AC Milan and Juventus renew their rivalry at the Allianz Stadium tonight, and the hope is that it will produce a better spectacle than other recent meetings.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, the table doesn’t matter so early in the season, but the feeling is that Juventus and Milan cannot afford to lose. They are fallen giants battling a slump: the Bianconeri’s last Scudetto dates back to 2020, while the Rossoneri’s is more recent (2022).
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Both squads have been reshaped in the transfer market. Milan have a new coach, and there is a renewed sense of excitement for this fixture compared to recent years, when fear often took hold, resulting in five consecutive draws, four of them goalless.
The narrative should change now: these are two attack-minded teams that play without holding back. Juve perhaps have more to lose given they are playing at home. Spalletti favours a fluid 4-2-3-1, though a string of injuries limits his ability to rotate the line-up.
Amorim has never deviated from the 3-4-2-1 formation that shifts to a back four in defence, a system attacking in both mindset and personnel, with Chukwueze, as a wing-back. There is uncertainty regarding the other flank, with a choice to be made between Davide Bartesaghi and Diego Moreira.
The central midfield quartet remains to be deciphered: Rabiot could play as an attacking midfielder alongside Alexis Saelemaekers, while Yunus Musah is expected to partner Luka Modrić in the holding midfield roles. The feeling is that winning the midfield battle will be the key to taking control of the match.
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Photos: James Worsfold + Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images
Service for the strikers
Kolo Muani is still scoreless, Gonçalo Ramos has netted once. They are the ones who have to solve the goal problem, which was particularly serious last year, and there is no better match than Juve-Milan – historical rivals – to give a psychological turning point to the season.
If they light up, everything changes. Kolo Muani ended up on the cross for missing chances against Frosinone, but his contribution to the attacking manoeuvres, always aimed at goal, was superior to Dusan Vlahovic and Jonathan David.
Ramos occupies the area with more physique, he’s strong in the air, he communicates with the team: having Modric and Rabiot behind him is a guarantee, the Croatian sees things that others don’t even imagine. The Frenchman can enjoy the spaces opened up by Ramos’ movement for his incursions as an attacking midfielder.
The person in Juve who offers the best solutions in attack is Conceiçao, by far the most inspired in the creative phase but with the old problem of almost never finding the way to a goal or even an assist.
The big Juventus news is Nico Gonzalez who in just a few minutes against Parma ruined Juve’s conformism by splitting the game. Spalletti now can’t do without him. We will also see Lucumi’s real debut.
The coaches
They say Spalletti is a bit nervous, but it’s not easy to rebuild if the defeats increase, the market has liquidity problems and there are rumours that a bad start could cost you your job.
His teams have a precise identity. Last year we saw a Juve that was also beautiful and always on the attack, never speculative, but not very concrete. Now there are many more solutions ahead: no one has so many ‘one-on-one’ players.
Spalletti is trying to get Douglas Luiz and Koopmeiners back to their best, he had the intuition of using Gonzalez in the centre, he has to understand if Kolo Muani and Woltemade can exist together.
Today Amorim’s situation is more comfortable: towards him there is tolerance regarding the fact he has just arrived, while the Portuguese’s declared love for the Rossoneri has enthused the fans. They also appreciate the more attacking attitude than with Allegri.
Milan have a less elastic tactical system than Juve, but variable interpreters. Any judgment for both is suspended, waiting for the going to get tough.
Photos by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images and Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
Parallels
There are quite a few similarities between Juve and Milan. Last season they both dreamed of the Champions League, after all they are among the historic protagonists of the tournament, but instead they ended up in fifth and sixth place in the standings.
The competition has become tougher: now Como are also there. For the Bianconeri and Rossoneri there is the Europa League, which they enter as great favourites due to history. By overcoming the group they could meet in the direct elimination, hopefully as late as possible.
A European success would be important from a psychological point of view rather than an economic one, because simply participating in the Champions League is worth more. And in any case, winning the trophy qualifies you for the Champions League.
This is a key season for the future. Juve have signed a new settlement with UEFA and invested millions that can only be recovered by returning to the Champions League.
Milan turned the page: goodbye Allegri, here is Amorim, while Cardinale has taken full power without sparing any expense. Nobody has any illusions about the title, but finishing fourth would be another failure with fairly predictable technical consequences.
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