Juventus 1-1 Milan: Allegri's side in relegation zone after Rebic prolongs winless start

 

Ante Rebic struck to cancel out Alvaro Morata's opener as Milan hit back to claim a 1-1 draw against winless Juventus.

Juventus' winless start to the Serie A season stretched to a fourth game after they were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Milan at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday.

Alvaro Morata had opened the scoring inside four minutes with Juve's quickest goal against Milan in Serie A since February 1996, but the Bianconeri could not hold on for a maiden victory.

After inviting pressure onto themselves, the hosts were eventually undone 14 minutes from time when Sandro Tonali whipped a corner into the box and Ante Rebic guided it in off the far post.

Juve have now gone four games without a win to start a Serie A season for just the fourth time in their history and are inside the relegation zone, while Milan move level on points with leaders Inter.

Massimiliano Allegri's side had given their season lift-off with a 3-0 win over Malmo in the Champions League in midweek and two of their goalscorers from that game combined early on against Milan.

Paulo Dybala played Morata through with a smart flick after Juve had defended a corner and the forward rounded off the counter by dinking the ball over Mike Maignan.

Maignan produced a fine save to keep out Morata's next shot and Adrien Rabiot had an even better chance to add a second but could not outpace Fikayo Tomori when played in.

Rabiot could not quite connect with a Leonardo Bonucci pass over the top early in the second period as the half-chances continued to fall Juve's way.

Juve had not kept a clean sheet in the league since March, however, and that poor run continued as Rebic climbed highest to meet Tonali's corner and head in the equaliser from six yards.

Both sides pushed for a winner in a frantic conclusion to the match, with substitute Pierre Kalulu going closest to snatching victory for Milan with a powerful drive that Wojciech Szczesny did well to palm over the bar.

What does it mean? Juve in the bottom three

A bad start for Juventus has now become a terrible one as they find themselves 18th in the 20-team division after four matches.

Juve were easily the better side in the first half and perhaps should have had a second goal, but they were made to pay for ceding for too much possession, with Milan seeing 63 per cent of the ball in the second half.

The Bianconeri simply cannot hold on for clean sheets, having now conceded in each of their past 18 Serie A matches, and any hopes of fighting to reclaim their title are already looking very slim as they trail Inter and Milan by eight points.

Rebic rescues a point

Rebic had a couple or promising moments before finding a way through from one of the three shots he managed across the 90 minutes – and what an impressive header it was.

Saelemaekers struggles

Milan could not get a grip on the game for the opening hour or so and it is perhaps no coincidence that the flow of the game changed when Alexis Saelemaekers went off and Ismael Bennacer came on.

Saelemaekers gave away the ball eight times during his 63 minutes on the field and won only half of his six duels.

Key Opta Facts

– Juventus have dropped seven points from winning positions this season. They dropped 10 such points in the whole of 2020-21. – Milan have avoided defeat at home to Juve having trailed for the first time since February 1996. – Rebic is the first Milan player to score against Juve in three consecutive Serie A appearances in the three points for a win era (since 1994-95). – Juve have conceded in 18 consecutive Serie A games, only twice suffering a longer such streak (19 in 2010 and 21 in 1955). – All four Juve goals in Serie A this season have been scored in the first 23 minutes, with three in the first 10.

What's next?

Both sides face a quick turnaround as they are back in Serie A action on Wednesday. Juventus travel to Spezia, while Milan are at home to Venezia.