Match date: 6 October 2013

Juventus came into the match being one of three teams in Serie A that have yet to lose (the other two being Roma and Napoli, both with new managers). Conte made a few changes to his side, dropping Pogba to the bench in favour of Marchisio and opted to start Quagliarella over Llorente and Giovinco.

Massimiliano Allegri was without both Stephan El Shaarawy and Mario Balotelli, meaning Robinho and Matri, Milan’s most expensive signing of the summer, got starts.

Containing Pirlo…then not containing Pirlo

There were some many notable matchups that occurred because of Juventus’ 3-5-2 and Milan’s 4-3-1-2. The first of which was how high Riccardo Montolivo played up the pitch during the first half of the match. It was clear that Allegri wanted his forwards, Robinho and Matri to put pressure on Juventus’ back three, with Montolivo given the task of sticking close to Pirlo so that the centre backs would have to pass out rather than play simple passes to Pirlo, which caused some problems for AC Milan.

Montolivo’s marking worked extremely well in limiting Pirlo’s influence and impact on the match, as the deep-lying playmaker only received the ball 16 times in the first half with only 7 of those passes coming from the back three of Juventus. The effect on Juventus was very clear as their passing was much less fluid and expansive than it usually is and their possession was about 16 percentage points below their season average coming into the match.

AC Milan and Allegri’s plan seemed to change in the second half of the match, however, as Montolivo didn’t track Pirlo as tightly and the forwards didn’t press to the centre backs as much as they had been. As a result, the centre backs were able to pass the ball to Pirlo much more often. In the first half, Giorgio Chiellini was able to pass to Pirlo just once, in the second half, however, he was able to get the ball to him 10 ten times. As Pirlo got on the ball more, and he did so higher up the pitch in the second half compared to the first half, his influence on the match grew and Juventus were able to use their wing backs much more effectively, something they failed to do well in the first half, especially once Paul Pogba came on and played as the right wing back.

Juventus’ Other 1st Half weaknesses

Aside from struggling to get the ball to Pirlo, Juventus failed to take advantage of Milan’s lack of width in midfield. Playing against what was almost a diamond 4 in midfield for Milan, Juventus’ wing backs should have been used frequently throughout the match, however Asamoah and Padoin rarely received the ball in dangerous positions on the pitch in the first half. Again, some credit must be given to Milan for keeping Pirlo well contained, but even with Milan’s pressing, Juventus still had numbers up at the back, which allowed Chiellini and Bonucci to both carry the ball forward at different times during the match.

The partnership of Tevez and Quagliarella was not an effective one. Aside from rarely linking up when Juventus were in possession of the ball, completing just 6 passes between them throughout their time together on the pitch, they did not seem to understand one another’s movements. At times both would drop off into midfield to try to collect the ball, allowing both Mexes and Zapata to step with them, with the space left behind them rarely exploited by a Juventus player. Tevez has been in good form for Juventus since his move from Manchester City and got involved throughout the match, winning the free kick that allow Juventus to equalise through Pirlo.

Conte’s Changes

The game needed changes and Conte was the first to do so. Perhaps recognizing that AC Milan were not doing an effective job at closing down Juventus’ wing backs, who up until this point weren’t using the amount of space they were given to their advantage, Conte’s first change was to bring on Paul Pogba for Padoin.

It proved to be a brilliant change as Pogba was able to get up and down the pitch effectively and was much more willing to get involved in the attack than Padoin was. In his 40 minutes on the pitch, Pogba received the ball in much more dangerous areas than Padoin had and was able to beat Constant both physically and technically, allowing him to create three chances, as well as have a shot himself.

The second change Conte made was bringing on Giovinco, who not only scored Juventus’ second goal, but won the free kick that got Mexes sent off as well as led to Chiellini’s goal. Whereas Quagliarella looked to drop off and get wide to receive the ball, Giovinco occupied Zapata and Mexes by staying just on the top of the middle of the penalty area.

Allegri’s Failings

Allegri had his first half tactics just about right. He had his forwards adding a bit of pressure on Juventus’ centre backs and by playing Montolivo on Pirlo in the first half, he took away Juventus’ creative and expansive play, but during the second half, perhaps feeling that his side needed Montolivo’s playmaking abilities in their build up play, pushed the Italian deeper, which in turn allowed Pirlo to get on the ball significantly more as neither Robinho or Matri chose to drop onto him.

The first two changes that Allegri made were both reactionary; results of Giovinco’s and Chiellini’s goals.

Conclusion

Juventus maintain their unbeaten streak and find themselves two points behind Roma, who won 3-0 against Inter Milan to keep their 100% record so far in Serie A. Conte’s changes in the match certainly helped Juventus win the match, but finding which one of his other strikers can effectively partner Tevez should be his most important task at the moment as the right partner with Tevez should be able to win Juventus matches like this much easier than they made it.

Allegri is in a difficult situation with Balotelli suspended and El Shaarawy injured. After this loss, Milan find themselves 13 points behind Roma and 11 points away from a Champions League spot. Time might not be on Allegri’s side.