Ten-man AC Milan miss chance to move second after Monza defeat

By Sports Desk February 18, 2024

AC Milan missed the chance to go second in Serie A as they slumped to a 4-2 defeat at neighbours Monza, finishing with 10 men after Luka Jovic was sent off.

Stefano Pioli’s side had made the short trip north full of confidence, having lost just once in all competitions since early December.

Milan produced a bright start, with Jovic sending a header from a free-kick straight at the Monza goalkeeper before Theo Hernandez saw his shot deflected wide.

At the other end, Monza forward Milan Djuric flicked a header onto the frame of the goal.

There was a lengthy stoppage from the 36th minute when Monza goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio came to punch out a corner and clashed heads with team-mate Andrea Carboni.

Both players needed treatment for cuts and were bandaged up, before it was decided Di Gregorio could not continue and Alessandro Sorrentino came on in goal.

When the action resumed, Monza were awarded a penalty after a poorly-timed challenge from Milan defender Malick Thiaw on Dany Mota. Matteo Pessina rolled the spot-kick into the bottom-right corner.

Milan immediately went on the offensive, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek nodding down a cross into the path of Jovic, whose volley was charged down by Pablo Mari before Hernandez fired the rebound over.

Monza, though, doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time.

Andrea Colpani snatched the ball off Ismael Bennacer and darted away down the right before playing in Mota on the overlap, with the midfielder cutting back inside to clip a deflected finish into the far corner.

Milan’s night got even worse just six minutes into the second half when Jovic was sent off for lashing out at Armando Izzo as the pair jostled near the centre circle. Having initially been cautioned, the striker was shown a red card by the referee following a VAR review.

Rossoneri boss Pioli made an attacking change as Olivier Giroud replaced Bennacer in the 55th minute.

The French striker pulled a goal back after 64 minutes when he volleyed in Christian Pulisic’s flicked header in the six-yard box.

Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan made a smart save to push over an angled shot from Samuele Birindelli before at the other end, Loftus-Cheek’s towering header dropped straight at Sorrentino.

Pulisic, who had been sent on at the start of the second half, fired Milan level with two minutes left after cutting inside onto his left foot and rifling an angled drive into the far corner.

Monza, though, snatched the lead once again when Warren Bondo whipped a fine 18-yard strike into the top-right corner – the goal allowed to stand following a VAR check for possible offside in the build-up.

In stoppage time, on-loan forward Lorenzo Colombo added a fourth following a breakaway, drilling a low shot into the bottom corner against his parent club.

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    AC Milan boss Paulo Fonseca was in an angry mood following his side's 2-1 loss away to Fiorentina on Sunday, suggesting the decisions to give three penalties turned the game into a 'circus'.

    Remarkably, all three spot-kicks were saved during the match. The home side initially saw Moise Kean's penalty kept out by Mike Maignan, while David de Gea then saved from Theo Hernandez - who was later sent off - and Tammy Abraham either side of half-time.

    But after the game, Fonseca's attention was on the performance of the officials rather than the goalkeeping.

    "I don’t like to talk about refereeing but this isn’t football. Football is about contact and a mere touch shouldn’t be enough to award a penalty," he told DAZN.

    "Just a simple touch can lead to a penalty, we saw that this weekend as well. It makes everyone nervous, and that creates problems. This is football, not a circus."

    Interestingly, neither Hernandez nor Abraham is Milan's designated penalty taker despite them taking the responsibility on Sunday.

    "Our penalty taker is [Christian] Pulisic. I don't know why the players changed their minds, I spoke to him and said that it must not happen again," said Fonseca.

    Pulisic did score Milan's only goal of the night, having equalised after an hour, before Albert Gudmondsson scored the winner for the hosts.

    The United States international was visibly angry when brought off for Samuel Chukwueze with seven minutes to go after putting in a bright performance, but the Milan manager explained that he did not want to aggravate an injury.

    "It was out of caution for Pulisic, he had a problem with his flexor during the week. Chukwueze came in well and created opportunities," said Fonseca.

    In terms of his side's overall performance, Fonseca did not want to focus on their penalty problems and instead suggested they did not do enough to get anything from the match.

    "In the first half, we lacked defensive aggression and strength in duels. The way we conceded goals clearly illustrates this; they almost always won the second balls," he said. "We weren't disciplined in our structure."

    The defeat ended a run of three straight league victories for Milan, meaning they go into the international break sixth in the table and on the back of a defeat.

    Despite that, and the gap to league leaders Napoli extending to six points, he was not panicking.

    "In Italy when you win, you’ve played a great match. If we don’t score, we’re the worst team in the world, just as I’m the worst coach. I know how things are," he said.

    Fonseca's assessment of the performance was mirrored by defender Matteo Gabbia, who was unhappy with how the game went.

    "We are certainly not satisfied with the initial approach. We feel this defeat, as it was our fault and we did not do our best tonight," he said.

    "It starts with us, I saw the right disappointment and anger in the dressing room and it can be the only positive from this very negative night. We are angry that we put in this performance."

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    In a pulsating encounter that saw three missed penalties and two red cards, Fiorentina prevailed to halt Paulo Fonseca's Serie A winning run.

    The hosts had the first spot-kick of the game, with Moise Kean's tame effort being kept out by Mike Maignan before the forward had a goal disallowed for offside.

    Former Milan midfielder Yacine Adli did break the deadlock soon after, ricocheting a low shot in off the far post from the edge of the box, and De Gea kept them ahead at the break, superbly denying Theo Hernandez from the spot. 

    Kean had a second goal chalked off for offside in the second half and Milan wasted another golden opportunity from 12 yards, as De Gea got down well to keep out Tammy Abraham this time. 

    On the hour mark, an in-form Christian Pulisic finally pulled the visitors level with a perfect volley, but the drama was far from over as Gudmundsson drilled his low shot past Maignan to put Fiorentina back in front in the 73rd minute.

    Emotions ran high in the final moments as Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino was sent off, while Hernandez also received his marching orders for arguing with the referee after the final whistle had gone.

    Data Debrief: De Gea's penalty redemption

    For all the plaudits De Gea received while at Manchester United, one blip on his record was his struggles against penalties.

    However, with his impressive showing against Milan, he became the first goalkeeper to make two penalty saves in a single Serie A match since Federico Marchetti in May 2016.

    Since his debut in the top five European leagues (2009-10), the Spaniard has saved 10 of his 52 penalties in the league, including each of the last three, having also saved one against Fulham in May 2023.

  • Brighton 3-2 Tottenham: Rutter inspires remarkable Seagulls comeback Brighton 3-2 Tottenham: Rutter inspires remarkable Seagulls comeback

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    James Maddison doubled the away side's lead before the interval, aided by Bart Verbruggen's handling blunder, but Yankuba Minteh halved that deficit after the restart with a thumping finish.

    Destiny Udogie was somewhat at fault for Minteh's finish, and the Spurs defence again struggled as Rutter restored parity before the hour mark after dancing around a couple of defenders.

    Former Leeds United star Rutter then edged past numerous Tottenham charges once more, with his cross deflecting up for Danny Welbeck to head in the 66th-minute winner and seal a memorable turnaround.

    Verbruggen was still required to deny Udogie late on, however, as Fabian Hurzeler's side held on for a victory that lifted them to sixth and ended Spurs' impressive winning run.

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