On Sunday, Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw with AC Milan in a frustrating Serie game for Max Allegri’s side.
The hosts took the lead early in the game through Álvaro Morata, but Ante Rebic scored late in the second half to extend Juventus’s winless start to four games.
The hosts, who had endured a difficult start to the season after two defeats and a draw in their opening three games, were looking to build on their 3-0 win over Malmo in the UEFA Champions League during the week. But what followed was an uninspiring performance that has left them rooted in the relegation zone after four games. At the same time, Milan climbed to second place behind Inter Milan after AS Roma had lost earlier in the day.
Max Allegri’s side began the game brightly and were ahead in four minutes into the game thanks to a lovely run and finish by Alvaro Morata.
But after starting well, they tailed off in the first half and could not trouble their visitors, who had to wait until the 76th minute to find the leveller.
Ante Rebic heeded down the ball to the far end from a Sandro Tonali corner-kick.
Milan pushed for a winner and could have taken the lead in the 87th minute, but Wojciech Szczesny was on hand to deny Kalulu with a fine save.
The result means that Allegri is still looking for his first win in Serie A since his second return to the club while Milan continues their unbeaten start to the league.
Another missed opportunity for Juventus, who continue to struggle
Max Allegri’s return to Juventus was supposed to bring the Old Lady back to their place at the pinnacle of Italian football. But since the Italian’s return, Juventus have continued to struggle.
Against Milan on Sunday, they played well in the first 20 minutes and looked like the Juve side of old.
However, after the visitors found a way into the game, Allegri’s side became passive and looked afraid of playing football. They instead resorted to soaking up pressure and waiting to hit their visitors on the counter–a tactic that did not work out.
Their inability to see out games is costing them and was why they left the Allianz Arena with just one point instead of three. The Old Lady are looking like a shadow of themselves and must quickly sort out the mental side of their game if they are to have a successful season in this campaign.
Their draw against Milan means that they have now dropped more points from a winning position than any other side (except Burnley) in Europe’s top five leagues this season.
Morata thriving under Allegri
The only bright spot in Allegri’s return to Milan so far is perhaps the form of Morata. The Spanish striker has had his share of criticism in Juventus but seems to be the only player enjoying a good season so far.
The striker is fresh from inspiring Juventus in their win over Malmo in the UCL and followed it up with a well-taken goal from a counterattack on Sunday. The goal was his fifth goal involvement for the hosts in their last four games.
With Cristiano Ronaldo now gone and his replacement Moise Kean still trying to find his feet, Allegri will hope that Morata will continue his hot form for Juventus.
Ante Rebic continues to shine against Juventus
Ante Rebic loves scoring against Juventus, it appears. The Croat followed up his goal against Liverpool in midweek with a fine header on Sunday.
The goal was his third goal against Juventus in as many games and made him the first player since 1994/95 to score against the Old Lady three times in a row.
His goals are proving crucial for Milan, who are looking to snatch the title from their San Siro cousins Inter Milan this season.
Milan thriving without key players
AC Milan had to deal with a lot of injuries at the moment. In this game, they had to start without Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Olivier Giroud, while Davide Calabria was also unavailable. But they still managed to put up a good performance.
Stefano Pioli has made the most use of the tools he has. Although he will be hoping that the injury luck shines on him this season, his side’s performance against Liverpool and Juventus have shown that nothing will deter them.
Pioli’s men thrive with high energy and superb attitude as they never looked like going down as they were trailing during a major part of the game.
