Manuel Locatelli burst into tears at the final whistle after his goal allowed Juventus to beat Milan at San Siro exactly seven years to the day since scoring in that same fixture. ‘This really was destiny.’
The midfielder started his career in the Rossoneri youth academy and really made his name at the age of 18 with a spectacular long-range strike to give Milan the 1-0 win over Juve at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
That was on October 22, 2016 and precisely seven years to the day later, he was again on target for a 1-0 result in this fixture, only this time he gave Juventus the points with the aid of a deflection off Rade Krunic.
“That goal came to mind even before the game, let alone when I managed to score,” Locatelli told DAZN.
“This really was destiny, it’s incredible to score on the same day, seven years later with a different jersey. I knew it was the same date, we talked it over with my family and I dedicate it to them.”
Adrien Rabiot revealed he had told Locatelli before the match that he had to make up for that by scoring for Juve this time.
“It’s true, he told me this time score it into the right goal!”
Locatelli seemed to burst into tears at the final whistle, perhaps looking back over his remarkable career path.
“Playing here is always special, I grew up here, San Siro and these fans will always be in my heart. I made other choices in life and am happy where I am.
“It just felt incredible, I couldn’t believe it was my goal again on the same day.”
Goals are also fairly rare for Locatelli, because his last was in a 4-3 victory away to Roma in January 2022.
“It was one of my objectives to go for goal more often, I have gained experience compared to last season and am growing all the time.”
Juventus had started the season with a more attacking approach than fans were accustomed to under Max Allegri, but today tended to sit back and wait for Milan even against 10 men.
“This is how we prepared today, as Milan rely on Giroud and then have the others moving around him looking for combinations. They went down to 10 men and clearly that made it easier for us.”
Allegri continues to insist that Juve are not in the running for the Scudetto and Locatelli sticks to the party line.
“We are in a moment where players here still need to mature, whereas Inter for example have many players who are already fully mature and in a different moment of their careers. It was a different type of team when I first arrived and we had different ambitions. Our target is a Champions League place, but then we’ll see where we are in March.”
Nicolò Fagioli was in the stands today as he begins the seven-month ban for illegal bets on football matches and is undergoing therapy for gambling addiction.
“Nicolino is someone we really care about. He was caught up in this illness, he must try to get treatment and we will be with him throughout the next seven months. I am glad he is able to train with us, because being around his teammates and friends is important.
“I am good friends with Sandro Tonali too, it is right that they pay for their mistakes, but we must also show we are still by their side.”