AC Milan continued their unbeaten start to the Serie A (SA) campaign with a 1-0 victory over Torino, keeping their first clean sheet in five league outings in the process.
Torino have not won against Milan at the San Siro since the 1984/85 season and, although ‘il Toro’ started well, the hosts landed the first blow as they looked to preserve that lengthy record. Olivier Giroud scored the opener, latching on to Rade Krunić’s flick-on from a corner to tap in beyond Vanja Milinković-Savić’s reach.
The visitors were industrious and looked comfortable on the ball - they had had 54% possession at the interval - but Milan were the more dangerous of the two sides, with Rafael Leão forcing Milinković-Savić into a save from long-range before Krunić headed just wide in the 45th minute.
By the 54th minute, Torino boss Ivan Jurić had seen enough as he decided to introduce three new faces in Antonio Sanabria, Dennis Praet and Ricardo Rodriguez. Star striker Andrea Belotti, who had scuffed one of his side’s best chances shortly after the interval, was one of the men to make way. The former, of that aforementioned trio, had a fantastic opportunity to level proceedings, but his shot was well-saved by Ciprian Tătărușanu, while Praet’s deflected effort hit the bar on its way out for a corner.
Ultimately, however, the visitors did not do enough to deserve anything more than the defeat they eventually suffered, and they have now managed just one win in their last six SA outings. That is in stark contrast to Milan, who have won nine of their 10 games in the division, drawing the other one. They top the table ahead of Napoli’s clash with Bologna on Thursday, meaning Stefano Pioli’s men continue to look like serious title challengers.
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