None of the four USMNT stars on display for AC MIlan’s visit to Juventus were able to push their respective teams to victory, with Weston McKennie the only one to come close, however Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann continued their stellar form to give Venezia dreams of promotion in the final stretch.
Juventus 0 – 0 AC Milan
Three of the four Americans available for AC Milan’s visit to Juventus on Saturday night got the start, but none of the quartet were able to push their respective teams to victory in a scoreless draw.
Both Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah started for the visiting Rossoneri, with both departing within the final ten minutes after both teams had effectively settled for the inevitable result.
Musah picked up his fifth yellow card of the season while completing 91% of his 43 passes, taking one shot and setting up once chance, while Pulisic’s danger was limited, with the American taking no shots and setting up a pair of shots for teammates.
Tim Weah earned another Serie A start in what has been an uptick in playing time, and while he did put in a tidy perfomance on the right wing, was of little direct threat to Milan’s goal. Weston McKennie was the only American relegated to bench duty, although the Texan did manage a pair of shots and was generally strong during his 20-minute cameo at the end of the game.
Juventus had the better of chances in front of their home crowd, effectively coming close on three occasions, but with nothing to show for their efforts.
In first-half added time, Dusan Vlahovic angled a free kick through a narrow opening in the defensive wall, forcing Milan keeper Marco Sportiello stoop down to push it wide of goal.
Then five minutes after the restart, Sportiello blocked a shot from Filip Kostic directly into the path of Danilo’s run into the box, however the Brazilian’s follow-up hit the upright.
Finally, with three minutes left, McKennie aimed a towering header from near the right post to the far side of goal, which Sportiello failed to effectively control. The ball fell into a crowd inside the six-yard box, but Adrien Rabiot’s short attempt bounced off of Milan central defender Malick Thiaw for a clutch, albeit accidental game-saving deflection.
The point does little to impact either team’s place in the standings, however Milan look set to take second place, with a five-point gap ahead of the third-place Bianconeri with four games remaining. Juventus do need to watch their backs, as Bologna are still just two points behind.
Milan next host Genoa on Sunday, while Juventus visit hated rivals Roma later in the evening.
Venezia 2 – 1 Cremonese
Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann were their usual strong selves for Venezia in Friday night’s home game against Cremonese, with the former assisting on the late winning goal in the team’s come-from-behind victory.
As usual, both Americans started in Venezia’s midfield, doing well to hold off their visitors despite at times having to absorb the majority of the pressure for long stretches. Tessmann was particularly strong in a holding role, winning 12 out of 16 duels and four out of five attempted tackles, making six recoveries and drawing a whopping six fouls, while committing only two himself and more importantly staying out of any yellow-card trouble.
Busio was somewhat more limited on the ball over his 88 minutes of play, making only 36 touches and completing 16 out of 23 passes, however his one chance created was the one that earned his team all the points.
Franco Vázquez put Catanzaro on the board first, volleying in a headed cross from Charles Pickel in the 24th minute with a sweeping shot from just beyond the penalty spot.
While the visitors did keep their lead through the half, Venezia struck quickly after the break, and added a second as the game entered its final quarter-hour.
Three minutes after the restart, Joel Pohjanpalo recovered a loose ball around 40 yard out, and slid it forward to Christian Gytkjær. The Danish veteran cut inwards and whipped a low shot to the left corner, which easily evaded Gianluca Saro’s grasp to put the game back on even terms.
Then with 14 minutes left in regulation, a lightening attack from the hosts sealed the victory. Tessmann hit Gytkjær with a long pass from near the midfield stripe, and the Dane immediately bounced it back to Busio, who had space to operate in the middle.
The American advanced a few yards towards goal, and placed a pass under the leg of his marking defender, into the path of Bjarki Steinn Bjarkason. The Icelandic attacker maintained the ball in the area, evading Saro’s attempted grab, and side-footed the ball into the nets to secure the the 2-1 victory.
With three games left to go in the regular season, Venezia are now just one point behind Como in the race for the second automatic promotion spot. They will be back in action on Wednesday when they face fifth-place Catanzaro, who are already assured of a spot in the six-team promotion playoff.
Notes
Already relegated Lecco suffered yet another heavy defeat, this time by a 4-0 margin at division leaders Parma on Saturday. Andrija Novakovich started at center forward as usual for the visitors, managing two shots and one chance created over 66 minutes of play.
Kristoffer Lund took up his usual starting spot on the left side of Palermo’s defense on Saturday, but a 2-1 home loss to Reggiana left them firmly entrenched in sixth place, with the post-season promotion playoff their main focus now. They next visit Spezia on Wednesday.
Nicholas Gioacchini played the final three minutes plus added time for Como on Saturday in their 1-1 road draw at Sampdoria. The dropped points allowed Venezia to cut their current hold on the second automatic promotion spot to a single point. They will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Cittadella.