Fofana reveals Milan fear of Juventus solidity | OneFootball

Youssouf Fofana confessed Milan were afraid of the Juventus defensive solidity at San Siro, noting that ‘if they scored a goal, the game was over.’

The Rossoneri were on home turf and against a side decimated by injury problems, yet they had fewer shots on goal and less possession in this dire 0-0 draw.

Fofana admits Milan scared of Juventus

epa11736809 Juventus FC’s defender Federico Gatti in action against AC Milan’s midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek during the Italian Serie A soccer match AC Milan vs Juventus FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, Italy, 23 November 2024. EPA-EFE/ROBERTO BREGANI

Coach Paulo Fonseca said that they were ‘playing it safe’ and did not take risks, which midfielder Fofana largely agrees with.

“It was like a chess match. There weren’t many scoring opportunities and it remained a battle in the middle of the park. It was the kind of match I didn’t want to play,” said Fofana in his press conference.

He was asked if Milan were afraid of Juventus and the response suggested he couldn’t entirely argue with that summation.

“Every time Juve lost the ball, they all ran back behind the ball to close the spaces. If they scored a goal, the game was over. We tried and managed to keep a balance. OK, we are Milan and playing on home turf, but we also must remember who we are up against.”

Milan still have a game in hand, as their trip to Bologna was postponed due to flood warnings, but even then are falling off the leading pack and dropping further away from the Scudetto race.

The former AS Monaco midfielder moved to Serie A over the summer, but was not called up by coach Didier Deschamps for the recent Nations League matches against Israel and Italy.

“Obviously I was not happy, but there are many good players in France. I just have to keep proving myself in games and hoping that I get called up. I respect the decisions made by the coach,” concluded Fofana.