AC MILAN v TORINO: OPPONENT REVIEW

It didn’t go well for AC Milan in the league in October. Indeed, a determined Torino side won 2-1 in Turin, handing Pioli’s men one of the two defeats they’ve suffered so far during the 2022/23 Serie A campaign (the other loss was against Napoli). It’s all the more reason why the Coppa Italia clash shouldn’t be underestimated by Calabria and his teammates, who will be up against a good side with some excellent individuals. While it’s true that the Granata haven’t beaten the Diavolo at least twice in the same season since 1985 (and in two different competitions since 1969), it’s also the case that Torino will be arriving at San Siro having won both of their Coppa Italia matches this campaign without conceding and, in general, kept five clean sheets in their last six games in the competition.  

AC Milan have historically done well in their opening Coppa Italia fixtures. Indeed, the last time the Rossoneri lost their first match in the competition was in December 2008 (a 2-1 home defeat to Lazio). Since then, the Diavolo have made it to the next round on 13 consecutive occasions. Meanwhile, the last time Torino advanced to the round of 16 was in January 2020 (a penalty shootout win over Genoa). That season, the Granata were eliminated in the quarter-finals by AC Milan (4-2 in January 2020).

AWAY DAY BLUES FOR THE GRANATA AND A LOT OF SECOND-HALF GOALS CONCEDED
It’s clear to see that, this season, there’s been one version of Torino at home and another on the road. So far, 14 of the 19 goals shipped by the Granata during the 2022/23 Serie A campaign have come away from the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino: only Inter have conceded a higher percentage of their goals away from home than Jurić’s side (74%). The Jekyll and Hyde nature of their performances is apparent when you compare their first- and second-half displays. Only Lazio (three) and Juventus (four) have shipped fewer goals than the Granata (six) in the opening 45 minutes of Serie A matches this campaign. However, they’ve conceded more than twice as many in the second half of their fixtures: 13, including seven of the last nine goals. At the other end, Torino have netted seven times through five different players in the Coppa Italia. Only Spezia and Modena (eight each) have scored more goals than Sanabria and his teammates in the competition, and only Modena, Monza and Ascoli have had as many different goalscorers.

VLAŠIĆ, RADONJIĆ, MIRANČUK: PLENTY OF QUALITY IN THE FINAL THIRD
While Torino concede more goals than they’d like, they have enormous potential up front. First and foremost, there’s the Croatian Nikola Vlašić, who has the most goal contributions out of any Granata player in all competitions this campaign (seven, four goals and three assists). The 25-year-old has already provided an assist against AC Milan in Serie A, with this coming in the last meeting between the sides on 30 October 2022. Then we have Aleksey Mirančuk, who bagged the second goal in the 2-1 win against the Rossoneri towards the end of last year and, in total, has three to his name this campaign. Finally, it’s clear that Nemanja Radonjić enjoys playing in the Coppa Italia: he’s been on the scoresheet in Torino’s last two cup games. The last Granata player to find the net in at least three consecutive matches in the competition was Andrea Belotti, who netted for four games in a row between November 2016 and November 2017 (one of which came against AC Milan). Furthermore, out of all the players who currently ply their trade in Serie A, Radonjic has created the most chances (seven) and completed the most dribbles (six) in the Coppa Italia this season. Beating opponents, creating overloads, making a difference: the Granata players in the final third know how to inflict damage.

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