Milan follow Liverpool lesson with trip to old rivals Juve

MILAN - AC Milan bounce straight from one massive
game to another on Sunday when they travel to fierce rivals Juventus still
reeling from defeat in their first Champions League match since 2014.

  The seven-time European champions came away from Anfield with some lessons
to learn after spending the vast majority of their 3-2 defeat to Liverpool on
the back foot.

  In the opening 20 minutes Stefano Pioli's side looked overawed by the
occasion and a full, pulsating stadium after playing their domestic matches
in grounds kept at 50 percent capacity as according to Italy's Covid-19
regulations.

  And once 2-1 ahead against the run of play at half-time through goals by
Ante Rebic and Brahim Diaz they then crumbled in the face of Liverpool
pressure after the break and could have lost by more.

  "The fact that we were in the game until the end is a sign of the level we
have reached," Pioli said after the match.

  "We're talking about a really high standard and we're not quite there but
we'll use this match to grow and gain more experience."

  They have an immediate test at the Allianz Stadium in probably the biggest
match of the Serie A season so far, as Juve try to build on their 3-0 win at
Malmo and crack Milan's perfect start to the league campaign.

  Massimiliano Allegri's side were considered the pre-season favourites for
the Scudetto but the sudden departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and only one draw
to show from three matches has left them in disarray, eight points behind
Milan, Napoli and league leaders Roma.

  They will likely benefit from the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who said
on Thursday he wasn't sure he would recover from an Achilles tendon injury in
time for the trip west.

  The Swedish star picked up the knock after scoring in an impressive 2-0 win
over Lazio last weekend, his first match in over four months, and missed the
trip to England.

  "I don't want to risk consequences further down the line, I want to
maintain my fitness for the whole season so that I can always be available,"
Ibrahimovic said at a promotional event.

  Champions Inter meanwhile will need to recover from being sucker punched by
Real Madrid when they host Bologna on Saturday evening.

  Elsewhere promoted Venezia will play their first home Serie A match for
nearly two decades in the atmospheric Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, an intriguing
ground set on the south-eastern tip of Venice's main archipelago.

  Reachable by boat, the Penzo will host around 6,000 fans as Venezia attempt
to build on last weekend's 2-1 win at Empoli with the visit of Spezia, who
have had a rough start to their second season in the top flight and sit in
the drop zone with just one point.

  Down the road Igor Tudor faces daunting opposition for his first match in
charge of Verona -- who are yet to pick up a single point -- following the
sacking of Eusebio Di Francesco, as Jose Mourinho's Roma come to town.

  Cagliari, who also sacked their coach Leonardo Semplici just three matches
into the season, travel to Lazio for Walter Mazzarri's first game in the
dugout.

   Player to watch: Manuel Locatelli (Juventus)

  Italy midfielder Locatelli has become a lynchpin of the Juve midfield after
being introduced to the team slowly following his summer signing from
Sassuolo.

  Excellent for his country against Switzerland, Locatelli was a dominating
presence in Sweden midweek and his battle with a rejuvenated Sandro Tonali in
the Milan midfield will be an interesting side story to an intriguing
encounter.

  Key stats

  1 -- Juventus have only managed to draw one of their league matches, losing
the last two

  3 - Roma, Napoli and Milan have all had a perfect start to the season

  Fixtures (all times GMT)

  Friday

  Sassuolo v Torino (1845)

  Saturday

  Genoa v Fiorentina (1300), Inter Milan v Bologna (1600), Salernitana v
Atalanta (1845)

  Sunday

  Empoli v Sampdoria (1030), Venezia v Spezia (1300), Verona v Roma, Lazio v
Cagliari (both 1600), Juventus v AC Milan (1845) Monday Udinese v Napoli (1845). BSS/AFP