Milan draws with Juventus: Disappointed but hopeful

A missed penalty, two clear chances wasted, and a goalless draw full of regret, yet Milan returned home from the big clash with Juventus with strengthened confidence. Securing a draw away at Allianz Stadium confirmed that Milan is ready to compete fairly for the championship title.

Milan could have walked away with all three points if Christian Pulisic had not missed the penalty early in the second half, or if Rafael Leao had been more accurate on at least one of his two golden chances. Although they didn’t win, another strong showing by the Rossoneri, following their convincing win over Napoli last week, showed they are heading in the right direction. They played a composed style of football, controlled the game, and created more clear-cut chances than their opponents. Even coach Max Allegri acknowledged after the match: "The positive is that we didn’t concede and played well. We must leave this game feeling angry, but maybe it’s better we didn’t win, otherwise we might think everything is fine while there are still many things to fix."

However, beneath that confidence, Allegri still had some frowns. The biggest concern was Rafael Leao. Returning after six weeks of injury, the Portuguese star’s touch was noticeably poor. He missed chances that should not have been missed and lost the sharpness expected from a player of his stature. Allegri did not hesitate to send a message to his player: "A player like him must score when given such chances. That’s where we need to make a difference."