AC Milan threw away a winning position late in the game and were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw at home against Bologna on Saturday night.
Joshua Zirkzee gave the away side the lead in the first half, and Olivier Giroud missed the chance to equalise from the spot in what was the first of a penalty-themed game.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek equalised before the break with a nice near post finish, and then Theo Hernandez hit the post from a penalty in the second half.
Loftus-Cheek’s second of the game inside the final 10 minutes looked to have earned a win, but Filippo Terracciano’s shirt pull on Kristiansen in added time gave Bologna a spot kick which Orsolini converted.
Thus, the Rossoneri were forced to settle for a share of the spoils in a game they really should have seen out, failing to take advantage of Juventus’ draw earlier in the evening.
Stefano Pioli chose to make no changes to the starting line-up that beat Roma and Udinese in the last two games, keeping faith in Matteo Gabbia and Simon Kjaer at centre-back, plus Yacine Adli in midfielder and Olivier Giroud up front.
Giroud’s backheels were the talk of the media after he set up Theo Hernandez for the goal that killed Roma off in the last win at San Siro, and he found Christian Pulisic with one early on which drew a yellow card for Riccardo Calafiori after he tripped the winger.
Not long after Theo had gone on a now trademark lung-busting run of about 60 metres before dragging a shot wide, Zirkzee got his first sight of goal when he let fly from the edge of the box but hit it straight into Mike Maignan’s arms.
There was a touching moment in the 16th minute when play stopped before a Milan free-kick and a message from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was displayed on the scoreboard, reading: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.”
The fans also held up their phone lights and applauded, with captain Calabria pointing to the screen almost as if to reiterate the message being conveyed.
Milan were close to making it 1-0 in the 20th minute. Rafael Leao was found in isolation with De Silvestri down the left and his fierce shot was parried by Skorupski, before Calabria then fired over. Tijjani Reijnders hit a volley just wide from distance not long after.
Bologna continued to have moments of danger, such as when Fabbian latched on to a long cross-field pass from Calafiori before beating Theo and Maignan to the loose ball to stab it into a dangerous area, though Calabria came in to clear.
Right before the half-hour mark, the away side did get into the lead after total chaos inside the Milan box. A long ball over the top to Zirkzee saw Fabbian have two shots blocked by Kjaer, then a Calafiori shot blocked before Zirkzee squeezed the ball between Maignan’s legs from a narrow angle.
Milan spurned a couple of big chances to level things before the break; the first being when Kjaer headed a cross over from close range and then Pulisic went for a dink over the onrushing Skorupski but only beat the bar from Loftus-Cheek’s feed.
There was more drama inside the final five minutes of the first half, starting when Kjaer went down holding his mouth claiming Ferguson kicked him in the fact inside the box, and a penalty was given.
Bologna boss Thiago Motta was sent off for protests and VAR confirmed the spot kick, yet Giroud virtually passed the resulting spot kick back to Skorupski given how weak the effort was and he saved easily.
In the final minute of the first half, Milan did get themselves level and it came from the man who opened the scoring last weekend: Loftus-Cheek. A nice move down the right side saw Pulisic feed Calabria, who cut a perfect ball back for RLC to prod home from six yards.
Zirkzee should have doubled his tally immediately after the break when he took down a cross brilliantly to get away from Kjaer, taking a touch past Gabbia to get a shooting angle, yet lacing it over.
The two sides then traded shots that flew not too far over the bar, with Leao first hitting a half-volley over from the edge of the box and then Kristiansen fizzing one just above the upright.
In the 59th minute Pioli elected to make three changes, with Calabria and Adli coming off – both of whom were on yellow cards – and being replaced by Alessandro Florenzi and Yunus Musah. Luka Jovic meanwhile replaced Giroud.
Milan were inches away from getting their first lead of the game when Loftus-Cheek’s header from a corner was half cleared to Tijjani Reijnders, whose shot rattled the crossbar.
The Rossoneri continued to push for the third goal in the game and Leao was very close to ending his league goal drought when a cross from Pulisic found his run at the far post, yet he shinned it wide.
Milan were given another chance from the penalty spot in the 75th minute when Leao’s fantastic run on the counter was ended by De Silvestri’s arm in the face, and yet again the opportunity was wasted with Theo hitting the post and putting the rebound in directly, which is a free-kick for the other team.
Leao missed a big opportunity inside the final 10 minutes when a well-worked short corner routine saw the ball laid on a plate for him just in front of the penalty spot and he somehow wrapped his shot over and wide.
Finally Milan took one of their chances, and Loftus-Cheek was the man of the moment. Again it was a lovely move down the right, this time with Florenzi providing a stand-up cross to perfectly meet the towering head of the former Chelsea man, who obliged with a powerful finish.
The drama was not done, as Bologna were then given a penalty at the other end with substitute Filippo Terracciano penalised for a clear shirt pull on Kristiansen. Maignan guessed the right way, but Orsolini squeezed it under him to level the scores at 2-2.
