As Clarence Seedorf stood pensively, his face expressionless as Carlos Tevez wheeled away after the Argentine doubled Juventus’s advantage in a game they really shouldn’t have won.
Despite the lack of evident emotion shown by the rookie coach, his mind must have been ablaze with questions. ‘How were AC Milan losing?’ would be the the chief one, and even the most ardent Juventus fan at the San Siro would have to begrudgingly agree that despite the result, it was the home side who were the dominant force despite the now 34 point difference between the two sides.
Like against Atletico Madrid, Milan were sharp in possession and created numerous clear-cut opportunities, most notably in the first half. In fact, if it wasn’t for the acrobatic tendencies of Gianluigi Buffon Milan could have ended the first half with an advantage, even including Llorente’s 44th minute goal.
Another excellent performance from Andrea Poli was once nearly rewarded with a goal while Adel Taarabt was a waspish offensive presence. The usually composed Juventus backline was stretched by the four Milan offensive players while captain Riccardo Montolivo arguably had his best game of the season.
“I’d say it was a very good performance. We knew that we were facing a great side but we imposed our tempo on the game and eliminated their strengths as much as possible,” Seedorf told Sky Sport Italia following the game.
The Dutchman’s observation was correct; aside from the two goals Juventus were largely kept under wraps, shown by the 22-10 shot advantage Milan held at the end of the match. Of those 10, only five shots from the Bianconeri tested Christian Abbiati in the Rossoneri goal and two of those were goals, including Tevez’s improbable wondergoal.
It’s little consolation when the result is considered, but the long-term ramifications of these performances are undoubtedly positive. For the first time all season, Milan have strung together three good performances with attractive football and incisive offensive movement. Frankly, they’re rather unlucky that two out of three of the games have came against two of Europe’s most in-form and impressive sides.
After a slow start aesthetically, Milan are beginning to build an identity that is markedly different from the one associated with Massimiliano Allegri’s tenure as Rossoneri coach. His successor’s optimism was telling.
“We said before the game, this was another opportunity to prove to ourselves we are on the right track. We had many chances but we were unable to turn them into goals and, as we saw, that can prove costly,” the 37-year-old said.
“We have seen our spirit grow in the last few games. Tonight [Sunday] we kept up with Juventus in terms of tempo and determination. Of course you need to take your chances to control games but the team is getting there.”
Although the league table is not a pretty sight and the result was hardly a reason to be cheerful either, given that Milan’s season in terms of quantifiable markers of success like trophies or final league position is already over, the sight of a good performance is as close as it gets in 2013/14.
