Yahoo Sports CorSera: Solidity and star power – how Milan can beat Motta’s Juventus
AC Milan versus Juventus is a game that always evokes strong emotions given they are the two biggest clubs in Italian football, and they meet again on Saturday.
Corriere della Sera (via PianetaMilan) get straight to the point this morning: the only way for Paulo Fonseca’s side to get back into the Scudetto race is to beat Juve at home on Saturday evening, and no other result will do.
Milan are seventh in the table and eight points behind Antonio Conte’s Napoli who are leading the league, which shows the issues with inconsistency. They are also seven points from fourth, but – after wins over Inter and Real Madrid – this team has shown encouraging signs and it is compact at the top.
How can Milan beat Juventus? Firstly, they must be solid in defence. The Rossoneri have already conceded 20 goals in 15 games across the Serie A and Champions League. At the Unipol Domus against Cagliari they let in three games after a number of individual and systemic errors.
Cagliari had scored nine goals in 11 games prior to that night, which tells its own story. Either Fonseca solves this problem soon, or the second star mission will remain a mere utopia. Matteo Gabbia’s return should help in this respect.
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Then, as obvious as it might sound, Milan need their forwards to fire. More specifically, Juve have let in seven goals in 12 league games so far and four of those came in one game against Inter so they have been very hard to break down.
Motta’s side have a deep and compact defence, looking to do damage on the counter. Balance will be key and picking the right moments to commit bodies, but the Bianconeri’s organisation means that some individual brilliance might be needed too.
Rafael Leão is back in form, returning to scoring both with his club and with the national team, while Christian Pulisic never disappoints and has become a big-game man. Samuel Chukwueze got a goal with Nigeria, Alvaro Morata is back, but the man everyone wants to see more from is Theo Hernandez.
