The result has left the doors open of Inter Milan to leapfrog Milan into the top spot when they host Sassuolo on Sunday.
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Serie A leaders AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw by rock-bottom side Salernitana at Stadio Arechi on Saturday. The result has left the doors open of Inter Milan to leapfrog Milan into the top spot when they host Sassuolo on Sunday. Junior Messias put the visitors ahead with an early strike before Federico Bonazzoli equalised for Salernitana. Although the home side restored the lead through Milan Duric with less than 20 minutes remaining, Ante Rebic leveled the score for Milan to share the spoils.
It ends in a draw at the Arechi ❌#SempreMilan #SalernitanaMilan @Acqua_Lete pic.twitter.com/rPINhEr5ar
— AC Milan (@acmilan) February 19, 2022
This was bottom against top in the Italian top flight, although the hosts have two games in hand due to fixtures called off amid their COVID-19 outbreak. They also made their debut under new coach Davide Nicola, their third of the campaign.
Milan started the match brightly as they unsurprisingly took the lead inside the opening five minutes when Theo Hernandez cut inside from the left made a darting run down the centre before playing the through ball for Messias, who slotted home into the bottom corner.
Ivan Randovanovic went off with an ankle injury after just 15 minutes, while home goalkeeper Luigi Sepe made a full-stretch diving save to keep out a well taken free-kick from Ismael Bennacer.
Against the run of play, Salernitana equalised on 29 minutes. Pasquale Mazzocchi sprinted forward on the counter from his own half, delivered a good cross, which Mike Maignan failed to punch clear off Milan Djuric’s head and the ball fell to the path of Bonazzoli, who fired home into an empty net with an acrobatic overhead kick from 12 yards.
After the restart, Rafael Leao nearly restored the lead for Milan with another bicycle kick when he got on the end of Sandro Tonali’s cross, but the acrobatic effort went inches wide of the far top corner.
Olivier Giroud beat the offside trap to get on the end of Messias’ through ball but Sepe made a very good save to deny the Frenchman from a one-on-one situation. Meanwhile at the other end, Maignan wasn’t having a great night as he made another uncharacteristic error on 67 minutes that almost proved costly. He was caught in possession by Bonazzoli, who tried to steer the ball into an empty net, but Alessio Romagnoli made a goal-line clearance.
But the hosts put their nose in front in the 72nd minute, when Duric headed home from right-back Mazzocchi’s cross. Fikayo Tomori and Franck Kessie didn’t do enough to close him down. Five minutes later, Rebic made it 2-2 with a long-range effort.
The Croatian hit the ball hard and low past Sepe into the bottom corner. Both sides failed to get the winner and the match ended all square, leaving Milan on 56 points from 26 games, just two points above second-placed Inter, who have played two games less and will take on Sassuolo next.
