Giroud nails acrobatic winner but then sees red
Daniel Maldini was on target against his parent club only for Olivier Giroud to grab the headlines in a dramatic finale as AC Milan beat Spezia 2-1.
Giroud scored a late winner before he received a red card moments later for his celebrations.
The victory lifted Milan up to second in Serie A, six points behind Napoli, which beat Atalanta earlier in the day.
Theo Hernandez put the Rossoneri on course for back-to-back victories, after they hammered Salzburg to qualify for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 in midweek, with the opener on 21 minutes.
On-loan Maldini, son of Milan legend Paolo, then stunned the Serie A champion in the second half by scoring Spezia's first away goal of the season to equalise.
There was late drama at San Siro, though, as Giroud came off the bench to volley home a Sandro Tonali pass in the 89th minute before being shown a second yellow card for whipping off his shirt in celebration.
The 36-year-old was frustrated that his earlier caution, six minutes before his red card, had slipped his mind after his clinical finish in the closing stages.
"It was certainly a very nice goal, which came thanks to Tonali's assist," Giroud told Sky Sport.
"We wanted to win this match, the important thing is to have three points more in the standings but I'm angry because I forgot about the first yellow card."
Asked if he was not thinking clearly due to the ecstasy of scoring the winner, he replied: "Yes, football is like that.
"The adrenaline and the happiness of having given victory to the team after a difficult match has affected me.
"In my head I am still a child but I have great faith in the team and also on Tuesday [against Cremonese] we will fight to win the three points."
