Luciano Spalletti reaffirmed his commitment to Randal Kolo Muani after Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw by AC Milan at the Allianz Stadium, with Federico Gatti’s stoppage-time header the only thing standing between the Bianconeri and a first defeat of the season.
“I chose him to lead our attack and I am sticking with that choice,” said Spalletti. “I will stick with it until the end of the season, and we’ll see then just how far he has taken us.”
The Tuscan coach’s words carry extra weight given his own admission that he had been critical of Kolo Muani following the opening-day win over Frosinone, where the Frenchman squandered several chances. The striker is still waiting for his first goal in his second spell at Juventus, and Sunday’s draw did nothing to end that wait.
Both sides arrived unbeaten after back-to-back wins to open the campaign, and that record survived a tense afternoon in Turin. Juventus had the better of the first half, with Mike Maignan producing a fine save to deny Francisco Conceicao’s clearest opening before the Portuguese winger struck the base of the post early in the second period after being picked out by Manuel Locatelli.
Milan broke the deadlock in the 68th minute with their first shot on target of the match, and the goal came in unfortunate circumstances for the hosts. Kolo Muani was on the ground appealing for a free-kick when Samuel Chukwueze released substitute Alphadjo Cisse, who cut inside and finished low into the bottom corner. Gatti, introduced from the bench, salvaged a point with a header off Teun Koopmeiners’ free-kick deep into injury time.
Spalletti’s public backing sits alongside his own admission that Juventus lacked the right decisions in the final third, a theme he has returned to repeatedly amid the club’s top-four ambitions this season. AC Milan boss Ruben Amorim offered a similarly measured verdict on the contest.
“We didn’t deserve to win, and Juve didn’t deserve to lose,” Amorim told DAZN. “We lost possession too often and didn’t play well, but we’ve only been working together for two months.”
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