Roma salvage late draw to deny Milan
AS Roma scored two late goals at the San Siro to salvage a 2-2 draw against defending Champions AC Milan on Sunday night. The away side didn’t have a shot on goal till the 87th minute but Roger Ibanez and Tammy Abraham scored at the dying stages to deal Milan a massive blow in their […]
AS Roma scored two late goals at the San Siro to salvage a 2-2 draw against defending Champions AC Milan on Sunday night.
The away side didn’t have a shot on goal till the 87th minute but Roger Ibanez and Tammy Abraham scored at the dying stages to deal Milan a massive blow in their quest of retaining their title.
Champions the better side
The defending champions were by far the better side on the night playing in front of their vociferous fans as Roma hardly settled into the game.
Pierre Kalulu put the home side ahead with a diving header in the 30th minute which Roma keeper Rui Patricio got a hand but couldn’t keep out.
Milan tested Roma on several occasions and would have been disappointed not to head into half time with a bigger lead as Olivier Giroud and Brahim Diaz had goal scoring chances.
Milan dominated after the break with Rafael Leao firing over from a tough angle while Patricio somehow managed to keep of Theo Hernandez’s long-range effort using his chest.
Alexis Saelemaekers then had a penalty call waved off by the refer minutes after Giroud fired his header straight to Patricio.
The Rossoneri did score their second of the night when substitute Tomasso Pobega swept home a brilliant team move inside the penalty box from 12 yards.
Ten minutes later Roma were given a lifeline by Ibanez who whipped in his free header from Lorenzo Pellegrini’s corner.
This was the away side’s first shot on target in the game. The Giallorossi then tied it right at the death when Abraham reacted quickest to shot in the rebound after Nemanja Matic’s header was saved from point blank range by Milan keeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
Milan trail Napoli
The result means that Milan are third on the table tied with Juventus on points but 7 points adrift of league leader Napoli who beat Sampdoria 2-0 earlier on Sunday.
On the result, Milan manager Stefan Pioli said, “It’s a huge pity to emerge from this game with only a point, that’s for sure. After a game like this, we tell the players that we must continue playing like this, but that matches end at the 95th minute and you have to stay focused throughout.”
“If you concede two goals on set plays, where we knew our opponents were very strong, that means more focus was needed. It’s difficult to talk to the team at this moment, as we played well and until the 87th minute fully deserved to win, but then rather made life difficult for ourselves.”
Photo credit: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
