An unmotivated AC Milan has Christin Pulisic to thank for slightly mitigating their otherwise embarrassing loss to Torino, while Tanner Tessmann and Gianluca Busio got the slight upper hand on fellow American Kristoffer Lund in the Serie B promotion playoff.
Torino 3 – 1 AC Milan
With their second-place finish already assured ahead of their penultimate game, AC Milan looked like a team already thinking about their summer plans in a flat loss to Torino on Saturday. Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah both started the game for the Rossoneri, with the former’s performance, which saw him draw the penalty for the visitors’ only goal, being a rare bright spot in an otherwise forgettable team showing.
In addition to winning the penalty early in the second half, Pulisic took four shots, created an additional three chances, completed 90% of his 31 passes, took four corners, accurately fired in two out of five crosses, won four out of six duels, and drew a pair of fouls.
Musah had a more subdued 77-minute outing, taking a pair of shots, both of which were blocked well before troubling the Torino goal, setting up one additional chance, winning his only tackle, making two clearances, winning four out of seven duels, while committing only one foul.
Colombian international Duvan Zapata put the hosts on the board in the 26th minute, rising high halfway between the spot and top edge of the six-yard box to put away a deep cross from Ricardo Rodriguez to the right side of Marco Sportiello’s goal.
Ivan Ilic then gave his team a two-goal lead five minutes before the break, leaning forward from seven yards out to put away a sharp cross from Raoul Bellanova, targeting the narrow gap between the left upright and Sportiello’s fingertips.
Moments after the restart, Rodriguez continued the onslaught for Torino in spectacular fashion, picking up a loose ball 30 yards from the Milan goal, and then advancing a couple steps before unleashing blazing shot that flew in just under the crossbar for the 3-0 advantage.
Ten minutes later, Pulisic set up the only score for the visitors, charging into the left side of Torino’s area, only to be dragged to the turf in a headlock by defender Adam Masina. Ismael Bennacer took the resulting spot kick, sending the keeper the wrong way with his conversion to the lower right corner.
The goal failed to spark any turnaround, with Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s 87th-minute save of Rafael Leao’s low shot holding off Milan’s only other close call before the final whistle.
Pulisic and Musah will close out what has been a largely positive first season in Milan for both players when the team welcomes last-place Salernitana on Sunday evening.
Bologna 3 – 3 Juventus
Tim Weah saw a half of action on Monday night, as Juventus avoided an embarrassing blow-out to Bologna, by overcome a three-goal deficit in the space of eight minutes.
While his fellow USMNT call-up Weston McKennie was rested for the duration of the game, Weah entered the game at the half with Juventus already down by two goals, with interim coach Paolo Montero’s collection of substitutes ultimately paying dividends.
Riccardo Calafiori struck for the hosts within two minutes after the Juve defence failed to clear an early Bologna corner, then Santiago Castro headed in the 2-0 in the 11th minute off of a cross by Kacper Urbański.
Eight minutes after the break, Castro set up Calafiori for a short chip over Juventus keeper Wojciech Szczesny for the 3-0, and Bologna looked well on their way to gaining the edge on securing a likely third-place finish in the league standings.
However, the visitors stormed back with a remarkable eight-minute recovery to salvage the evening.
Federico Chiesa took advantage of a sloppy giveaway near the Bologna goal in the 76th minute for a 13-yard shot that rattled the underside of the netting, then Arkadiusz Milik fired an 83rd-minute free kick over the defensive wall and into the upper left corner to bring the visitors to within a goal.
Then Kenan Yildiz completed the come-back one minute later, intercepting a loose pass inside the Bologna half, advancing towards goal and firing a low shot from 25 yards to the lower left corner.
The result leaves Juventus and Bologna tied on 68 points in the race for third place, with Bologna holding the tiebreaker on head-to-head record, although both teams could be passed by Atalanta, who are two point back with a game in hand.
The Bianconeri will close out their season on Saturday when they host 12th-place Monza.
Serie B Promotion Playoff
The six-team playoff for the third promotion spot to Serie A began on Friday, and will conclude in early-June with the winner gaining the ultimate prize. The first round saw the four lowest-ranked teams face off in a pair of single-legged knock-outs, with the winners advancing to face the top two ranked teams in the group.
Palermo 2 – 0 Sampdoria
On Friday night, Kristoffer Lund and Palermo overcame Sampdoria by a 2-0 margin, with Lund assisting on Salim Diakite’s second goal, shortly after the halftime break, to wrap up the victory. Lund created two chances in the game, while putting in a strong defensive performance that included three clearances, one interception, nine recoveries and a pair of duels won, while committing no fouls.
Palermo 0 – 1 Venezia
The victory set up Palermo for an all-Yank semifinal against Venezia, with the Sicilians hosting the first leg on Monday night. The game saw three Americans on the field from the get-go with Lund playing 69 minutes as left-back in Palermo’s defense, and the midfield pair of Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann starting for the visitors.
Venezia took the advantage in the first leg, with a 63rd-minute strike from Nicholas Pierini giving them the narrow 1-0 lead at the halfway point of the two-legged tie.
A largely defensive contest saw the teams combine for only five shots on goal, with Venezia’s two Americans contributing more to stopping Palermo’s forward thrust than pushing their own attack forward.
The second leg will be played on Friday night in Venice, with Tessmann, Busio and their teammates needing only a draw to advance to the final, where they would play either Catanzaro or Cremonese, who played to a 2-2 draw in Tuesday’s first leg.
