AC Milan 1 - Juventus 1
Sunday 9th December 2001
Milan and Juventus lost ground on Serie A's top three after sharing the points at the San Siro on Sunday night. A controversial Alessandro del Piero penalty cancelled out Andriy Shevchenko's spectacular first half opener.
Juventus were hit by the withdrawal of Alessandro Birindelli minutes before kick-off and Mark Iuliano stepped in alongside Paolo Montero in central defence.
And Marcello Lippi's side started the stronger. Del Piero took two early free-kicks, the second of which Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati did well to push to safety. David Trezeguet then headed the ball inches over the bar on 16 minutes.
Seven minutes later, Shevchenko had given Milan the lead with a trademark effort. He picked up the ball in the middle of the field, and ran towards the box, beating Edgar Davids and Iuliano on the way. He then cut to the right edge of the area, taking the ball around Gianluca Pessotto and drilling the ball home right-footed into the angle of the goal.
Juventus' best response again came from a Del Piero free-kick that flew over the top. Alessio Tacchinardi had a half-chance after a goalmouth scramble, but could not get his shot in.
Lippi changed things around at half-time, introducing Marcelo Zalayeta for Pavel Nedved. And the young forward made an immediate impact, cutting inside 36 seconds after the restart only to be bundled to the ground by Paolo Maldini.
Referee Gianluca Paparesta consulted his linesman and awarded a penalty that del Piero clinically slotted home.
Milan pressed forward looking for a winner, but struggled to create clear-cut chances. After Davids was booked, he was replaced by Antonio Conte, who had been out for four months through injury.
Soon after, Juve goalkeeper Gigi Buffon blocked a Cosmi Contra volley after Demetrio Albertini's free-kick. Only Shevchenko looked likely to change the game, but even he could not repeat his first-half moment of magic.
Milan: Abbiati, Helveg, Costacurta, Chamot, Maldini, Gattuso, Albertini, Umit (Contra 72), Rui Costa, Javi Moreno (Simone 65), Shevchenko
Juventus: Buffon, Thuram, Iuliano, Montero (Zenoni 44), Pessotto, Zambrotta, Tacchinardi, Davids (Conte 80), Nedved (Zalayeta 46), Trezeguet, Del Piero.
Booked: Helveg, Costacurta (Milan), Davids (Juventus)
Referee: Gianluca Paparesta
