AC Milan 4-2 Juventus
AC Milan have done it. They’ve finally ended their Juventus jinx, and they did it in epic fashion as they came back from two goals down to claim their first win over the Serie A champions in four years.
Juventus looked on course for another easy victory after early second-half goals from Adrien Rabiot and Cristiano Ronaldo gave them a comfortable lead.
But Milan miraculously overcame the Serie A 2020 odds with four unanswered goals in the last half-hour — three of which came in the space of just six minutes — to stun the champions.
Luckily, though, Juventus’ seven-point lead at the top of the table is still intact after second-placed Lazio, who lost 3-0 to Milan, suffered another shock defeat to Lecce as their title hopes look all but over.
Highlights of the game
Juventus were on the front foot early on as they created the first notable goalscoring chances in the game. First, Federico Bernardeschi swung in a dangerous free-kick, which Juve skipper Leonardo Bonucci just missed getting his head onto.
A few minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo did his trademark move cutting inside from the left-hand side, but Milan full-back Andrea Conti got a touch on Ronaldo’s shot to send it just wide of goal.
Milan’s first real chance came after 25 minutes, and it fell to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The former Juve star’s first-time shot forced a good save from keeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Juventus once again started the brighter of the two sides in the second half, and they took the lead just two minutes after the break.
Adrien Rabiot went on an outstanding solo run from well inside his own half to the edge of the box, where he unleashed an unstoppable shot into the top corner.
The French midfielder, who signed for Juventus from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer last summer, has finally been getting consistent playing time since the restart. His first goal for the club will now go down as one of the top Serie A 2020 highlights.
Juventus would double their lead just six minutes later as Cristiano Ronaldo capitalised on some poor Milan defending. Two Milan defenders made a complete mess out of dealing with a ball over the top, and Ronaldo made them pay as he slotted past Gigi Donnarumma.
Milan looked dead and buried at that point, but they were handed a lifeline at the hour mark as they were awarded a penalty. VAR penalised Bonucci for hand-ball after Ante Rebic’s header struck his arm.
Ibrahimovic stepped up to the spot and sent Szczesny the wrong way as he scored against his former club. It was game on once again.
And it took Milan just four minutes to find their equaliser. After some fine build-up play, Ibrahimovic laid the ball off to Franck Kessie, who slithered his way past some unconvincing Juve defending and blasted his shot past Szczesny.
The tide had clearly shifted to the home side’s favour, and they took the lead with another strike immediately after the restart. Substitute Rafael Leao’s hopeful shot took a wicked deflection from a Juventus defender, which helped beat Szczesny on his near post.
And to put the finishing touches on a remarkable win, Milan made it four on 80 minutes through Ante Rebic. A disastrous ball from Juve defender Sandro gave Milan the ball inside the box, and Giacomo Bonaventura set up Rebic, whose first-time strike gave Szczesny no chance.
Key statistics
The statistics in this match were surprisingly even. Juventus just edged out the possession battle (51 per cent to 49) and had 14 shots to Milan’s 13. But the home side were on target with nine of their shots compared to Juve’s four.
Ronaldo led the way with four shots as he continued his run of scoring in all five league matches since the restart. He now has 25 goals on the season, four behind Ciro Immobile for the league lead.
Meanwhile, Milan remain unbeaten in their five matches since the restart (four wins, one draw) and have scored at least two goals in all five games (15 in total).
Rebic also kept up his red-hot form for the Rossoneri. The Croatian has scored four goals in five games since the restart and now has 10 goals in his last 13 league games.
His goal should go some way toward making up for his disastrous red card against Juve in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final.
What’s next?
Juventus will have another tough test coming up as they host the hottest team in Italy, Atalanta. The Banshees have been in blistering form, winning all five of their matches since the restart. The SBOBET odds for that clash will surely be much tighter than a usual Juventus match.
As for Milan, they will look to make it a hat-trick of huge wins in a row as they take on Napoli at San Paolo next.
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