Serie A, Milan-Turin 4-1: two goals from Giroud, Pulisic and Hernandez scored

Too much Milan, if both the old and the new Diavolo work in the same game. The tasty mixture between those who have just arrived and those who were already there was also glimpsed in Bologna, but this time it allowed Pioli to present a highly attractive menu that practically did not allow Turin to sit down at the table.

The grenades come out crushed under the massive weight of four goals and are forced to watch a Milan that entertains and gives the very clear feeling of having fun. This kind of comfort had been lacking in the Rossoneri for a (quite) while. And all under the eyes of Gerry Cardinale, who this year doesn’t seem to want to miss one. Milan commanded the match with Giroud, Theo and Leao (and never mind if the goal still has to wait), but also with Pulisic and Reijnders, and everything seems to fit together very naturally. Thanks to the quality of some singles and thanks to Pioli’s tactical innovations, well transmitted and well received. Juric, on the other hand, will have to work above all to increase offensive effectiveness, which paradoxically lacks to a greater extent than defensive effectiveness, despite the heaviness of the score leading to other thoughts.

the choices

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Once again Pioli left all the players at home – Caldara, Ballo-Touré, Saelemaekers, Origi and Traoré – who dance between potential exits and certified redundancies, and confirmed the eleven from Bologna. Then the Pu-Gi-Le – Pulisic, Giroud, Leao – in attack and Loftus-Cheek, Krunic, Reijnders in the midfield. Juric had two doubts during the week, solved in this way: Vojvoda preferred to Lazaro on the left wing and Radonjic in Karamoh’s place next to Vlasic and in support of Sanabria. The rest replicated the eleven designed with Cagliari, with Bellanova in Hernandez’s lane: high-speed round-trip track, in pure theory, while practice was very different because Milan ’23-24 use full-backs as halfbacks added and Theo’s center percussion was one of the picks the Devil punched the Bull with. It’s not new stuff, these are things that Pioli has been asking the Frenchman for some time. If anything, the novelty is the frequency with which it happens and the mirror image of Calabria’s work itself. Wanting to summarize: in the possession phase, the Rossoneri full-backs concentrate and raise on the midline, while the midfielders move to the trocar. Movements that had already given results in Bologna and exploded with power this time.

entries

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Torino holed up from the first minutes under the pressure of the Devil, despite a hint of aggression lost after a couple of rounds of the hand: too dangerous to go under high pressure in the face of Pulisic’s flashes – almost a sentence in a one-on-one – on the one hand, those of Leao on the other, and the always intelligent insertions of Reijnders. In the heart of the field, the couples were evident and “close-knit” right from the start: Krunic-Vlasic, Reijnders-Ricci and Loftus-Cheek-Ilic. Milan won, above all with the perpetual motion of Reijnders who eliminated Ricci’s phosphorus and dried up supplies to Vlasic and Radonjic. Separate discussion for Sanabria, with an evening born under a bad star and finished after 22 minutes due to a physical problem. In place of him the former Pellegri. The first quarter of an hour was lived under the Rossoneri’s flare-ups, which however were inconsistent in front of goal: a turn from Giroud, a free-kick from Hernandez. All finished off, without great emotions. The Bull sporadically tried to stick his nose out, but got lost in the last third of the field. The challenge really ignited shortly after half an hour, when Milan passed: Pulisic closed perfectly by inserting a deep action at the far post started by himself and finished wisely by Loftus-Cheek. Verticality: it’s the new Milan, yes. However, Torino had the readiness to react immediately – three minutes later -, in practice on the first real attempt: Ricci’s “slippered” right-footed volley that turned into an assist for Schuurs, quick and skilful to slip Maignan. However, Toro remained in the game for only six minutes, the time for the Var to call Mariani back to the monitor for a hand from Schuurs in the area. Penalty converted by Giroud, to which was added the third Rossoneri goal in the deluxe version in added time, with a scavetto from Hernandez face to face with Milinkovic after a double duet with Leao.

dialogue

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In the second half Juric tried to remedy, inserting Linetty (Ilic), Karamoh (Radonjic) and Lazaro (Bellanova), but the reaction was almost nil in the face of an increasingly encircling and insistent Milan. Loftus-Cheek had his right foot walled up from an excellent position, Pulisic sent him into the corner after an intense dialogue with Leao and Giroud, and then in the 18th minute the Var entered the scene again. Same methods as in the first half: Mariani at Var and second penalty for the Rossoneri (Schuurs on Leao) scored by Giroud. Four to one and match in archive. Toro remains nailed to one point, Milan remains with full points and now the bar is rising: Roma, Inter, Lazio, Juve and Napoli in the next eight outings.