AC Milan recovered from an early deficit but were ultimately forced to settle for a draw against Bologna at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara this afternoon.
In truth it looked like being a nightmare afternoon in Reggio-Emilia when Nicolo Sansone converted a cross after 34 seconds to give Thiago Motta’s side the lead against a much-changed Milan line-up.
However, the Rossoneri got themselves back level before the break with Tommaso Pobega getting his fourth and probably his best goal of the season so far, rocketing a shot in off the post from 25 yards out.
Although Milan had chances to turn one point into three and brought on the key men late on to try get the winner, it did not come. With Inter to play Monza and Roma to play Udinese, it could be lost ground in the top four race.
Stefano Pioli made the rather bold decision to make 10 changes compared to the team that beat Napoli in midweek as Alessandro Florenzi, Malick Thiaw, Pierre Kalulu, Fode Ballo-Toure, Aster Vranckx, Tommaso Pobega, Alexis Saelemaekers, Charles De Ketelaere, Ante Rebic and Divock Origi all came in.
It did not even take a minute for the home side to open the scoring as Bologna took advantage of what looked like a weak left side for Milan on paper. Ballo-Toure and Rebic both could have done better when Aebicher was allowed to cross for Sansone, who got there before Kalulu and finished.
The opening exchanges of the game were pretty well summed up by Vranckx’s decision to take a shot from near the halfway line that was never troubling Skorupski in a million years.
Milan had some aggrievance with the opening goal as it looked like Ballo-Toure had been pulled down, and they were even more unhappy when Rebic was clearly stamped on inside the Bologna box yet neither a spot kick nor a VAR check were forthcoming.
Milan went in search of an equaliser and they weren’t far off finding one just past the 20-minute mark when a cross from the dangerous Saelemaekers was headed on target by Rebic, though Skorupski saved.
The pressure was all coming from the away side and they twice nearly levelled midway through the first half. Firstly Florenzi drew a full-stretch save from a central free-kick around 25 yards out. Then, from the resulting corner, a ball came back in and was diverted wide by Saelemeaekers.
The chances kept coming, with Origi coming very close to being through on goal but for a last ditch challenge that produced a corner, which was glanced wide by Pobega.
A couple of balls into the box caused some danger, firstly one from Origi that was slashed wide by De Ketelaere inside the box, then Rebic hooked a first time shot that ricocheted wide.
Milan got the equaliser that their pressure deserved in the 38th-minute. Some nice interplay on the edge of the box was cleared but not fully by Bologna, and the ball fell to Pobega just beyond the edge of the box who rocketed a strike in off the inside of the near post.
Milan were on top territorially in the first part of the second half but their end product let them down a bit, with a couple of good chances to put in dangerous deliveries squandered.
Moments after Rebic won another header at the far post that was straight at Skorupski, Pioli made his first two changes as Davide Calabria and Junior Messias came on for Florenzi and Saelemaekers.
The away side squandered a half-chance in the 65th minute when Pobega won the ball back and the ball ended up with Vranckx 25 yards out, but he couldn’t repeat the effort from his midfield partner in the first half as he slipped and put it wide.
The third and fourth changes came with 20 minutes left on the clock as Rafael Leao and Brahim Diaz came on for Origi and De Ketelaere.
Milan were inches away from taking the lead after a fantastic counter-attack from a Bologna corner which saw Messias burst past his man to the byline and cut the ball back towards Rebic, but the clearance hit his head and went wide when he knew little about it.
There were two further opportunities not long after, the first coming when Leao’s cut-back to Pobega resulted in his shot being deflected wide, and then from the corner the ball was cleared to Calabria who volleyed not far wide.
The final change from Pioli was a defence one as Matteo Gabbia came on for Thiaw, not long after Calabria had gone into the book meaning he will be suspended for the Lecce game.
Milan’s best chance of the second half came with six minutes to go as Leao and Rebic combined with the Portuguese winger then pulling the ball back to Brahim Diaz on the edge of the box who blazed over.
Leao again provided for Brahim as the clock ticked over 89 minutes yet somehow managed to nutmeg him as the Spaniard got his feet in a tangle, and that would be the final chance of a frantic game.
