AC Milan’s top four hopes are hanging by a very thin thread after they were beaten 2-0 by relegation battling Spezia at the Stadio Alberto Picco on Saturday evening.
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Milan have had struggles against the lower-ranking sides in the league recently and there was no exception to that rule in Liguria, with the warning signs there after a tepid first half that it was not going to be a good night.
The first goal of the game came in the second half when Przemysław Wiśniewski reacted to a header against the post to fire in from close range, then Salvatore Esposito’s wonderful free-kick doubled the advantage and sealed the victory.
Milan’s hopes of getting into the Champions League are now very close to being over, with a lot now resting on how the team perform in the second leg against Inter on Tuesday.
Stefano Pioli had previously rotated en masse before or between Champions League games, but injuries meant he was unable to do so for this game. That said, Pierre Kalulu, Tommaso Pobega, Divock Origi and Ante Rebic did come into the side compared to the loss against Inter in midweek.
There was a real feeling of deja vu for Milan and Sandro Tonali inside the seventh minute as he burst forward and hit a fierce low shot from the edge of the area that thudded against the post and went to safety, not too dissimilar to how he was denied against Inter.
Spezia players were imploring the referee to give a penalty when a corner from the left was played to Nzola whose shot after an initial slip was blocked behind by Pobega, with suspicions he used an arm quickly disproved by replays.
Milan were very close to taking the lead on 20 minutes. A smart free-kick saw Theo Hernandez fire a low cross in from the left and it was cleared out to Alexis Saelemaekers who pinged it back into the danger area on the volley, yet it went through everyone and just past the far post.
The Rossoneri continued to threaten, and when Rebic saw an effort from just inside the box blocked out to Theo who had a run at it from 25 yards it was obvious a thunderbolt was coming, though Dragowski managed to tip it over the bar.
At the other end the home side sent a reminder regarding the sucker-punch threat they pose when a cross met an unmarked Amian inside the box, but he couldn’t keep it down.
There were a couple of moments of panic for Milan early in the second half, the first when a low cross from the right side seemed primed to be thumped in for the opening goal but evaded everyone, and then Tomori went down holding his ankle but was ok to continue.
Confusion continued in the minutes after when Brahim Diaz was clearly pushed over inside the box by Esposito but the referee Doveri waved play on before booking the Spaniard for his protests, and VAR did not intervene.
Just after Bourabia had curled a shot over at one end, Milan really should have taken the lead at the other. Tonali slide Brahim Diaz in behind down the right side of the box and he went for the shot from the narrow angle, yet he clipped the outside of the post.
When Pobega headed over the bar from a corner unmarked and Saelemaekers seemed to fall over himself when he should have shot sooner, it started looking like it would be yet another day of frustration for the Rossoneri.
Pioli decided to shuffle things midway through the second half with Charles De Ketelaere and Fode Ballo-Toure coming on for Saelemaekers and Theo Hernandez.
Spezia then threatened when a giveaway from De Ketelaere sprung a quick break with Gyasi feeding Nzola whose shot was straight at Maignan, and then the Frenchman saved at his near post to deny Ekdal.
Just as it looked like they were susceptible to doing, Milan fell behind with just over 15 minutes left. A corner from the left was headed onto the post by Amian, but the rebound fell to Wisniewski who had an easy finish from close range.
With five minutes left on the clock, Spezia got their second goal and sealed the win. They did it in some fashion too, with Salvatore Esposito’s free-kick from just left of centre bent beautifully over the wall and into the top corner via the desperate parry of Maignan.
