SAN FRANCISCO, October 26, (THEWILL) – AC Milan hosted Roma for a Matchday 5 Serie A tie hoping to put some distance at the top of the table between them and the chasing pack of clubs like Napoli, Inter Milan and Juventus but an Ibrahimovic double could not help them claim all three points.
Milan were certainly the favourites heading into this fixture. They had won 75 of 170 previous Serie A matches against Roma, which in itself is a record for the Rossoneri against a single club in the Italian top-flight.
But for this match, Milan was shorthanded. The team was hit by a swathe of positive coronavirus tests. Italian keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was one of the players that returned a positive result. This meant the Romanian substitute Ciprian Tatarusanu debuted in goal for Milan.
Roma, on the other hand, had made it three wins from their last three matches in all competitions after they beat Young Boys 2-1 in the Europa League on Thursday. For this tie, their Portuguese manager, Paulo Fonseca, made eight changes to the selection that played that game. Right winger Rick Karsdorp, left back Marash Kumbulla and left winger Pedro Rodriguez were the only players to retain their places.
For the entirety of the contest at San Siro, momentum turned one way and then the other. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was impressive again for the hosts. He opened the scoring in only the second minute after latching on to a brilliant pass from Rafael Leao and and prodding home beyond Roma goalie Antonio Mirante.
It was up to Roma’s Bosnian striker Edwin Dzeko to level things up which he did in the 14th minute taking advantage of abysmal keeping from substitute keeper Tatarusanu. The goalie completely fluffed his attempt to punch out Lorenzo Pellegrini’s corner allowing Dzeko to nod into the net.
Belgian right winger Alex Saelemaekers put Milan back ahead with Leao credited for a second assist when the Portuguese winger drove the ball down the left and drilled in a teasing cross that Saelemaekers thumped home.
In the 71st minute, Veretout netted a contentious penalty to restore parity for a second time. Milan’s Ismael Bennacer was adjudged to have infringed on Roma’s Rodriguez after clattering into him in an attempt to clear the ball Tatarusanu spilled in the box. VAR supported the ref.
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Ibrahimovic was to get and score a penalty of his own too. Milan’s central midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu under pressure from right back Gianluca Mancini, went down in the box. The ref pointed to the spot and Ibra dispatched it with a low finish that sent the keeper the other way
It seemed that spot-kick had sealed the points for Pioli’s side, but Albanian defender Kumbulla snatched a share of the spoils for Roma. Again, it was another corner. This time it is Kumbulla header that made it all square.
The thrilling Serie A clash ended with the scores level at 3-3!
Milan still top the table, though their 100 per cent record has now ended. Roma remain ninth, on eight points from five games. In their next tie on Thursday, October 29, Milan play host to Sparta Prague in the UEFA Europa League while Roma face PFC CSKA-Sofia in the same competition and on the same day.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
