Milan and Juve stalemate leaves UCL race wide open
AC Milan and Juventus both missed the chance to tighten their grips on the UEFA Champions League places in Serie A after playing out a 0-0 draw at San Siro.
Khephren Thuram had a first-half goal ruled out for offside, while Alexis Saelemaekers rattled the crossbar, but neither side could find the breakthrough to snatch all three points.
A cagey first half eventually opened up 10 minutes before the break, with Adrien Rabiot latching onto a defence-splitting pass and forcing Michele Di Gregorio into a fine, sprawling save.
Rafael Leao blazed the follow-up to that shot over the bar, and Milan were almost punished two minutes later as Thuram slid in to turn home Francisco Conceicao's low cross, but he had strayed offside, and the goal was ruled out.
Conceicao was denied by Mike Maignan just before half-time, although it was Milan that came out fighting after the break, with Saelemaekers' first-time effort smashing off the crossbar in the 51st minute.
Bremer and Teun Koopmeiners both missed chances to put Juventus in front, while Milan struggled to mount a threat in front of goal in the closing stages.
It is a point that takes both sides slightly closer to a UEFA Champions League spot, but Juventus, which missed the chance to leapfrog Milan, will now be looking over its shoulder with Como and Roma just three points behind.
Juve boss Luciano Spalletti conceded that the Serie A top-four race is now going down to the wire.
"I think it will go down to the wire or very close to it, because these are the games," Spalletti said.
"Roma and Como won, so we still have quite a few matches left to win before we can deserve our place in that tournament.
"It's time for the final sprint, and at this stage is where the fatigue of a long season starts to build up; that is where you can tell who belongs at Juventus and who doesn't.
"We must confirm the culture of self-discipline, hard work and determination that inhabits this club, giving our all every day and letting nothing go by."
Today was the first time the teams have drawn both of their games 0-0 in a single Serie A season, and Spalletti admitted he asked for a more cautious approach from his players.
"We continued our journey, we tried to take the initiative. A bit too slowly and predictably in the first half, we never managed to get past their men, so they were always in position," Spalletti said.
"You have to be wary with Milan, as you feel like you are in complete control, and then they suddenly burst forward with three or four to make it difficult for you. The danger is when you feel comfortable against them.
"When building out from the back, we worked on the preventative marking to ensure those counter-attacks didn't happen. There were a few situations where we could've done better, including a foul on Jonathan David, but it was missed."
