AC Milan 1-1 Genoa: Leao’s leveller and penalty miss earn draw amid late drama

AC Milan lost ground in the Serie A title race as they drew 1-1 with Genoa in a dramatic encounter at San Siro on Thursday night.

Lorenzo Colombo scored against his parent club to give Genoa the lead against the run of play, and the away side survived an aerial bombardment from Milan with wave after wave of attack being resolutely dealt with.

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Yet, in the first minute of added on time, Rafael Leao rose highest to nod home a corner after it was glanced on to level things. There was more controversy as Genoa got a 95th-minute penalty to win it which was blazed over the bar by Stanciu.

Eventually, when the referee finally whistled three times to signify they end of the game, the two teams had to make do with a draw. Inter move three points clear at the top as a result, with more dropped points for the Rossoneri against a bottom-half team.

Massimiliano Allegri decided to make three changes to the starting line-up from the team that beat Cagliari on January 2. Matteo Gabbia got his place back having fully recovered from a knee issue, Strahinja Pavlovic also returned, while Christian Pulisic came in to partner Rafael Leao.

Milan started the game on top and nearly got themselves in on goal twice. The first was after winning the ball back deep in Genoa’s half, with Pulisic’s ball into Rafael Leao cut out in the nick of time. Then, Youssouf Fofana slalomed into the box but was tackled just as he was about to fire.

From the corner that resulted after the Frenchman’s foray, Milan were inches away from taking the lead. A short corner was curled in by Alexis Saelemaekers, and Matteo Gabbia’s header hit the bar from close range.

The chances continued to come inside the opening 10 minutes, and again it was a Saelemaekers cross that met the head of a centre-back. This time Pavlovic had bombed forward, and this time it looped onto the roof of the net.

On the 15-minute mark, Milan were given a big chance to test Leali in the Genoa goal as Thorsby brought down Fofana by holding him around 20 yards out. However, the effort from Rabiot was struck straight into the wall.

Just before the half-hour mark, it was Genoa who took the lead somewhat against the run of play. The man who got it was rather predictably the Milan loanee Lorenzo Colombo, and it was a rather simply finish as he fired in first-time from close range after Gabbia had fallen asleep before Malinovskyi’s cross.

Milan returned to dominating proceedings, and Fofana missed a golden chance to get his side back level before the break. A cross from the right side ricocheted around as Leao went for a header and fell to the midfielder who looked like having the easy task of heading into an almost unguarded net. However, he slipped at the decisive moment and ended up ducking under the ball.

As time ticked towards the interval, the pattern seemed to be to get the ball into wide areas and cross at the first opportunity. Bartesaghi found Leao with a pinpoint delivery, though the Portuguese never generated the power nor the direction to trouble Leali.

Allegri opted to make a change after yet another unsatisfactory first half. Fofana did not survive after his missed chance and was taken off, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek taking his spot on the right of the midfield three.

Milan started the second half on top in terms of possession, but again the game settled into a worrying rhythm whereby the ball was forced wide and the service into the box was being easily dealt with.

A string of corners did result in the ball going in the back of the net as Pulisic finished at the far post after Gabbia’s flick-on hit the upright, but the American had unfortunately put the ball in via his arm and it was disallowed.

The pressure continued from the home side without yielding the equaliser. Loftus-Cheek pulled a ball back into a dangerous area from the right touchline that missed the run of Leao and Pulisic but found Bartesaghi, whose first time show sizzled wide of the far post.

🤯 Fofana, how?!pic.twitter.com/kBsGvpQNJH

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Allegri’s response amid the struggles to draw level was to bring on Niclas Füllkrug for his home debut. Surprisingly it was Saelemaekers who came off, with a 3-4-3 the result and Loftus-Cheek at wing-back.

Just after Leali had made a fine intervention to stop Pavlovic potentially bundling in a Modric cross, another change came. Zachary Athekame we the one who came on, with Gabbia coming off which seemed to mark a switch to a back four.

Another Bartesaghi cross caught Genoa flat-footed inside the final 15 minutes and it met the head of the unmarked Pulisic, though there was never enough force behind it to beat Leali in the Rossoblu goal.

Athekame had flashbacks to his long-range equaliser against Pisa earlier in the season when he let fly from 25 yards after a corner was cleared. It went through a crowd at speed, yet it was too central and again easily claimed.

Colombo nearly got his second goal of the night and would have killed the game off as he was left all alone to head a ball from Martin, though it ended up just wide of the near post.

Leali made his best save of the game inside the final four minutes. Modric slid the ball through to Pavlovic who provided an excellent cross to the far stick. Pulisic could hardly have connected better with the volley, yet the reaction save was exceptional.

An example of Milan’s luck came one minute into five added at the end of the 90. Pulisic let fly with a shot from deep inside the box and Vasquez provided a heroic block, with the ball spinning just wide of the far post.

Yet, from the corner that resulted after the deflected shot, Milan did finally get themselves level and it came from Leao. A corner whipped into the near post took a flick off a head and the Portuguese was waiting near the penalty spot to head inside the post.

Just as it looked like Milan’s unbeaten run was going to extend to 16 games, Genoa were given a penalty in the sixth added minute. A cut-back from Ekhator found Ellertsson’s run, and they both seemed to slip into the challenge, yet the referee Mariani adjudged that it had been a foul from the Italian and it was upheld after a VAR review.

Yet, Stanciu stepped up to take what would have been the winning kick, and he blasted the effort over the bar from 12 yards. The two sides, after all that drama, would have to settle for a share of the spoils.