Juventus 0-0 Milan: 3 things we learnt in Turin stalemate | OneFootball

Juventus and Milan eked out a cagey 0-0 draw in Turin on Sunday evening, as both sides failed to capitalise on their chances in a dismal display of finishing.

Milan had the best chances of the game, with Christian Pulisic putting a penalty over the crossbar after a foul from Lloyd Kelly on Santiago Giménez.

The result sees Milan pick up their fourth clean sheet of the season as Juventus remain unbeaten after the first six games of the campaign.

Whilst neither team came away with all three points, there were plenty of lessons learnt from the cagey affair at the Allianz Stadium.

TURIN, ITALY – OCTOBER 05: Christian Pulisic of AC Milan misses a penalty during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and AC Milan at Allianz Stadium on October 5, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Both teams need confidence in front of goal

Milan and Juventus’ woes in front of goal have been indirectly linked since before the season even began.

In the summer, the Rossoneri were on the hunt for a new centre-forward and were linked with a move for Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic. The Serbian was linked away from the Bianconeri after the Turin side picked up Jonathan David on a free transfer from Lille.

In the end, Vlahovic stayed at Juventus. The Bianconeri added another versatile forward in Lois Openda on deadline day but the Belgian has yet to score for the club. Meanwhile, the Rossoneri pursued a late move for Christopher Nkunku, who is not a natural striker but could potentially play there.

However, neither team is having as much luck in front of goal as their rivals in Serie A. Both Juventus and Milan have scored just nine times each, whilst Atalanta have eleven goals, Napoli twelve and Inter an impressive 17.

Last night summed up the situation for both teams, a lack of clinical finishing costing them dearly. Giménez continues to make the right runs for Milan but his finishing has been lacklustre. For Juventus, David continues to struggle and appears to be severely lacking in confidence.

MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 28: Luka Modric of AC Milan during the Serie A match between AC Milan and SSC Napoli at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on September 28, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Modric continues to roll back the years: best player on the pitch

Of all the players on the pitch on Sunday evening, none shone once again like Luka Modric. The 40-year-old midfielder continues to be Allegri’s talisman in the heart of midfield and the Croatian played another full 90 minutes in the draw.

It is fair to say the former Real Madrid man has been Milan’s best player this season. His positioning and presence in midfield is a constant asset for his team.

In some moments, the one-time Ballon d’Or winner will drop back deeper, allowing the Rossoneri’s wide centre-backs to push up and initiate the attack. Modric often found himself coming back to support the defence whilst Pavlovic embarked on several charging runs forward into the Juventus half, putting a couple of good balls into the box too.

With Modric, the rest of Milan’s team also have more freedom. The experienced star holds such gravity in the middle of the park that it encourages confidence around him and he has turned into a highly valuable asset for the club – both in terms of what he can do on the pitch and the influence on his younger teammates in training.

VERONA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 20: Lois Openda of Juventus FC in action during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and Juventus FC at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on September 20, 2025 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images)

Summer signings deserve more chances

Aside from the aforementioned brilliance from Modric and lack of confidence from Jonathan David, questions continue to be asked about some of both sides’ summer signings.

David, Modric and Adrien Rabiot were the only ‘new’ players to feature in the respective starting XIs yesterday. Rabiot, like Modric, has impressed since his arrival at Milan but was somewhat overwhelming in his return to the Allianz Stadium.

However, both Igor Tudor and Massimiliano Allegri appear hesitant to give more opportunities to some of their other fresh signings.

For Tudor, deadline day signing Lois Openda has started just one match in the league so far, with no goals or assists after 135 minutes across 4 Serie A matches. The Belgian scored 41 times in his 93 appearances for RB Leipzig but is now 5 games in all competitions without a goal for Juventus.

Openda made a twenty-minute cameo against Milan on Sunday but looked lacking in confidence and demonstrated little cohesion with the Bianconeri’s other attacking outlets.

For Milan, four summer signings (excluding goalkeeper Terracciano) remained as unused substitutes last night. Defenders David Odogu, Koni De Winter and Zachary Athekame all sat the game out. However, greater questions have to be raised about Samuele Ricci.

Ricci joined from Torino in the summer with nearly 150 Serie A games under his belt for Empoli and Torino. However, he has made just one start since his arrival, in the Coppa Italia win over Lecce. In Serie A, Ricci has played just 61 minutes over three matches.

In fairness to Allegri, Modric’s fitness and stamina is a spanner in the works for Ricci, who would be most likely to play in the same role for the Rossoneri. However, in Ricci, Milan have a talented Italian player on their books who, as it stands, is not getting his chance.