While it wasn’t always pretty, Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah helped AC Milan get the job done against the inconsistent reigning Serie A title-holders, while Weston McKennie and Tim Weah were handed a shock defeat against a normally weak Udinese.
Juventus 0 – 1 Udinese
Both Weston McKennie and Tim Weah stated for Juventus in their Monday-night showdown against Udinese, however a shocking home loss to the relegation-threatened team effectively saw their last, dim hopes of mounting a title challenge slip away.
Similar to the rest of their Juve teammates, the Americans hardly stood out or had any real impact on the outcome of the game, with McKennie playing the full 90 minutes, and Weah leaving the field after just over an hour.
On paper, Juventus dominated nearly every category, putting six shots on target and holding 70% of possession, however their visitors managed to score on their one real chance midway through the first half, and hang on for dear life until the final whistle.
Weah had an opening in the 23rd minute, receiving the ball just inside the Udinese half after a corner, storming forward towards goal and attempting what would be a spectacular 30-yarder. However his shot was well off the mark, and came closer to hitting the flood lights than the goal.
Two minute later, Udinese found what would eventually be the winner. A long free kick from Lazar Samardzid was headed towards goal by Thomas Kristensen. Juve defender Alex Sandro partially blocked it before it troubled the keeper, but popped it up directly into the path of Lautaro Gianetti for an easy finish.
McKennie had one late chance at the tail end of regulation, getting his head on a corner from Federico Gatti, but it was weakly hit downwards towards the turf, and harmlessly rolled off to the right of the upright.
The result leaves the Old Lady seven points adrift of Serie A leaders Inter, who also have a game-in-hand and are currently in unstoppable form. They will be back in action on Saturday, when they try to stop their three-game winless run with a trip to 18th-place Hellas Verona.
AC Milan 1 – 0 Napoli
Christian Pulisic earned his usual start while Yunus Musah played most of the second half, as the Rossoneri pulled off a narrow victory over Napoli on Sunday night.
Pulisic played just over 80 minutes, putting in a rather subdued performance by his own standards, with only one shot, no chances created, only 35 touches, no successful dribbles in two attempts, and no accurate crosses in his three tries.
Giovanni Simeone had perhaps the best chance for the reigning Serie A champs Napoli after 10 minutes, with a blast from the edge of the six-yard box that would have beaten Mike Maignan had it been on target, but it barely grazed the wrong side of the woodwork.
Milan scored the only goal of the game in the 25th minute in standard form with the one-two punch of Rafael Leao and Theo Hernández. The Portuguese winger received the ball at the left edge of the field, took a couple touches to settle and lobbed a perfectly-weighted pass into the path of a run by Hernández.
The French international then broke behind the defenders into the area, and targeted his low shot around the lunge of Napoli keeper Pierluigi Gollini and into the near corner.
Musah entered the game in the 65th minute, and was also limited in influence, having only eight touches, although completing all five of his passing attempts and setting up one chance.
He did likely have some nervous moments shortly after the end of regulation, when a long VAR check was needed to see whether a ball that struck his upper shoulder in the penalty area would result in a spot kick. In the end, the replay confirmed the referee’s non-call, and the Rossoneri held on for the three points.
The victory brings Milan to within one point of second-place Juventus, in what looks to be a battle for second-best in the league. They host French team Rennes in Europa League action on Thursday, then visit Monza three days later.
Notes
Gianluca Busio had his usual strong outing in Venezia’s midfield on Saturday, playing 88 minutes, taking one shot, setting up two chances and being a generally controlling presence in his team’s comprehensive 3-0 road win over Südtirol. Tanner Tessmann was out for the game on yellow card suspension. The result still leaves the Winged Lions in fourth, in the midst of the promotion playoff spots. They next host Modena on Sunday.
Andrija Novakovich scored his sixth goal of the season for Lecco, however it was little more than a consolation near the end of their 3-1 road loss at Bari. The American was still his team’s best performer, taking two shots and setting up two chances for teammates in the game. Lecco are dead-last in Serie B, with their next game at home on Saturday against Cosenza.
Nicholas Gioacchini finally made his debut for Como, playing the final 10 minutes as the team saw out a narrow 1-0 home win over Brescia on Friday night.
Kristoffer Lund took up his usual starting spot on the left side of Palermo’s defense, playing 86 minutes and helping the team pull out a narrow 2-1 win over FeralpiSalo on Saturday. He did earn a yellow card, his third of the season.
