GdS: ‘A lot at stake’ – why Torino vs. Milan has plenty on the line for both teams

AC Milan take on Torino away from home tonight, hoping to win and retake top spot in the table after Napoli’s win against Juventus.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write, with elimination from the Coppa Italia still fresh in the memory, Massimiliano Allegri was reeling off the negative numbers in away games against Torino during his TV interviews on Thursday night.

Almost as if to exorcise them, he repeated them yesterday (three straight defeats), while Marco Baroni urged Torino to be focused and avoid destructive errors. Milan, who are aiming to join Napoli at the top, have not lost away in the league yet.

On Thursday they saw their season targets reduced by saying goodbye to the cup, in an away game. Torino, needing to bounce back after two defeats, have produced their best moments of this tournament when facing some of the big teams, beating Roma and Napoli.

Consistency and key men

“I don’t want to think that only the big teams are getting attention,” explained the Torino coach. In their last match at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, his side were was beaten with relentless vehemence by Como (5-1).

Last week in Lecce, Asllani’s penalty to make it 2-2 in the last minute was kept, after conceding two goals in two minutes in the first half. Torino returned from the break poorly, having previously strung together a run of six games unbeaten, including draws without conceding at Bologna and Juventus.

Since the end of November, they have rediscovered their frailty and insecurities: now they must regain team unity and cohesion. Blackouts must be understood, analysed, and erased. Even Milan, despite being in higher positions in the standings, have had their lapses though.

They were strong against the big teams, weak against the lesser ones. Allegri said in his press conference: “You have to convince yourself that you want things, if you want to move up the table.”

Christian Pulisic’s probable absence places even more responsibility on Rafael Leao. In the two games in five days against Lazio, he scored the winning goal at home in the league, then missed a big chance in the cup match.

It was the crucial moment of the knockout tie, and whoever scored would likely win. Leao, along with Pulisic, is Milan’s top scorer: in the league he has found the net five times with eleven shots on target, plus one against the woodwork. It can’t be argued that he squanders countless chances.

He’s a winger pushed infield, not a natural centre-forward: he’s assigned a position (against Lazio on Saturday he started on the right-centre, not the left-centre, but obviously he moves around), and he can use it to attack the goal (like for the goal) and to break out onto the flank.

Che Adams scored three times with eight shots on target: his last was in Lecce. He too has had to shoulder the burden (and loneliness) of being the most advanced striker, but he prefers to drop back a few metres, engage in link-up play, and get to loose balls in the box.

We saw on Thursday how important Luka Modric is to Milan’s mechanisms: the Croatian star’s absence from the starting line-up has limited the options available. Today, Modric will see his friend Nikola Vlasic – a teammate in many international battles – starting again.

Baroni expects his No.10 to be unpredictable and to break down the defence. Allegri is aiming for two midfielders with physicality and finishing skills, Rabiot and Loftus-Cheek. Torino are banking on Asllani’s desire for revenge and Casadei’s aerial supremacy.