronaldo kept his perfect record of scoring in every game since the restart, very much intact. A mix up in the defence between Alessio Romagnoli and Simon Kjaer allowed the Portuguese to latch on to Juan Cuadrado‘s lofted pass and easily finish beyond Donnarumma, taking his tally for the season to 26 in Serie A.
While it may not have inspired Juventus tonight, his opposite number on the other end of the pitch certainly had the last laugh. Ante Rebic, who’s been in a rich vein of form too since the season reconvened, applied the finishing touches to the memorable clash with a late strike to hit double figures in the league. An act of sweet revenge for the Croat who was sent off in the earlier clash between the sides in Coppa Italia last month.
This Milan team is special
The AC Milan of post-lockdown has been a different beast. Not only are they unbeaten in all five games since the restart, but have also picked up big scalps in the recent weeks – 2-0 versus AS Roma, 3-0 away to Lazio, and now an emphatic 4-2 comeback to champions-elect Juventus.
This truly is something special. When was the last time you remember the Rossoneris on such a dominant run? Exactly. This team is actually making an ominous statement with a fairytale revival and while it may not be enough to secure Champions League position now, but its leading to a strong finish to the season whilst also laying the foundations for the next. Onwards and upwards!
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Juventus are up next against Atalanta at home in another tough game, whereas Milan takes on Napoli at the San Paolo which should be a cracker too.