AC Milan’s Dominating 4-0 victory over Venezia in Serie A: Juventus Held at Empoli
AC Milan began a pivotal week and set the stage for their forthcoming Champions League matchup and the much awaited Milan derby with a commanding 4-0 victory over Venezia in Serie A on Saturday.
Milan was under pressure following their dominant victory, as they had only managed two points from their previous three games.
AC Milan’s 4-0 thrashing of Venezia in Serie A on Saturday provided the finest possible preparation for the Champions League and next weekend’s Milan derby, while Juventus struggled to a goalless draw at Empoli. Ahead of a crucial week for the seven-time European champions, thousands of ardent supporters gathered outside the San Siro to show their support for Milan, who had been under pressure after taking just two points from their opening three games during the international break.
In response to that support, Paulo Fonseca’s squad easily defeated Venezia, scoring four goals in just 29 minutes and dominating the remainder of the game.
Milan, who are currently ranked seventh, will take on Liverpool on Tuesday night feeling more upbeat after their first victory of the year. A week later, on Sunday, they will play a crucial match against champions Inter Milan. The last six derbies have been won by Inter; their most recent triumph also sealed the Scudetto for the previous campaign.
“It was important to win, and win in this manner, to give the players belief in what we’re doing,” Fonseca told Sky Sports.
“I’ve been considering Liverpool and Inter this week. I am aware of the Derby’s significance. We’re trying to change that, even if I am aware that we haven’t won the last few derbies.”
Less than two minutes in, Milan took the lead thanks to a low shot from Theo Hernandez that went past Venezia goalkeeper Jesse Joronen. Two minutes later, Matteo Gabbia doubled Milan’s lead by heading in Christian Pulisic’s corner.
Even though Venezia already had a steep hill to climb, their dreams of taking anything out from the game were dashed when Tammy Abraham, making his full Milan debut, and Pulisic converted two easy penalties.
In the 22nd minute, England international Abraham scored Milan’s third goal after Tijjani Reijnders’ effort was mishandled and he was clipped by Joronen.
Joel Schingtienne’s foot stepped on Rafael Leao’s, who had set up Hernandez’s opening goal, and Abraham finished the rout from that spot. In the 72nd minute, Francesco Zampano appeared to have scored for Venezia, but the goal was disallowed because Hans Nicolussi Caviglia collided with Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s ankle.
A terrible evening for rock-bottom Venezia was made worse when Caviglia, whose last name means “ankle” in Italian, was sent off for the reckless challenge, his second bookable offense in a matter of minutes.
Uninspiring Juventus
Due to their draw, Juventus is now one point ahead of Inter Milan, Torino, and Udinese—all of which have games this weekend—in the Italian league.
However, Thiago Motta’s squad failed miserably in Tuscany, producing nearly nothing in a display that gave PSV Eindhoven little cause for concern as they go to Turin on Tuesday night. Four minutes after the break, Dusan Vlahovic came closest for Juventus when he raced towards goal and sent a shot straight at Devis Vasquez.
In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Federico Gatti saved Juve’s bacon with a tackle that kept Emmanuel Gyasi from scoring what would have been a stunning victory.
“Let’s move on from this game and concentrate on Tuesday. We’ll need to perform at our highest level since PSV is a solid football squad,” stated Motta.
Juventus will compete in the redesigned Champions League after being barred by UEFA for financial fair play violations and spending a year away from European competition.
Earlier, in a 2-2 draw at Como, rookie Samuel Iling-Junior brilliantly equalized late to preserve Bologna ahead of their first-ever Champions League meeting.
Bologna, who have yet to win this season under new coach Vincenzo Italiano, will visit Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday after playing one tie in the previous European Cup in 1964.
Italiano told reporters, “We need to improve; we’ve been too careless in our first four games.”
“We’ve not been together for very long and we know where we need to improve.”
After missing a fantastic opportunity to win their first home Serie A game in twenty-one years, Como has two points from their first four games compared to Italiano’s team’s three.
