{"id":179,"date":"2013-10-08T17:33:23","date_gmt":"2013-10-08T17:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/motz.football\/analysis\/2013\/10\/08\/match-analysis-juventus-v-ac-milan\/"},"modified":"2017-12-09T05:16:39","modified_gmt":"2017-12-09T05:16:39","slug":"match-analysis-juventus-v-ac-milan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motz.football\/analysis\/2013\/10\/08\/match-analysis-juventus-v-ac-milan\/","title":{"rendered":"Juventus v AC Milan (3-2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Match date: 6 October 2013<\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Massimiliano Allegri was without both Stephan El Shaarawy and Mario Balotelli, meaning Robinho and Matri, Milan\u2019s most expensive signing of the summer, got starts.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Containing Pirlo\u2026then not containing Pirlo<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were some many notable matchups that occurred because of Juventus\u2019 3-5-2 and Milan\u2019s 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\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Montolivo\u2019s marking worked extremely well in limiting Pirlo\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

AC Milan and Allegri\u2019s plan seemed to change in the second half of the match, however, as Montolivo didn\u2019t track Pirlo as tightly and the forwards didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Juventus\u2019 Other 1st Half weaknesses<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aside from struggling to get the ball to Pirlo, Juventus failed to take advantage of Milan\u2019s lack of width in midfield. Playing against what was almost a diamond 4 in midfield for Milan, Juventus\u2019 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Conte\u2019s Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019 wing backs, who up until this point weren\u2019t using the amount of space they were given to their advantage, Conte\u2019s first change was to bring on Paul Pogba for Padoin.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The second change Conte made was bringing on Giovinco, who not only scored Juventus\u2019 second goal, but won the free kick that got Mexes sent off as well as led to Chiellini\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Allegri\u2019s Failings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Allegri had his first half tactics just about right. He had his forwards adding a bit of pressure on Juventus\u2019 centre backs and by playing Montolivo on Pirlo in the first half, he took away Juventus\u2019 creative and expansive play, but during the second half, perhaps feeling that his side needed Montolivo\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The first two changes that Allegri made were both reactionary; results of Giovinco\u2019s and Chiellini\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s side.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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