When Juventus faced former manager Max Allegri for the first since his departure from the club in the spring of 2024 back in October, it ended a scoreless affair. The advanced numbers say there probably should have been some goals, but the actual scoreboard said things ended just the way they started — scoreless.
The second meeting with Allegri a different manager line up against him, but the ending proved to be the same.
A classic, scoreless tactical battle ensued at the San Siro on Sunday night.
Neither team had many chances to score, and the result pretty much felt like what would likely play out with Allegri and Luciano Spalletti going up against one another as the two wily old foxes try secure Champions League football for their respective clubs next season. Milan had the best chance of the night — Alexis Saelemaekers’ shot that hammered off the post early in the second half — while Juventus actually had a shot total that reached double digits.
But not of that actually resulted in a goal being scored.
Instead, Juventus’ standing remained the same — in fourth place, albeit now three points ahead of Como and Roma s compared to the five-point advantage they had entering Matchday 34.
To see an Allegri-coached squad approach a game like this in the way they did was a surprise to nobody. As noted early on the broadcast here in the U.S., Allegri’s Milan are the club that has won the most games by a 1-0 scoreline this season in all of Europe. This is how Max does — he wants to grind out results and it’s up to the opposition to try and break his team down with so many players behind the ball.
At times, Juventus looked like they were on the brink of doing just that. Hell, they even what looked like an actual goal for a few seconds, only for it be called off for offside without much dispute from anybody. (And then to see it on the semi-automatic technology and Khephren Thuram’s ENTIRE BODY was actually offside, it makes you think why it even needed a VAR review to actually be reversed into the correct call. Then again … it’s Italy in 2026.) Juve had much more of the actually dangerous opportunities, but the thing about that is … well, it’s not like Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was all that troubled by pretty much all of the shots he had to save.
So as much as it was a tactical battle, it certainly wasn’t one that offered high-powered offense at every turn.
Or many turns for that matter.
Juventus had their chances, that’s for sure, but Maignan was far from a busy goalkeeper. Milan defended well. So did Juve. This was the cagey matchup you’d expect from both Allegri and Spalletti as well as one that has been scoreless three of the last four times these two teams have played. It’s not like Spalletti pretty much sat on a scoreless draw — remember, he brought on both Kenan Yildiz and Edon Zhegrova with about 15 minutes to go, so it’s not like he was getting ultra-defensive against a Milan side that was not exactly in a good run of form.
So not exactly opportunity lost, but also not exactly opportunity gained, either — especially with both Como and Roma winning earlier this weekend.
As much as Juventus could have moved level on points with Milan with a win this weekend, this result means that the worst possible outcome was avoided. It’s a good point at a venue where it’s never easy to win. For as much as you want to say that Milan aren’t on a great run of form coming into Sunday night — and they weren’t! — they are still the best defense in the league. That is what Allegri wants first and foremost, and nobody knows better than a whole lot of folks who can remember how he approached things for the overwhelming majority of his second spell in Turin.
Would winning in Milan and going into third on goal differential been a great way to finish the weekend? Of course, my friends. But I’ll take this point and now focus on a final month of the 2025-26 season in which Juventus will be the big favorite in all four of their remaining games. You keep getting points, you qualify for the Champions League and we can all relax a little bit.
Spalletti expects UCL qualification to go down to the wire, and that’s no surprise. Juve got a point and didn’t get the help they had gotten in the last few weeks, but they’re still holding firm in fourth. Keep that place in the standings and your remaining goal for this season is accomplished. Simple as that, folks.
RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS
- The combined xG from the first reunion with Allegri this season? Right around 3.
- The combined xG from this most recent reunion with Allegri? All of about 1.10.
- Hell, the combined xG through the first 30 minutes was 0.07. Scintillating!
- As much as the tactical battle between Spalletti and Allegri was enjoyable, maybe the most entertaining part of this one for me was watching Lucio go from wearing a jacket to quickly tossing his jacket by the wayside only to reappear with that jacket the few times the camera cut to him in the second half. Man knows fashion so you know he’s always going to look good, but it’s funny to see that man alternate between jacket and no jacket considering who he was managing against.
- The last time Milan scored a goal against Juventus in a Serie A match, you ask? It was May of 2023 … and Max Allegri was the manager of Juventus. Funny how all this works!
- Say what you want about Milan’s lack of an attack — and there is plenty to actually say about it! — but four clean sheets in a row is still four clean sheets in a row. I’ll take that — especially with how Juventus were defending not so long ago.
- Michele Di Gregorio had to make one save and although it wasn’t exactly simple one — our old buddy Adrien Rabiot certainly put some mustard on it — it was also straight down the middle.
- Speaking of our pal Adrien, I am struggling to figure out how he came out of that game without being shown a yellow. I mean, HOW?! A few of those tackles in the full 90 that he played were certainly worthy of a yellow. And you’d think that an accumulation of things would result in a yellow at some point, right? Nah, not with Simone Sozza around this time.
- Then again, Manuel Locatelli got the yellow he certainly deserved, so who knows what the hell to think.
- Locatelli was also involved in what was easily the most brutal collision of the night when he smashed his head right against Luka Modric’s skull. As good as it was to see Modric walk off under his own power, who knows just how much power he had based on the swollen chunk of his face that was already visible. That was a big one.
- I know i’ve said the same type of thing a good amount this season, but it remained true on Sunday: Some of the passes Locatelli made — especially some long-range attempts — were simply great. Dude is good.
- As frustrating as a player like Chico Conceição can be, that pass to Thuram on the goal that ended up not being a goal was pretty much as good as you can play it.
- Conceição was a threat — especially with Yildiz not in the starting lineup — but sometimes you’re just left wanting a little more. Maybe that’s just the general feeling about him, but in 2026 that’s how he plays.
- Speaking of Yildiz, he just looked off in his cameo off the bench. Certainly not the impact he was hoping to make when Spalletti brought him off the bench in the final portion of the second half.
- This has to be the final time we see Rafa Leao playing against Juventus, right? That man is not a fit for what Allegri wants to do, is being played out of position and just looks absolutely miserable whenever he’s subbed off the field. Time for Milan to cash in and never look back.
- I also found it amusing the couple of times when Leao started on a run, then saw a hulking Gleison Bremer in his path approaching and immediately hit the brakes. He wanted nothing to do with that Brazilian man.
- Bremer had another good game — which is very encouraging.
- You know who also had another good game? Lloyd Kelly. To think we’d be consistently saying that after where things looked like they were heading and how we were thinking about Juve signing him about 12 months earlier.
- Unfortunately, how I’m feeling about Andrea Cambiaso and his defensive abilities has not changed from 12 months ago. These things happen in football, I guess.
- The first time they showed the “most ground covered” graphic, Weston McKennie was nowhere to be found amongst the top four names. Then when they flashed it again before the final whistle, there was Weston. Some things change, but even after getting whacked up the jaw McKennie just continues to motor along.
- What is with Milan’s current fetish of signing former Tottenham fullbacks? I don’t get it!
- Jérémie Boga … that boy fast.
- Yes, the advantage over Como and Roma went from five points to three. That’s not great. But to come out of this trip to Milan with the worst-case scenario not happening is something I’ll be happy with. This was a winnable game because of how Milan had been playing, but it was never going to be an easy one to win because of how Milan defend. Allegri did Allegri things, Juve got a point, and now we head to may with destiny fully in Spalletti’s hands. That’s all we can ask right about now.
