Late Athekame strike spares Milan from Pisa upset
AC Milan salvaged a last-gasp 2-2 draw at home against struggling Pisa in Serie A, with a strike from Zachary Athekame rescuing a point for the league leader.
The hosts were heading for an embarrassing defeat when substitute Athekame fired a low, long-range shot that slipped in during stoppage-time.
Massimiliano Allegri's side was without key man Christian Pulisic, sidelined with a hamstring injury, and had hoped for a straightforward outing against a struggling Pisa side still searching for its first league win.
It took just seven minutes for Milan to break the deadlock, as Rafael Leao drifted to the edge of the box and fired a low shot into the net.
At the hour mark, the match took a dramatic turn when Milan’s Koni De Winter handled the ball inside the box, allowing Pisa’s Juan Cuadrado to calmly convert from the spot and bring the sides level.
Milan launched a renewed offensive with Leao being played beautifully through inside the box just minutes later, but his effort crashed off the top of the crossbar.
Not long after Alexis Saelemaekers unleashed a powerful strike from distance after a rebound, only for Pisa keeper Adrian Semper to produce the save of the night, stretching fully to tip the ball over the bar.
Instead, it was Pisa that stunned and silenced San Siro four minutes from time. A long ball found an unmarked M’Bala Nzola at the edge of the box, and he calmly slotted it home.
The Pisa players celebrated cautiously, glancing towards the referee in anticipation of an offside flag that never came.
However, Athekame’s strike brought some relief for Milan, leaving the two sides to share the points.
Milan remains top of the table with 17 points, two ahead of Inter Milan, Napoli and AS Roma, which will all play later over the weekend, Napoli hosting Inter in arguably the most anticipated match of the round.
"We expected this match, but they came to defend and make life difficult for us," Milan midfielder Luka Modric said after the match.
" It's only our fault we didn't win: we didn't do enough to win the game. We lost two important points today."
Saelemaekers had a golden chance to earn those lost points deep into stoppage-time, but failed to hit the target from close range, leaving Milan glancing over its shoulder as Napoli and Inter look to take advantage when they play on Sunday (AEDT).
