Juventus 0-0 AC Milan: Five things we learned – defensive surprises and toothless attack

Thiaw showcased ver good positioning and had just the right amount of aggression to intercept the ball on multiple occasions. It’s definitely a performance to build on and finish the season strong, also in view of the upcoming campaign in which he could be decisive without injuries.

2. Sportiello stepped up when needed

Marco Sportiello had to step in and replace Maignan as the Frenchman wasn’t fit enough to participate in the game, sustaining an injury during the warm-up. The experienced goalkeeper did a good job and helped his side keep an important clean sheet.

Admittedly, he didn’t have loads to do thanks to the performances of his centre-backs. However, when called into action, Sportiello really stepped up as he first denied Vlahovic’s free-kick and then a great double chance for Juventus.

Milan fans can’t ask for much more than that. In fact, he probably performed even better than what you can demand from a deputy goalkeeper.

3. Midfield disaster

There’s no point in separating the midfielders, i.e. Yacine Adli and Tijjani Reijnders, as both of them were dreadful on the night. They both struggled with their passing in the attacking phase and lacked the urgency to truly impose themselves.

No big mistakes were made at the back, except perhaps one or two poor passes, but it was their failure to dictate the tempo and create chances that was noticeable. Juventus were thus able to take control of that part of the pitch rather easily.

Adli has been very up and down lately, so perhaps his outing was less surprising, but Reijnders is usually the most lively midfielder for Milan. He’s simply been too quiet as of late, though, and it’s starting to affect the Rossoneri.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek also struggled with his decision-making in the final third, after usually doing the right things in the build-up. We all know that he can have a big impact on games but he just isn’t having that at the moment.

4. Toothless in the final third

It wasn’t just the midfield that had a night to forget. Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao were also very ineffective and poor throughout the game. Taking a look at the stats, it was toothless to say the least with zero shots on target.

Pulisic made himself available a lot and managed to get on the ball on several occasions, but the end product simply wasn’t there, nor was the flair. Leao was arguably worse as he didn’t even try to get on the ball as much, excluding one or two good runs.

Finally, Giroud failed to position himself properly for crosses and passes, losing all the duels against the Juventus defence. The Frenchman tried to drop deeper and combine with his teammates, which didn’t really work, and it was a very tough game for him.

5. Pioli’s tactics disappoint again

The fact that Milan had just zero shots on target shows what kind of mentality they had when entering the game. Sure, it was understandable to keep the distance down to Juventus, but Pioli completely failed to make the most of his attacking quality and a club like the Rossoneri cannot travel to Turin for a point.

Not the attacking struggles are new, though, as the Italian has struggled tactically throughout the season as well as the last campaign. It’s just so boring to watch at this point, with a rinse-and-repeat approach and no speed or movement whatsoever to the attacking plays.