AC Milan kicks off their Serie A campaign on August 23 with an away trip to face Ignazio Abate’s Torino, and man, this road game comes with some wild history. Get this: a super curious stat links the Rossoneri’s last three league visits to Turin. Every single match featured a penalty. But here’s the kicker, the head-scratcher: AC Milan only came away victorious when the spot-kick was awarded to the *opposition*. That’s right, one of football’s truly bizarre quirks is hanging over their heads.
Pulisic’s Penalty Blues in Turin
The strange sequence of events started way back in February 2025. Torino actually took the lead with an own goal before referee Simone Sozza pointed to the spot, giving AC Milan a first-half penalty. Christian Pulisic stepped up to take it, but Milinković-Savić came up huge with an excellent save. Milan created a ton of chances and eventually found an equalizer, but they still fell to a 2-1 defeat. Just a few months later, in early October 2025, the penalty drama hit again. This time it was during Juventus vs AC Milan, and referee Marco Guida awarded a spot-kick with the score still at nil-nil. Pulisic took it again, but his effort drifted narrowly wide, and the match finished 0-0. Two straight misses, two straight matches without a win. You gotta wonder what’s going on in those moments for the Rossoneri.
Maignan’s World Class Stops, Torino’s Costly Goal
Then came December 2025, back in Turin for another clash against Torino. Early in that game, referee Chiffi awarded a penalty to the hosts. Vlašić converted it, putting Torino in the lead. But guess what? This was the game AC Milan actually won, fighting back in a dramatic, eventful contest to secure a 3-2 victory. It just proves that wild stat, right? The penalty spot has been a huge deal for Mike Maignan too, but for totally different, awesome reasons. He started his World Cup campaign by saving Erling Strand Larsen’s penalty in France’s win over Norway. And before that incredible save on the world stage, Maignan had already denied Dybala and Çalhanoğlu from the spot in Serie A. The only players to actually beat him were Pellegrini from Roma and Vlašić from Torino, who got him twice. What a goalie!
So, AC Milan is heading back to Turin on August 23 to kick off their Serie A season against Torino. After all this penalty weirdness, you just know every fan will be holding their breath any time the ref’s whistle blows in the box. Can Milan break this bizarre “only win if the opponent scores a penalty” streak, or will the Rossoneri have to hope for a Torino spot-kick just to get a result? This season opener could be a wild one.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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