(Football news) A brilliant stoppage time equaliser by English striker Tammy Abraham helped AS Roma snatch a 2-2 draw against AC Milan at San Siro. Stefano Pioli’s hopes of catching up to Serie A leaders Napoli suffered a huge blow as it was a rainy night at the San Siro which created slippery conditions that affected the play. Milan had the chance to take the lead after 29 minutes when Brahim Diaz got the ball outside the box, but his shot was tipped over by Rui Patricio. Pierre Kalulu gave his side the much deserved lead when he headed in from a corner at the half an hour mark.
Milan kept up the pressure in the second half as Theo Hernandez shot from outside the box seven minutes after the break but Patricio was again able to block. Tommaso Pobega doubled AC Milan’s lead in the 77th minute when he smashed the ball into the lower right corner and it looked like Milan were heading for an easy victory. Roger Ibanez pulled one goal back for Roma three minutes before stoppage time and Abraham completed the late comeback six minutes later when he managed to send the rebound from inside the box. With this result, Milan are now third in the Serie A standings with 37 points after 17 games which is subsequently equal on points with second-placed Juventus and seven behind Napoli.
“It’s a huge pity to emerge from this game with only a point, that’s for sure. After a game like this, we tell the players that we must continue playing like this, but that match ends at the 95th minute, and you have to stay focused throughout,” manager Pioli told DAZN.
“If you concede two goals on set plays, where we knew our opponents were very strong, that means more focus was needed.”
“It is a bitter sensation, obviously. We are not looking at the gap from Napoli, just our performances and knowing we need to do better to keep up the pace. We should’ve done better and now must improve in the next games,” Pioli said.
Napoli eased past Sampdoria with a 2-0 win after goals from Victor Osimhen and Eljif Elmas, putting the Serie A leaders back on top of the table. The visitors got an early penalty after just six minutes but Matteo Politano was unable to convert from the spot. Osimhen broke the deadlock after 19 minutes, earning his 10th goal in Serie A this season. Sampdoria was in trouble when Tomas Rincon was shown a red card for a reckless tackle on Osimhen in the 39th minute. Elmas went on to convert Napoli’s second penalty eight minutes before stoppage time after a Sampdoria handball inside the box. Napoli with this result are on top of the table with 44 points after 17 games, seven points ahead of Juventus and ahead of Milan.
Also read: Barcelona get narrow 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid to go top of the table
