LATEST NEWS

JUVENTUS - MILAN 2-2

Saturday 21 Oct 2000, kick-off 8:30PM CET

They dominated the match for nearly 90 minutes, but it wasn’t until time added-on at the end of the second half that the Bianconeri secured a well-earned point from their trip to the San Siro.

A brief spell of dominance by Milan quarter-of-an-hour into the second half bore far more fruit than was deserved by the home side. First Massimo Ambrosini, served by fellow Italy midfielder Demetrio Albertini, wrote his name onto the scoresheet. Then it was the turn of the formidable Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko, who added Milan’s second within 60 seconds of the first.

But it is not for nothing that the Bianconeri are famed for their guts and determination – and in the end Carlo Ancelotti’s side were rewarded for a brave and battling display in which they persisted in taking the game to the home side.

Indeed, in front of an 80,000 sell-out crowd, all the early initiatives belonged to Juve. Zinedine Zidane, who had missed out on the midweek trip to La Coruna through suspension, was back on form, dictating the rhythm of the match.

Filippo Inzaghi was clearly in tune. But despite several chances, the Bianconero number 9 simply could not break through the Milanese defence.

At the other end, it took a full 18 minutes for the home side to make their first attempt on goal, when Demetrio Albertini’s well struck but poorly targeted shot flew straight into the arms of Edwin Van der Sar. With Marco Zanchi proving an able deputy for Ciro Ferrara, Mark Iuliano keeping an eye on Oliver Bierhoff and Igor Tudor paying similar attention to Shevchenko, Milan’s chances were few and far between. Indeed, it wasn’t until the final minute of the first half that Juventus were treated to their first real scare of the game, when Zvonimir Boban struck the upright from an Albertini free-kick.

But after the break the pace of the game changed. Whatever Milan manager Alberto Zaccheroni had said to his troops during the interval seemed to have paid off when, in the space of 90 seconds, the Bianconeri found themselves 2-0 down. First Ambrosini, then Shevchenko managed to direct their headers past Van der Sar.

Within five minutes, however, Carlo Ancelotti had made the three substitutions that were to change the direction of the match. First he brought on David Trezeguet for Alessandro Del Piero. Next he replaced Tacchinardi with Antonio Conte, and finally substituted Gianluca Pessotto with Alessandro Birindelli.

True to form, it was the Frenchman who got the Juve fightback underway – just three minutes after stepping onto the San Siro turf. The final ball was supplied to him by compatriot Zidane after some spellbinding footwork down the left wing.

By now the Bianconeri had the scent of ‘victory’, with Zidane himself going close from a free-kick. A goal was in the offing, and it duly came a minute into stoppage time, Conte unleashing a merciless strike from the edge of the area. It was the Juventus captain’s 300th appearance in Serie A; he couldn’t have hoped for a better way to celebrate.

Milan 2
Ambrosini 59, Shevchenko 60
Juventus 2
Trezeguet 67, Conte 90

Booked Davids 37, Costacurta 37, Guly 44

Milan Abbiati, Roque Junior, Costacurta, Maldini; Gattuso, Ambrosini, Albertini, Guly (Coco 46); Boban (Giunti 75), Bierhoff, Shevchenko
Subs Rossi, José Mari, Helveg, Leonardo, Chamot, Giunti, Coco

Juventus Van der Sar; Tudor, Zanchi, Iuliano; Pessotto (Birindelli 69), Davids, Tacchinardi (Conte 66), Bachini; Zidane; Inzaghi, Del Piero (Trezeguet 64)
Subs Rampulla, Ferrara, Conte, Birindelli, Esnaider, Kovacevic, Trezeguet

Referee Braschi
Attendance 81,954