A tough weekend for Americans in Italy saw Weston McKennie and Tim Weah forced to settle for a draw after Juventus struggled against Hellas, and Christian Pulisic’s second-half masterclass ruined by ten-man AC Milan’s late capitulation to Monza.
Hellas Verona 2 – 2 Juventus
Weston McKennie and Juventus were forced to fight back from a deficit twice against Hella Verona on Saturday, however they were still able to earn a point to keep the edge in the battle for Serie A’s second best.
McKennie started in the midfield and played from whistle to whistle, taking one shot, setting up a pair of chances, completing 21 out of 27 passes, blocking one shot, winning his only attempted dribble, making four clearances and another four recoveries, while winning four out of six duels.
Tim Weah was a late attacking substitute as Juve pushed for a winner in the final moments, but had little influence, despite completing all four of his passes.
It was the visitors who took a shock lead in the 11th minute in spectacular fashion, Michael Folorusnsho connecting with a stunning 18-yard volley from the edge of the area to the upper left corner after a cleared corner fell directly at his foot.
Two minutes before the half-hour, Dusan Vlahovic equalized from the spot. A long McKennie throw-in caught the Hellas defense off-balance in the area, and Filip Kostic’s shot struck Jackson Tchatchoua on the hand inside the area. The Serbian striker made easy work of the resulting penalty attempt, hitting a hard shot to the left side of goal.
Folorunsho turned provider seven minutes after the intermission, tapping the ball forward to Tijjani Noslin on a fast-break through the middle, with the Dutch forward slotting home from the right side just inside the near post.
Hellas were perhaps fortunate that referee Marco Di Bello didn’t whistle two potential Juventus fouls on the final build-up, and by the fact that there seemed to be some minor indecision in the defense on the part of Daniele Rugani.
Still, the visitors fought back to once again equalize in the 55th minute, after Manuel Locatelli picked up a loose ball just outside the Hellas area, and found Adrien Rabio the left of the penalty spot with just enough space to target the lower right corner to secure the 2-2 draw.
The Old Lady finish the round in second place, nine behind leaders Inter and two ahead of AC Milan. They next host Frosinone on Sunday.
Monza 4 – 2 AC Milan
Christian Pulisic made the most of his second-half substitute appearance for AC Milan on Sunday, racking up a goal and assist to help them overcome a two-goal deficit despite being a man down, before a late collapse saw them lose to their hosts Monza.
After several performances lacking the impact of his play earlier in the season, the American was given a rest from his usual spot in the starting lineup by head coach Stefano Pioli, joining compatriot Yunus Musah on the bench.
Thus, he was forced to watch his team not only be held scoreless through the first half, but also give up a pair of goals to Monza shortly before the break.
The first was struck from the spot by Matteo Pessina after Malick Thiaw tripped up Dany Mota as he entered the area, then Mota made it 2-0 six minutes into added time with a looping shot from just beyond the spot to the upper right corner.
Pulisic was called into action after the half in place of Samuel Chukwueze, and saw his task to pull his team back into the game become a lot taller when Luka Jovic’s 50th-minute yellow was upgraded to red, after VAR showed he blatantly slapped Armando Izzo near the midfield stripe.
Still, Olivier Giroud cut the deficit in half in the 64th minute, extending his left foot to barely poke Pulisic’s headed pass over the line from the edge of the six-yard box.
Then the American seemed to have earned the point for his team in the 88th minute. After receiving Malick Thiaw’s short pass into the right side of the area, he made his marking defender look foolish in cutting inwards and finding a narrow shooting lane, where he threaded his shot through the crowd to the far side of goal
However, the day would belong to Monza in the end, with Warren Bondo netting the 90th-minute winner with a screamer from the top edge of the area to the upper right corner. Lorenzo Colombo then added a fourth for good measure in the 95th, finishing a five-on-three counter-attack with a low shot to the left corner.
Milan remain third with the loss, two points behind Juventus and a safe seven ahead of fourth-place Atalanta.
Notes
Andrija Novakovich went the distance for Lecco on Saturday afternoon, as his team’s wastefulness saw them suffer a 3-1 home loss to Cosenza, despite having a clear advantage on the attacking end. For his part, the American took three shots and set up five chances, but was unable to find his way onto the scoreboard.
The Serie B battle of the Yanks on Saturday was a complete dud, with neither of the Americans on Palermo or Como taking the field. Kristoffer Lund was given a short rest for Palermo due to what was termed “overload”, while Nicholas Gioacchini did not make it off of Como’s bench. The game finished a 3-0 victory to the hosts, Palermo.
Venezia took a slight stumble in their quest for a return to Serie A on Sunday, only managing a 2-2 home draw against Modena, despite taking the lead on two occasions during the game. Both Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann started for the hosts, and were solid in the midfield. Tessmann, who was returning from a yellow card suspension, started working towards a second suspension after picking up his sixth caution of the season.
