Football

AC Milan 0-1 Juventus player ratings: Locatelli haunts his former employers

October 22, 2023 9:44 pm

Juventus have secured a huge victory against a strong AC Milan side at the San Siro in a result has blown open the early Serie A title race. The victory for the Old Lady means they are now just a point behind AC Milan in the table and two behind Inter Milan, who now top the table following their 3-0 win away at Torino on Saturday.

It was the home team who made all the early running in the match and should have taken the lead on the 15-minute mark when Olivier Giroud saw his close-range effort saved superbly by Wojciech Szczesny. Milan controlled the rest of the half but the game was flipped on its head just minutes before half time when defender, Malik Thiaw, saw red for pulling down Moise Kean when the Juventus striker was one on one with the keeper.

Despite having a man advantage, Juventus hardly took the game by the scruff of the neck after the break. However, after 63 minutes they took the lead thanks to a speculative effort from ex-AC Milan player, Manuel Locatelli. The 25-year-old’s long-range effort took a heavy deflection off Krunic to send the away end into raptures.

Allegri’s men controlled the rest of the game and secured a massive three points. AC Milan boss, Stefano Pioli, will be left thinking about what could have been had Thiaw not been so rash.

AC Milan 0-1 Juventus player ratings

Match timeline

15′ – Olivier Giroud misses a great chance to put AC Milan ahead but Szczęsny denies him with a fine save.

34′ – Adrien Rabiot hits a speculative effort from a distance which grazes the post.

40′ – Malick Thiaw is sent off after dragging Moise Kean down with the Juventus forward through on goal.

63′ – GOAL: Manuel Locatelli gives Juventus the lead with a long-range effort that takes a wicked deflection on the way through.

74′ – Leao rises up from a corner but he sends his close-range header over the bar.

86′ – Vlahovic has a great chance to make it 2-0 but his effort is pushed over the bar by Mirante.

90+2′ – Mirante makes another sensational save to deny Vlahovic to keep AC Milan in the game.

AC Milan 0-1 Juventus player ratings
Photo by Icon sport

Star man – Manuel Locatelli – 8/10

Every time Locatelli lines up against AC Milan, he plays like a man with a point to prove. He may have grown up at the San Siro but after he was sold in 2019, he has seemingly made it his mission to make Milan regret their decision.

On Sunday, he battled away in midfield off the ball while on it he oozed class with his precision and composure. It seemed destiny that he would be the match-winner on the night, and although his effort took a deflection en route to goal, he was still the man who secured Juventus a vital three points.

AC Milan player ratings

Antonio Mirante 8/10 – The experienced goalkeeper made a few stunning saves to deny Vlahovic.

Davide Calabria 6/10 – Did well defensively but could have offered more in attack.

Malick Thiaw 4/10 – Made a stupid decision to bring down Kean which sparked his team’s downfall.

Fikayo Tomari 7/10 – Dominant at the back and comfortable on the ball

Alessandro Florenzi 6/10 – Had a good first half but struggled after the break.

Yacine Adli 6/10 – Had a quiet game and lacked a bit of composure in key areas.

Yunus Musah 7/10 – Coped well in midfield even after his team went down to ten men.

Tijjani Reijnders 5/10 – Too slow to release the ball on frequent occasions.

Christian Pulisic 5/10 – Unsurprisingly was the man to come off when Milan lost Thiaw.

Olivier Giroud 5/10 – Should have scored early on which would have transformed the game.

Rafael Leao 7/10 – A constant threat even after the sending off.

Substitutes

Pierre Kalulu 6/10 – Worked hard but his hands were tied.

Rade Krunic 5/10 – Could have closed Locatelli down quicker.

Luka Jovic 5/10 – Wasn’t in the game.

Simon Kjaer N/A

Luka Romero N/A

AC Milan sending off
Photo by Icon sport

Juventus player ratings

Wojciech Szczesny 8/10 – Made a great save to deny Giroud early on and would have stopped Locatelli’s effort had it not been for the deflection.

Federico Gatti 6/10 – Was pulled over the place by Leao but still came up with some big challenges.

Bremer 7/10 – Did very well against Giroud.

Daniele Rugani 7/10 – Strong in the tackle and composed on the ball.

Timothy Weah 6/10 – Showed great attacking intent but just lacked quality.

Weston McKennie 5/10 – Poor in possession and sluggish out of it.

Manuel Locatelli 8/10 – More than made up for McKennie’s sloppiness and was the match-winner.

Adrien Rabiot 7/10 – Gave Juventus some much-needed composure and class in the middle.

Filip Kostic 7/10  – Came to life in the second half and was unlucky not to get an assist.

Arkadiusz Milik 5/10 – A fairly anonymous display.

Moise Kean 7/10 – Stretched the Milan defence and earned his team the man advantage.

Substitutes

Andrea Cambiaso 6/10 – Slotted in comfortably.

Dusan Vlahovic 5/10 – Should have ended the game with a couple of goals.

Federico Chiesa N/A

Dean Huijsen N/A

Fabio Miretti N/A

AC Milan 0-1 Juventus player ratings: The final word

While Juventus weren’t exactly scintillating on the night, they did enough to overcome ten-man AC Milan and the win more than puts them back in the hunt for the Serie A title. AC Milan will see this as a wasted opportunity to put distance between themselves and Juventus but are still in a strong position in the league table.

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