Torino hosted Milan at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino tonight in the
last Serie A game of the weekend. Milan knew that after Inter's win in
the derby D'Italia, they would have to win or lose serious ground to
the current Italian leaders.
The Rossoneri were eager to produce
a convincing performance after they struggled and then controversially
beat Chievo 1-0 last week. Carlo Ancelotti’s side were galvanised by
the return from injury of Andrea Pirlo. Torino were also desperate for
some points this weekend as their 3-2 defeat at Catania last week left
them just three points outside the relegation zone.
First Half
Milan
got the play underway, with Andrea Pirlo in the starting eleven for the
first time since his injury forced him out of action. Milan began the
match in confident fashion, with skilful touches and accurate passing
displaying the visitor’s superiority over the home side.
In the
fourth minute Milan created a good chance after a team move, but
Francesco Pratali was on hand to stop the danger. Torino’s star player
Alessandro Rosina threatened a few times in the early exchanges, and
was clearly the Granata’s most bright player from the get go.
Milan
were keen to take shots from long range, and numerous players attempted
to fool Sereni from distance. Torino followed the trend of the match
and began to threaten with shots from outside the box. A long range
effort from Blerim Dzemaili clipped the top of the bar and sent a wave
of excitement around the stadium.
Torino shocked the visitors on
24 minutes by opening the scoring with a header from Roberto Stellone.
Rosina’s creativity was the catalyst for the goal, with a fine cross
from the left being met by a glancing header from Stellone to put the
ball into the back of the net.
Milan responded three minutes
later with an equaliser from Brazilian wonder kid Alexandre Pato. A
great pass from Gattuso was controlled by the youngster and swept past
Sereni into the Torino goal.
Milan were determined to go ahead
in the encounter, and so they did on 34 minutes when a free kick was
buried into the back of the net by Ronaldinho. A foul on Kaka at the
edge of the area handed Milan a golden opportunity which they did not
waste, as the Brazilian number 80 curved the ball beautifully into the
top corner.
Milan continued to attack and press for yet another
goal, but the Torino defence did well to keep them at bay and after a
minute of injury time the referee sent the teams into the change rooms
with the score at 2-1 for the Rossoneri.
Second Half
The
second half began with Milan putting the home side under pressure and
dominating the midfield play with Gattuso and Pirlo working hard to win
and retain possession. Within two minutes of the restart and great run
from Pato nearly resulted in his second of the match, but his eventual
shot from a tight angle went over the bar.
Two minutes later
Dzemaili threatened to equalise with a wonderful strike from outside
the area, but his effort went agonizingly wide of the post. Torino
became dangerous and were constantly attacking and putting the
Rossoneri in difficulty, but the Milan defence and the reflexes of
Christian Abbiati were able to hold off the determined Granata offence,
albeit with a bit of luck.
The pace of the play remained high
for long periods of the second half, and a confident Torino constantly
pushed forward in search of the equaliser, with Milan threatening with
quick counter attacks and the corners that resulted.
In the 65th
minute great passing play between Brazilians Kaka and Pato almost got
the younger of the two on the score sheet again, but Sereni stood
strong to deny the 19-year-old. Torino’s pressure was admirable, and
the Granata kept Milan on the defensive for the majority of the second
half.
In the 71st minute a dangerous cross from Rosina was
floated into the Milan area and bounced invitingly along the six yard
box before Ronaldinho cleared the danger. Five minutes later Torino
were awarded a penalty after a cross from Rosina hit the outstretched
arm of Kakha Kaladze. Rosino converted the spot kick, sending Abbiati
the wrong way and making it 2-2 at the Olimpico.
Torino kept the
pressure on the visiting Rossoneri, and the last ten minutes proved to
be a nervous period for Carlo Ancelotti as an avalanche of Granata
attacks needed determined defending and goalkeeping to keep the ball
from bulging the net.
Milan were lucky not to concede in the
last ten minutes of the match with a fiery Torino desperate to score
the winner, but it was not to be, and a few minutes after a Ronaldinho
free kick ballooned up into the stands the whistle was blown and the
game ended with the score at two goals a piece.
TORINO 2–2 MILAN
GOALS: Pato 29’, Ronaldinho 34’ (Milan) Stellone 25’, Rosina 76’ (Torino)
TORINO:
Sereni, Diana, Natali, Pratali, Rubin, Colombo, Dzemaili, Barone
(Zanetti 71’), Rosina (Ogbonna 84’), Bianchi (Abbruscato 71’), Stellone.
MILAN: Abbiati, Bonera, Maldini, Kaladze, Jankulovski, Gattuso (Shevchenko 79’), Pirlo (Emerson 73’), Seedorf, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Pato.
