Atalanta 1-1 AC Milan: Ricci and Lookman score but spoils are shared

AC Milan were held to a second consecutive draw in Serie A, as they were held 1-1 by Atalanta at the New Balance Arena on Tuesday night.

Both of the goals came in the first half, with Milan making the better start. A corner wasn’t properly dealt with and as the clearance sat up for Samuele Ricci he lashed in a shot via a deflection for his first goal in red and black.

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However, few could argue that the home side deserved to draw themselves on terms when Ademola Lookman levelled the game with a rocket of a shot after some slack defending. In the end, neither side were able to force a winner in the second half.

The result means that Milan temporarily climb above Roma into second, who have a game in hand to play on Wednesday, but they are now three points off the pace-setters and champions Napoli.

Massimiliano Allegri made one change to the starting XI compared to the team that drew with Pisa on Friday, and it came in defence. Fikayo Tomori regarding his spot as Koni De Winter dropped to the bench, but the side was otherwise unaltered.

It took Milan less than four minutes to take the lead, and it was a memorable moment for Samuele Ricci as he got his first goal for the club. Some nice work from Alexis Saelemaekers down the right drew a corner, which was cleared to the edge of the box and hit first time by Ricci from range, with the ball taking a nick off a defender and beating Carnesecchi.

Milan rode their luck a bit in the minutes that followed. Firstly a corner swung in from the right side looked to be destined to meet Hien’s run at the far post yet Santiago Gimenez somehow got a touch on it to put the Swede off.

Then, the Mexican striker was the first man into the book as he brought De Ketelaere down with a cynical challenge right on the edge of the box. Had it been a fraction of a second later, he might have given away a penalty.

The opening 20 minutes continued to go against Juric and his side, as the Atalanta boss was forced into a change. The captain De Roon was forced off with muscle discomfort and he was replaced by former Milan man Brescianini.

The pressure from the home side continued despite the change, and Mike Maignan was called into his first save of the game. Ederson was given a bit too much space on the edge of the box by Matteo Gabbia to get an effort off, but the Frenchman parried well down to his left. Not too long after, a cross by De Ketelaere to the far stick was nodded wide by Ahanor.

It continued to be a barrage from the home side, with Milan ceding possession but also chance after chance. Zappacosta flashed a stinging drive wide of the top left corner, and then Ahanor missed an even bigger opportunity in space on the left edge of the box, lashing over.

Just over ten minutes before the break, Atalanta got the equalising goal that their pressure had probably warranted, and it was Lookman’s first of the season. The feed into the Nigerian was far too easy for Pasalic, and the power of the shot from deep inside the box meant that Maignan had little chance of stopping it, even if it did fly in at the near post.

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At half-time, Allegri chose to make an interesting change as Rafael Leao was withdrawn for Christopher Nkunku. It had been a quiet 45 minutes for the Portuguese, but given that he had scored three goals in his last two games, the substitution instantly sparked injury fears.

There was a very worrying moment just a couple of minutes into the second half as Tomori dived into a tackle and seemed to extend his knee in a funny way, going down in a heap of pain. He managed to shake it off and play on, however.

Allegri was forced into another chance on the hour mark, after a rather uneventful beginning to the second period. Gimenez took a strong kick on the ankle and – after trying to continue following a dose of the magic spray – he came off for Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Milan had a rare moment where they managed to carve their hosts open with a nice bit of give-and-go down the right side which saw Youssouf Fofana find Saelemaekers in stride. However, the Belgian tried to pass it back rather than shoot unmarked from just beyond the edge of the box.

The Rossoneri continued to have the better of play and Loftus-Cheek nearly made a very quick impact as a cross from Davide Bartesaghi met the Englishman’s head. He nodded it back across goal to where Nkunku was poised a few yards out, yet he couldn’t quite get goal-side of his defender.

It remained one-way traffic as Fofana spurned an opportunity to put Milan back ahead. A corner was cleared and recycled to Nkunku, whose cross was nodded back into a dangerous area by Bartesaghi yet hooked wide by the French midfielder.

As the final five minutes approached, Maignan made his most decisive intervention yet to deny Zappacosta. The wing-back came inside onto his favoured right foot having got past Tomori, and his rising shot was miraculously tipped over the bar.

Milan’s worst fears almost became reality in the final few months when Djimsiti cut back to the substitute Musah as he made a dart to the byline. The Rossoneri loanee did get a shot off, though thankfully it went behind for a corner. Shortly after, Saelemaekers came off for Zachary Athekame.