Milan 1-1 Salernitana: Dia dents Rossoneri's top-four bid

By Sports Desk March 13, 2023

Milan missed the chance to gain ground on their rivals for a top-four Serie A finish as Boulaye Dia cancelled out Olivier Giroud's opener in a 1-1 draw with Salernitana at San Siro.

Slip-ups from Inter, Lazio and Roma gave Milan the chance to strike an important blow in the Champions League race on Monday, and they looked set to do so when Giroud headed the opener on the stroke of half-time.

However, Salernitana hit back through Dia just after the hour mark, before a VAR review denied Milan a penalty when Ismael Bennacer went down easily under Domagoj Bradaric's challenge.

The result means Milan remain fourth, just a point clear of fifth-placed Roma in a tense battle for Champions League qualification.

While Milan dominated possession from the off, Salernitana kept them quiet until the half-hour mark, when Giroud sent a trademark overhead kick narrowly over the crossbar.

Salernitana then squandered two chances on the break, with Grigoris Kastanos' effort deflecting wide after a loose pass from Mike Maignan, before the Milan goalkeeper made a fine last-ditch challenge to prevent Dia rounding him.

The visitors' resistance was broken just before half-time as Giroud met Bennacer's corner at the near post to glance a header into the bottom-left corner. 

Salernitana hit back after the restart as Bradaric led a Salernitana break down the left, with his driven cross turned beyond Maignan by a stretching Dia.

Milan threw on Zlatan Ibrahimovic in search of a winner and saw referee Federico La Penna reverse a decision to award them a spot-kick, while Guillermo Ochoa denied Divock Origi with a fine save late on.

Ochoa was involved again as Milan went agonisingly close to a winner late on, somehow clawing the ball away from the goal line following a scramble.

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    Bayern Munich squandered a two-goal lead to slump to a 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim courtesy of a second-half Andrej Kramaric hat-trick in Thomas Tuchel's final game.

    Early goals from Mathys Tel and Alphonso Davies saw the injury-depleted Bavarians go 2-0 up by the sixth minute.

    Hoffenheim, however, pulled a goal back through Germany international Maximilian Beier just two minutes later, with the hosts gradually taking some of the early pace out of the game.

    Bayern's injury troubles were further compounded when they lost Aleksandar Pavlovic to injury in the 35th minute, and struggled to cope with Hoffenheim's threat in the second half. 

    Kramaric then delivered a stunning 19-minute hat-trick with the Bayern defence in ruins, ending a disappointing season in third place with 72 points.

    Bayer Leverkusen finished in top spot on 90 points. VfB Stuttgart finished runners-up on 73 with a 4-0 demolition of Borussia Moenchengladbach, while Hoffenheim finished seventh, in the Europa Conference League place. 

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    Thomas Muller made his 473rd Bundesliga appearance for Bayern on Saturday, drawing level with Sepp Maier as the club's record appearance maker in the competition.

    Bayern failed to have a single shot on target in the second half, while Kramaric ran riot to subject Bayern to their worst league finish since 2011.

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    Xabi Alonso's treble-chasing team also stretched their European record unbeaten run across all competitions this season to 51 matches.

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  • Edwards urges Luton to 'reward' supporters on final day Edwards urges Luton to 'reward' supporters on final day

    Rob Edwards wants Luton Town’s players to "reward" the fans for their support throughout the season when they welcome Fulham on the final day.

    The 18th-place Hatters' survival hopes are still mathematically alive, but they require an ambitious 12-goal swing to leapfrog Nottingham Forest, who are away at already relegated Burnley, in 17th.

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    "Everything I have had from fans has been really positive. Everyone has been proud of players and club and what they have shown. We want to make it a really positive day with the performance as well.

    "We have given everything and given a really good account of ourselves. We have shown Luton to the world in a really good light.

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    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Luton Town - Alfie Doughty

    With 42, Doughty has created the most chances from set-plays in the Premier League this season.

    Meanwhile, only West Ham's James Ward-Prowse has registered more such assists (six) than the Luton full-back (five).

    Fulham - Andreas Pereira

    Pereira has created 84 chances in the Premier League this season, the most by a Fulham player in a single campaign (since 2003-04). 

    Meanwhile, his tally of seven assists is the highest by a Cottagers player in a single term since Simon Davies in 2007-08 (eight).

    MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

    Both sides are on winless streaks; Luton failing to win any of their last five matches, and Fulham without victory in four attempts.

    The Hatters have failed to win any of their last six league games against the Cottagers (drawn two, lost four), though both those draws have come in the two most recent meetings at Kenilworth Road. 

    Luton have only kept two clean sheets this season and conceded 81 goals – only letting more in during a top-flight campaign in 1982-83 (84).

    While Fulham have kept two successive away clean sheets – after 12 straight games without one – they have not registered three in a row since a run of four in late 2008.

    The Cottagers have not won their final league game in any of the last six seasons (drawing one, losing five), with a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday in 2016-17 representing their most recent such success.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Luton Town: 33.9%
    Fulham: 37.7%
    Draw: 28.4%

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