Milan avenges Maignan abuse with last-gasp win at Udinese
AC Milan won 3-2 at Udinese in stoppage-time to avenge goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who walked off the pitch with his team-mates after allegedly receiving racist abuse behind his goal in the first half of their Serie A clash at Stadio Fruili.
Substitute Noah Okafor secured the win in the thrid minute of time added on as Milan scored twice in the last 10 minutes of the match to take a satisfying three points back home.
Midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek gave Milan the lead on 31 minutes, just minutes after Maignan had called the referee Fabio Maresca over to alert him to the apparent abuse he was being subjected to.
The 28-year-old goalkeeper again appealed to the referee two minutes after Milan had taken the lead before leaving the pitch, and this time he was followed by his team mates into the tunnel.
"These things have nothing to do with football and they hurt, there is no such thing as black or white. We are all the same," Okafor said after the game.
Milan and Serie A's official social media channels both expressed disappointment at the incident.
"There is absolutely no place in our game for racism: we are appalled," Milan's post read.
"Lega Serie A condemns any form of racism," the Italian league added.
The game was restarted after less than 10 minutes and midfielder Lazar Samardzic added to the annoyance of Milan when he levelled for the hosts with a superb shot that curled inside Maignan's right-hand post.
Just after the hour, Florian Thauvin took full advantage of a dreadful mix-up between two Milan defenders to add a second and put Udinese 2-1 in front.
It would stay that way until Stefano Piloi made two crucial changes, bringing on Luka Jovic and Okafor
Jovic netted a rebound from close range after Olivier Giroud's effort had hit the bar, and Okafor claimed the victory from similarly close range after Udinese failed to clear a late corner.
The result represented Pioli's 100th Serie A win with Milan after 166 matches played He joined Carlo Ancelotti, Nereo Rocco, Fabio Capello and Nils Liedholm as coaches to have completed that milestone.
The result keeps Milan in third place on the Serie A table with 45 points, still six behind leader Inter Milan and four adrift of second-placed Juventus, who both have a game in hand.
But given what Maignan had to deal with in this one, the result would have been more than satisfying for the Rossoneri.
