AC Milan Vs Juventus: Why the Rossoneri need to beat The Old Lady in the Coppa Italia to give themselves a shot in the Serie A

EDITORIAL
By Kaustav Bera

As the Bianconeri look to travel to the San Siro for the first leg of the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, they are up against a Milan side who seem to be losing the plot, as their last two matches involved an ill tempered affair against Napoli, where Zlatan Ibrahimovic got sent off after slapping an opposition player and a loss against fourth placed Lazio on the travel.

Meanwhile Juventus’ steady progress may have slowed down a bit after drawing against Siena at home, after back-to-back wins against title contenders Udinese and Atalanta, but the Old Lady marches on relentlessly tightening their grip on the Serie A crown.

Whoops! | The Siena draw wasn't part of Juventus' gameplan...

With the top seeded Serie A sides getting a direct entry to the Round of 16 in the Coppa Italia, both teams had to play only two matches before the semi-final where they are drawn against each other. While Juventus have 9 Coppa titles Milan have only 5. However Juventus haven’t won it since 1995 while the Red and Blacks had won it in 2003 last.

Inspite of already having lost four games of the twenty-two played in the league, the Rossoneri are not much further than the White and Blacks who only enjoy a solitary point advantage, albeit with a game in hand. For Milan, the Coppa Italia might only be a distraction as they look to defend their crown while also having an eye on Champions League progression where they have been drawn against a topsy-turvy Arsenal side.

However as they meet familiar foes Juventus, they will certainly be all the more determined to go one up on them, as earlier in the season they had been defeated by 2 goals at the newly unveiled state of the art Juventus stadium.

Curiously AC Milan sitting pretty at second spot now, have been frankly shambolic to say the least against the top four sides in the Serie A. Amongst these six other teams, the only time they have managed to notch up a win was at home against Roma, where they somehow managed to win 3-2 with a brace from Ibrahimovic. This indeed paints a sorry picture for the Rossoneri who have lost away to Juventus, Lazio and Napoli and have also succumbed to bitter rivals Inter Milan at the San Siro, and drawn the other encounters.

Why are you all so tough?! | Roma remain the only 'top' side Milan have beaten this season

That they have managed to retain their second spot, suggests the overall poor form of the other competing sides more than Milan’s credible title defense. Goal scoring has not been their problem with the team scoring 43 which is considerably more than leaders Juventus’ measly 33 goals or even the league’s second highest of 36 scored by Napoli.

But with Nesta missing in defense, Milan have conceded 19 goals already whereas in their previous title winning season they had conceded only 24 goals in all of the 38 matches played.  Even in the matches he played, Nesta is a pale shadow of his former self as Milan went down to Lazio and more disappointingly to Inter Milan at home, both matches which featured one of Italy’s greatest ever centre-backs.

On the flipside, they have been ruthless and unrelenting while playing the other Serie A sides, brushing them apart with relative ease. They have won all their matches against the other thirteen teams, except two draws to Bologna and Fiorentina. This is in stark contrast to the helpless Milan that comes out when playing the top teams where they somehow manage to shoot themselves at the back. The most prominent example being Ibrahimovic getting sent off against Napoli, when they were in relative control of the proceedings.

Thus the Coppa Italia semi-final encounter, besides being a chance for silverware, also holds prominence as Milan need to win against Juventus at home in the first leg, not only to banish the ghosts of their defeat in the earlier Serie A encounter, but to clearly signal their intent that they have the capability to take on the top teams and beat them at their own game.

With the Champions League round of 16 too just a week away, and with Arsenal coming to the San Siro, they need to send out the message loud and clear that the Italian champions are still very much a force to reckon with.  By defeating Juventus and defeating them comprehensively, Milan can also deal a major psychological blow on the White and Blacks who are so far unbeaten in the season. Thus the game could very well turn the tide in the league too, besides ensuring their progress to the final of the Coppa Italia.

Meanwhile Juventus need to watch out for complacency which struck them against Siena at home, where the visitors held the Bianconeri to a goalless draw.

Although they do have a problem upfront with their top scorer Alessandro Matri having scored 7 goals so far in 20 league appearances, their defense is miserly as ever with the talented and versatile Giorgio Chiellini marshalling the backline.

Moreover they face a Milan side, who are shorn off their attacking prowess with Ibra banned for three matches and Boateng too looking doubtful. With Robinho and Pato looking disappointing so far, the bulk of the scoring had been done by Zlatan whose services cannot be availed. 

And with Andrea Pirlo finding a new lease of life in the Old Lady after being unceremoniously dumped by the Rossoneri, the man who still pulls the strings in the midfield so very well, will be a thorn in the side of his former employers who thought his career was finished. Juventus could kill off the tie itself by bagging a win at the San Siro with the second leg being played at the Juventus Stadium.

I am a rock | The commanding Chiellini might just be a deciding factor in a game of fine margins

Antonio Conte’s side will go into the match knowing they have every chance to snatch a win over the defending champions AC Milan, with the repercussions of this match going far beyond a Coppa Italia final place but will certainly resound in the league too, especially with Milan up against a Udinese side on the rise in the weekend. A Milan defeat might open a seven point gap at the top, a distance Allegri’s man will not be able to recover from in all probability.

When they host Juventus at the San Siro in the league at the end of February, even a win there might be too little too late to keep their title hopes up.

So can Milan beat Juventus in their Coppa Italia clash?

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             What DO you think? Do You think A Milan win will spur them on towards successive Serie A titles? Or Will Juventus hold on to top spot?

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