Substitute Federico Gatti headed home in the 90th minute to rescue a point for Juventus against AC Milan at the Allianz Stadium, turning what looked like a Milan victory into a 1-1 draw. Alphadjo Cissè, another second-half substitute, had given the visitors the lead in the 68th minute with his first Serie A goal for the club. Koopmeiners delivered the cross that Gatti converted, with both men having entered the pitch in the second half. Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan side controlled much of the possession but had little to show for it going forward, which made the final whistle particularly painful.
Key Moments
- 61′, AC Milan make a triple substitution: Alphadjo Cissè, Samuel Chukwueze, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek come on for Diego Moreira, Alexis Saelemaekers, and Adrien Rabiot, reshaping the visitors’ attack.
- 64′, Luciano Spalletti responds with two changes of his own: Teun Koopmeiners replaces González and Jérémie Boga comes on for Kerim-Sam Alajbegović.
- 68′, Alphadjo Cissè breaks the deadlock for AC Milan. Samuel Chukwueze picks up the assist, connecting just minutes after both players entered as substitutes.
- 88′, Federico Gatti enters as a late substitute for Juventus, replacing Zeki Çelik with two minutes of regular time remaining.
- 90′, Gatti equalizes in stoppage time, heading home a delivery from Teun Koopmeiners to make it 1-1. Multiple outlets confirmed the goal came in stoppage time. Gatti is booked moments later for an argument, with Alphadjo Cissè also carded on the Milan side.
Tactical Breakdown
AC Milan edged possession at 51% and racked up 480 total passes to Juventus’s 452, controlling the tempo for stretches of the second half. Yet Amorim’s side generated almost nothing in front of goal: just three total shots, one on target, and a single corner kick. That solitary shot on target was, of course, the goal. Mike Maignan at the other end made four saves to keep the score level before the break and protect the lead afterward.
Juventus were the more dangerous side on paper, firing 14 shots with five on target and earning seven corner kicks, but they could not convert despite 84-minute pressure from Kolo Muani. The tactical turning point came from the bench on both sides: Milan’s triple substitution at 61 minutes produced a goal within seven minutes, with Cissè and Chukwueze combining immediately. Spalletti’s answer was Koopmeiners, whose delivery from midfield ultimately produced the leveler in the final moments of the match.
Milan’s defensive shape, built around S. Pavlovic and Mario Gila, was largely solid, but the team’s reluctance to commit men forward left Gonçalo Ramos isolated. With just one shot inside the box all match, Amorim’s side defended deep and paid for it when Juventus poured bodies into the box in added time. A 1-0 lead held for 22 minutes is a precarious margin when the opposition has seven corner kicks and 14 attempts at goal.
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Verdict
Both clubs stay level on seven points after three games, with AC Milan sitting fourth and Juventus fifth. The gap between them and the Champions League places is two points, while Roma and Inter lead the table with perfect nine-point records. For Juventus, a point salvaged late preserves their unbeaten start. For Milan, a result they were in position to win until the final seconds will sting, even if Amorim acknowledged after the match, according to football-italia.net, that ‘Milan didn’t deserve to win, or Juventus didn’t deserve to lose.’