AC Milan 1-3 Juventus: 5 talking points as Federico Chiesa brace helps the Old Lady beat title rivals | Serie A 2020-21

#3 Federico Chiesa starting to show his class for Juventus

Federico Chiesa

Federico Chiesa has made himself one of the first names on the team sheet since joining the Turin-based outfit in October. Although there were doubts as to how the winger would fit into the Juventus system under Pirlo, he has been very impressive operating as either a wing-back or wide a midfielder, especially on the right flank.

5 - Federico #Chiesa has been involved in five goals against #Milan in #SerieA (2 goals, 3 assists), against no side he had an hand in more goals in the competition. Inspired.#MilanJuve #SerieATIM

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 6, 2021

The Italian winger now has three goals in his last two Serie A starts and Wednesday night's brace took his tally for the season to four goals.

He got injured soon after scoring his second goal and given the kind of form Chiesa has been in, he could've easily added a third if he had played the entire 90 minutes.

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#2 A quiet night for Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo

After a match-winning performance against Udinese in the first Serie A game of the year, in which he bagged a brace and an assist in a 4-1 win, Cristiano Ronaldo was expected to step up in the key fixture against fierce rivals AC Milan. But the Portuguese maestro was kept quiet by the Milan defenders.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs AC Milan:• 2/2 dribbles.• 100% dribble success rate.• 3 chances created.• 1 big chance created.• 93% pass accuracy.No goals but a good performance. pic.twitter.com/JD1fS9bGba

— TeamCRonaldo (@TeamCRonaldo) January 6, 2021

He had the fewest touches of all the Juventus players in the starting XI except Chiesa and Leonardo Bonucci. Despite an uncharacteristically poor display in front of goal, he had a decent game otherwise. Ronaldo created three chances, had two key passes to his name and completed 94% of his passes.

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#1 The fightback is on for Juventus and Andrea Pirlo

Juventus are now seven points adrift of Milan

Wednesday night's win was Juventus' eighth of the season and third in their last four outings. Manager Andrea Pirlo had drawn a lot of criticism in the early stages of the season for his inability to secure wins as the club have played as many as six draws already in the present campaign.

With three wins in their last four games, in which they have scored 11 times, it seems Pirlo has finally cracked the code on how to get the best of the talented group of players at his disposal.

Obviously, Ronaldo will be the key man going forward but Dybala is also hitting form at the right time, having scored a goal and bagging two assists in his last two games.

Pirlo didn't have much of a pre-season to test his squad but has worked hard to implement a comprehensive, fast-paced and attacking style of play, while also focusing on minimising defensive errors.

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