AC Milan vs. Juventus: Final score 0-1, Carlos Tevez seals the points for Juve
A second half Carlos Tevez goal earned Juventus a valuable 1-0 victory over AC Milan on Saturday.
Tevez's goal ensured Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri's return to his old stamping ground was a happy one, as the bianconeri held on to maintain their perfect record this season. Milan, meanwhile, suffered their first competitive defeat under Filippo Inzaghi.
The game's opening exchanges were shaded by Juventus, but they ended up with nothing to show for their early possession. Their best chance fell to Roberto Pereyra on the edge of the penalty area, though the lively Argentine curled the ball just over Christian Abbiati's crossbar.
As the half wore on, the hosts looked more comfortable on the ball, and they began to exert pressure on the Juve defence for the first time. They even forced a great save from goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who dived to keep out a powerful header from Keisuke Honda in the 27th minute.
However, the rossoneri's promise was fleeting, and Juve were again in the ascendency in the run up to halftime. They went closest to breaking the deadlock through Claudio Marchisio, whose drilled shot rocketed back off Abbiati's post in the 38th minute, after Fernando Llorente and Leonardo Bonucci both squandered good chances in the Milan box.
The visitors were still on top into the second half, albeit still dogged by a failure to take their goalscoring opportunities. They could have been ahead within 15 minutes of the restart, though Marchisio dragged Tevez’s low corner wide of the far post. Milan continued to sit deep, though their quick counter-attacks invariably broke down before coming to anything.
The clock ticked on and the game looked increasingly like it would end goalless, until Juve finally broke the deadlock in the final 20 minutes. A splendid exchange between Tevez and Paul Pogba in the box culminated in the Argentine rolling the ball beyond Abbiati, whose palm wasn't sufficient to prevent the bianconeri taking a deserved lead.
The goal forced AC Milan back onto the front foot, and coach Inzaghi threw strikers Fernando Torres and Giampaolo Pazzini on in the hope of nicking an equalising goal. However, Juve's defence proved strong enough to withstand the late barrage, and guarantee the 1-0 victory.
AC Milan: Abbiati; De Sciglio, Zapata, Rami, Abate; Muntari, De Jong, Poli (Torres 76’); El Shaarawy (Bonaventura 67’), Menez, Honda (Pazzini 83’).
Goals: None.
Juventus: Buffon; Chiellini, Bonucci, Cáceres (Ogbonna 35’); Asamoah, Pogba, Marchisio, Pereyra (Vidal 76’), Lichtsteiner (Rômulo 83’); Tevez, Llorente.
Goals: Tevez (71’).
