Juventus beat Milan on penalties last night and Stephen Kasiewicz highlights three things learned about the Bianconeri in their first friendly in the USA.
Juventus emerged victorious after prevailing on penalties over Milan in their first pre-season friendly in the USA. The Soccer Champions Tour match finished 2-2 after 90 minutes as Bianconeri defenders Danilo and replacement Daniele Rugani cancelled out goals from Malick Thiaw and Olivier Giroud.
Matias Soule struck the winning spot kick as Juve won 4-3 on penalties at the Dignity Health Sports Park in the city of Carson, Los Angeles County. Juve had been scheduled to face Barcelona in the first game of the Soccer Champions Tour but the Catalan club called the game off due to a bout of viral gastroenteritis in their squad.
It was an early morale boost for coach Massimilano Allegri as he fielded a strong starting line-up before making wholesale changes just before the hour mark.
Here are three things we learned from the Bianconeri win.
Chiesa excels on the wing
Italian international Federico Chiesa was deployed alongside Moise Kean up front in a 3-5-2 formation but constantly drifted out to the left flank. It’s not the first time Allegri has used the hugely talented 25-year-old as a central attacker.
Yet Chiesa caused the most damage speeding down the left and curled narrowly wide of the target in an excellent first half showing. Without Dusan Vlahovic and preferred to Arkadiusz Milik up front Chiesa did his best work in a familiar role. Despite being linked with a move away from the Old Lady it’s clear that the former Fiorentina player is most comfortable on the channel.
Promising start for Weah
Only so much can be gleaned from a non-competitive fixture yet the American international added a different dimension for Juve on the right wing. Purposeful, speedy and direct he set up Chiesa with a precise cross in the opening period and looked a potent attacking outlet in a 59-minute run out in the home stadium of MLS club LA Galaxy.
As Juve’s only high-profile signing of the summer so far the 23-year-old coped well as he linked up effortlessly with his new team-mates. There were plenty of positive signs as Weah utilized his pace and positioning in his first appearance for the Turin giants.
Set-piece worries
Both Milan goals came from dead ball positions as the Juventus back-line was easily outmanoeuvred in an entertaining first half. While hardly a major concern at this stage of pre-season the defensive trio of Federico Gatti, Gleison Bremer and Danilo didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory as the Rossoneri twice took the lead. There were early signs of rustiness before Juve eventually changed their entire starting 11 just before the hour mark.
Up-and-coming 18-year-old Dutch centre-back Dean Huijsen was given game time after the break but perhaps the Bianconeri need a more experienced defensive recruit as cover for the new Serie A campaign.
Twitter: @SKasiewicz