Federico Chiesa delivers coming of age performance against Milan

One face was plastered across every Italian sports daily on Thursday morning. Whatever your broadsheet of choice, Federico Chiesa was there, cupping his ear to hear the squeals of jubilation from Juventus' bench after his second goal of the night.

With his last touch of the game, Chiesa put Juventus ahead once more in their titanic clash with Milan at San Siro. The Old Lady ultimately ran out 3-1 winners to not only inflict Milan's first league defeat since March, but haul themselves back into the title race.

Less than halfway through his debut campaign with Juventus, Chiesa's starring role in Wednesday's win was the latest in a series of consistent performances from the 23-year-old.

Starting on the right-hand side of midfield against Milan - in the flexible system Andrea Pirlo has installed which shifts between a three and four-man defence - Chiesa didn't enjoy too much of the ball (he had the fewest touches of the 22 players that started the match) but made those touches count.

After withstanding a fast start from their hosts, Chiesa crashed a half-volley off the post 15 minutes into the contest, prompting a swing in momentum for Juventus. Two minutes later and Juve's number 22 had the ball in the back of the net, finishing off a sequence of play that highlighted the tactical discipline which has defined his opening months in Turin.

Having collected the ball on the touchline, Chiesa followed his pass into the box, striding onto a wonderfully languid return back-heel from Paulo Dybala before stroking in the game's opening goal.

Chiesa revealed the choreographed nature of this move to Juve’s official website after the game, explaining: “For the first goal, I just did what the coach asks of me: to release the ball and time my runs into space well. When you have players like Dybala and Cristiano [Ronaldo] who see things that others don’t, everything is easier.”

All five of Chiesa's goals for Juve this season have been scored within the width of the six yard box, after the Italy international drifted in off the flank. During his time at Fiorentina, Chiesa was often guilty of taking aim from all manner of locations, however, this term the forward has appeared to take less of a scattergun approach to shooting.

Milan's rampaging left-back Theo Hernandez had the best view in San Siro of Chiesa's opening goal, trailing behind his opponent after being weaved past in the build up. Pirlo outlined after the match the importance of Chiesa's head-to-head battle with Hernandez, Milan's third-top scorer this season, telling Sky Sport Italia (via Football Italia):

“The idea was to keep him [Hernandez] under pressure and not allow him to keep pushing forward as freely as he usually does, especially when he had to deal with a player who was also good in one-on-one situations.” While Chiesa was on the pitch, Hernandez didn't take or set up a single shot.

Chiesa's second of the night was the culmination of a sweeping team move, but owed more to individual work from the 23-year-old. As the Fiorentina loanee reflected: “The second goal on my left foot, however, is down to training.”

With Hernandez again backing off, Chiesa shifted the ball onto his weaker foot before crisply thumping his effort into the bottom corner, leaving Gianluigi Donnarumma - arguably Serie A’s best goalkeeper of 2020 - grabbing at thin air.

One of the biggest critiques of Chiesa’s game before joining Juventus was his wayward finishing. This perceived tendency to miss the target is only heightened by the fact that his father, Enrico Chiesa, was a revered and prolific Serie A striker in the 1990s and early 2000s. Italy’s international manager Roberto Mancini has even revealed that he’s had a word with the Chiesa Sr, telling Gazzetta dello Sport (via Calciomercato): “I told his father: 'Tell him to relax, to find peace and joy. He gets to play football, it doesn’t happen to everyone. It’s a privilege'.”

However, while his coolly taken goals caught the headlines in midweek, Chiesa’s main strength this term has been creatively. To underscore his three league assists in Juve colours this season, Chiesa ranks fourth in Serie A for expected assists (xA) per 90, among players with more than a handful of minutes, according to UnderStat. Essentially, Chiesa is a regular supply line of quality opportunities for his teammates.

If Chiesa can consistently churn out performances which highlight his steady growth across the board, the sight of his celebrations will scarcely leave newspaper covers.