AC Milan on Monday slipped up in Serie A’s race for the UEFA Champions League after allowing struggling US Salernitana 1919 to escape the San Siro with a 1-1 draw.
Reigning champions Milan could have drawn level on 50 points with second-placed Inter, but stay fourth following Boulaye Dia’s 61st-minute leveler after Olivier Giroud had headed the hosts in front on the stroke of halftime.
It was a deeply disappointing result after coming into the match on a high following qualification for the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday last week.
Photo: AFP
“We had to do better, this was a chance and we knew it was ... we need to grow up a bit,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli told Sky Italia. “We need to grow mentally, because we’re a team that should be competitive both in Europe and Italy. We’re playing five days after a good performance which should have given us energy and intensity, and looking at how we conceded our goal we were lacking something.”
Giroud’s eighth league goal of the season came only moments after goalkeeper Mike Maignan had stopped Dia netting for Salernitana with a superb tackle on the edge of the penalty area.
Pioli’s side were denied the chance to go back ahead from the penalty spot midway through the second half when referee Federico la Penna overturned his own decision to awarded a spot-kick for a Domagoj Bradaric foul on Ismael Bennacer.
Guillermo Ochoa then pulled off two superb saves to deny Divock Origi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while Alessandro Florenzi watched aghast as his late effort fell into the hands of Ochoa, who was prone on the goal-line.
“When you play a great team like Milan you know you’re going to have to dig in,” Ochoa said. “It’s a great point for the future, for our chances of survival.”
Milan drawing is great news for Inter, who fell to a shock defeat at Salernitana’s relegation rivals Spezia on Friday last week.
Inter might have fallen 18 points behind champions-elect SSC Napoli, but none of their rivals for the remaining three places in the top four won over the weekend.
Just three points separate Inter and fifth-placed AS Roma, with Atalanta BC another five points back in sixth after being run over by the Napoli title train on Saturday.
Salernitana stay 16th, but maintain a seven-point gap between themselves and Hellas Verona, who sit just inside the relegation zone.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
RSS