AC Milan – Juventus: Late Ronaldo Penalty Salvages Draw For Juventus Against Ten-Men AC Milan (1-1)

The first leg of Coppa Italia semi-final action saw AC Milan play host to Juventus in a clash of the country’s big names. In the end, Milan were the better side in a somewhat drab affair which culminated in Juventus snatching a late draw out of the jaws of defeat. 
Tactical analysis and match report by Julian Chingoma.

Both sides came into the game off demoralising defeats. AC Milan had a two-goal lead overturned to lose 4-2 against bitter rivals Internazionale in Serie A’s latest Derby della Madonnina. During the same set of fixtures, Juventus lost 2-1 to Hellas Verona in a disappointing performance which made Inter’s aforementioned victory all the more pivotal in the bigger picture of the Scudetto race. This cup clash represented the perfect opportunity for both sides to bounce back and galvanise their fanbases.

Stefano Pioli sent out his AC Milan side in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Gianluigi Donnarumma was in goal for the home side and he had the four of Davide Calabria, Simon Kjær, Alessio Romagnoli and Theo Hernandez in front of him. Samu Castilejo, Franck Kessié, Ismaël Bennacer and Ante Rebić then made up the four in midfield while Hakan Çalhanoğlu was in support of striker Zlatan Ibrahimović.

Meanwhile, Maurizio Sarri lined up the visitors in a 4-3-3 formation. Gianluigi Buffon stood between the posts and he also had a line of four ahead of him. Juventus’ defensive line was made up of Matteo De Sciglio, Matthijs de Ligt, Leonardo Bonucci and Alex Sandro. Miralem Pjanić would be at the base of midfield three with Blaise Matuidi and Aaron Ramsey to his left and right respectively.  Paulo . . .