I Bianconeri started quickly in a meeting between two giants visibly keen to add a spark to their respective underwhelming league campaigns so far, and Samuel Mbangula came agonisingly close with his early curling effort.
The threatening efforts continued to flow in the opening quarter-hour as a strong block from Pierre Kalulu was required to deny Rafael Leao’s strike before Teun Koopmeiners fired off target at the other end.
Despite those attempts, Mike Maignan’s first notable contribution was to rush out and reach Emerson Royal’s lax pass ahead of Kenan Yıldız to escape a major scare.
Tijjani Reijnders then saw his instinctive shot from a smart corner routine deflected wide before the teams had a big opportunity apiece in quick succession. Leao’s shot was saved and Federico Gatti stopped Theo Hernandez’s follow-up before Nico Gonzalez raced up the pitch but was eventually halted by Fikayo Tomori.
Yıldız was then denied by Maignan in a more conventional way with his side-footed shot being palmed away, before Kalulu headed over from the ensuing corner.
Khephren Thuram and Gonzalez also failed to hit the target prior to Hernandez being denied by Gatti again, as an action-packed half somehow ended goalless despite a total of 13 attempts being recorded between the teams.
The search for an opener continued after the restart as substitute Timothy Weah fired off a shot that was saved by Maignan, who then stood strong again to deny Koopmeiners.
The breakthrough, though, finally came just before the hour mark courtesy of a slice of luck, with Maignan only being able to tip the ball in off the crossbar when Mbangula’s first-time shot took a deflection off Emerson.
After such a long wait, the hosts took just five minutes to register a second as Weah, released by Thuram, got the better of Tomori and finished clinically.
The visitors looked for a route back into the game, but Hernandez struck his free-kick harmlessly wide as Juventus ended a run of three consecutive SA draws to maintain their unbeaten run in the league this season and overtake Lazio to go fourth, at least temporarily.
They also inflicted the first defeat in Milan’s last nine matches across all competitions and their first under Sergio Conceicao, keeping I Rossoneri eighth.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Manuel Locatelli (Juventus)
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