Teenager gets his chance with Old Lady

MILAN: Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri could hand teenage starlet Moise Kean his full debut for the injury-hit Turin giants against Genoa tomorrow — even if he is secretly an AC Milan fan.

Kean, a powerfully-built striker, joined an elite group of 16-year-old Serie A debutants when he replaced Mario Mandzukic in a 3-0 win over Pescara last weekend.

On Tuesday Kean showcased his talents to a global audience when he made a late cameo in a 3-1 Champions League win over Sevilla that secured Juve’s ticket to the last 16.

Now, he could start alongside Croatia star Mandzukic at the Luigi Ferraris stadium — if Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain fails to recover fully from a thigh knock that kept him on the bench in Seville.

The Italian champions hold a seven-point lead over Roma and Milan ahead of Sunday’s trip to Genoa and Allegri will definitely be missing striker Paulo Dybala and attacking midfielder Marko Pjaca.

Only seven points adrift of Juve and playing their best football in years, Milan have emerged as a serious threat.

Yet Vincenzo Montella’s men have not won at Empoli since the 2007/08 season, when Alex Pato and Kaka were on target either side of a Mas simo Ambrosini goal in a 3-1 win at the Carlo Castellani.

Colombia striker Carlos Bacca is ruled out of their trip there today through injury, meaning a likely start for Gianluca Lapadula up front alongside M’Baye Niang.

City rivals Inter are under pressure, the Nerazzurri facing the threat of Fiorentina four days after a 3-2 defeat to Hapoel Beer-Sheva eliminated them from the Europa League.

Fiorentina’s fans would be forgiven for dreaming big — a year ago Nikola Kalinic’s hat-trick inspired La Viola to a memorable 4-1 win at the San Siro.

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AFP