TIME MACHINE: TORINO v AC MILAN

The countdown is almost over. The 2026/27 season is moments away from getting underway, with Rúben Amorim's Rossoneri set to begin their campaign at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino against Torino, now managed by a familiar face to the AC Milan faithful, Ignazio Abate, who will be making his Serie A debut as a head coach. The rivalry with the Granata has produced countless memorable encounters over the years – not all of them ending in Milan's favour. In the first edition of Time Machine this season, we turn the clock back almost 20 years to relive a meeting from April 2007.

Those were days when AC Milan's focus was firmly on Europe. For Carlo Ancelotti's side, matchday 34 fell between the two unforgettable legs of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Manchester United. Even so, keeping their Serie A campaign on track remained vital, particularly to secure qualification for Europe's premier club competition – by no means a foregone conclusion. It was a challenge made all the more difficult by the eight-point deduction the Rossoneri had been forced to overcome.

Compared to the side that had lost 3-2 at Old Trafford four days earlier, Ancelotti made five changes to his starting XI, bringing in Cafu, Bonera, Favalli, Brocchi and Ronaldo in place of Oddo, Maldini, Jankulovski, Gattuso and Kaká. The game began at a lively pace, with chances at both ends, before Milan broke the deadlock in the 26th minute thanks to a moment of pure brilliance from Clarence Seedorf. The Dutchman unleashed a thunderous right-footed strike, leaving Torino goalkeeper Christian Abbiati with no chance.

The remainder of the match passed without any major drama, and Milan's task was made easier late on when Torino were reduced to ten men following Oscar Brevi's second yellow card. The Rossoneri secured a fifth consecutive Serie A victory with a narrow 1-0 win (as well as their first clean sheet in over a month) arriving in the best possible shape for their date with history on 2 May 2007.

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