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AC Milan held on for a 1-1 draw to claim a valuable point away to Torino and ensure their streak of consecutive defeats didn't stretch to three games.
The first half was a timid affair with little action at either end. Indeed, per OptaPaolo the number of shots in that first half—four—was a league low for this Serie A season so far.
An early second-half strike from Carlos Bacca livened up affairs and gave Milan a lead they ultimately failed to maintain, but the result was still a positive for the Rossoneri given their terrible recent form, which had culminated in an embarrassing 4-0 home defeat to Napoli prior to the international break.
Daniele Baselli equalised for Torino as the home side turned up the heat in the final quarter of the game, but Milan held on to give themselves a much-needed boost in difficult times.
Andrea Bertolacci's influence has been questioned since his big-money move to Milan from Genoa over the summer. But against Torino, he showed exactly what he's worth.
He played an important role in Milan getting a point from the game, teeing up Carlos Bacca for the opening goal and making more tackles than any of his team-mates, per WhoScored.com.
WhoScored also awarded Bertolacci its official man of the match award, a testament to what was by far his best display in a Milan shirt.
Luiz Adriano was given a vote of confidence by Sinisa Mihajlovic as he was selected ahead of Carlos Bacca to start up front against Torino. However, before the hour mark he was substituted after an absent performance.
In fairness, Milan's tactics didn't really suit the lithe Brazilian. As the lone striker in a front three, he was given little support and often fed by vertical, aerial balls.
Isolated and outnumbered, Adriano failed to impact the game at all before being hooked for Bacca. Per WhoScored he attempted no shots, completed no dribbles and made no key passes to earn a poor 6.00 rating.
Mihajlovic changed things up by introducing a 4-3-3 formation against Torino and, if he persists with the system, Adriano may find it difficult to obtain a place in the lineup ahead of Bacca and Mario Balotelli.
A 1-1 draw with Torino may not feel like much for a Milan coach but, in these circumstances, it represented a small victory for Sinisa Mihajlovic.
The Serb has been under pressure after losing four of his first seven league games in charge, with Milan honorary president Silvio Berlusconi even going so far as to publicly question his tactical acumen, according to La Stampa (h/t Football Italia).
Mihajlovic did see flaws in his team's performance after taking the lead, telling Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia): "We had a good game, but after the goal we just stopped playing. It's as if we got nervous at taking the lead."
Nonetheless, Torino had won every single one of their home league games going into today's game and so Mihajlovic can take heart from a hard-earned point, especially given the criticisms leveled at him from above.
Drafted in at centre-back alongside Alessio Romagnoli, Alex had a difficult time up against Maxi Lopez. The Brazilian looked slow and unwieldy in the early going and never looked totally comfortable.
He never quite got to grips with his Argentine opponent after being turned in glaringly easy fashion in the opening minutes of the game. Following that, Alex failed to complete one single tackle in the entire match, per WhoScored.
It was not a performance to warrant further selection in the starting lineup, even if his main competitor for the right-sided centre-back berth—Cristian Zapata—is off form.
Milan winger Alessio Cerci said jeers from Torino fans were “like a stab in the
back.”
He was insulted throughout last night’s 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin,
when he returned to face his former club.
“The jeers from the Curva Maratona are like a stab in the back that I never
would’ve expected,” wrote Cerci on Facebook.
“Martin Luther King said there could be no deep disappointment without deep
love first. I try to console myself with that thought.
“I keep working and push forward this time too.”
Cerci perhaps should’ve expected some negative reaction, as when leaving for
Atletico Madrid his girlfriend wrote on social media that “we’re finally going to
the football that matters.”
He has struggled badly since pushing for a transfer away from Torino in the
summer of 2014, spending six months in Madrid and then loaned to Milan.
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