Diego Moreira scored twice in two minutes off the bench as AC Milan came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw at Lazio in Serie A on Saturday.
Lazio 2-2 AC Milan: Moreira nets double off the bench
AC Milan looked to be heading for defeat at Lazio until the introduction of Diego Moreira sparked a comeback that earned them a point.
Lazio looked to be on course to start a season with four straight league wins for the first time in their history after Matteo Cancellieri and Tijjani Noslin scored in a dominant first half at the Stadio Olimpico.
However, Ruben Amorim introduced Moreira alongside Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah for the second half and the Belgian produced a pair of delightful finishes to ensure the game finished all square.
The match started brightly and, after Samuel Chukwueze's header was kept out of the corner by Christos Mandas, Lazio took the lead when Cancellieri popped up at the back post to steer Mattia Zaccagni's cross home.
Mike Maignan made a great stop to deny Zaccagni from 10 yards in the 21st minute, and Davide Frattesi went close just before the half-hour mark.
Lazio soon got their second, though. Nuno Tavares' cross was deflected onto the bar by Pervis Estupinan and Noslin reacted quickest to nod in the rebound before Koni De Winter could clear.
Milan were more positive after Amorim's trio of changes, but Mandas was equal to a header from Strahinja Pavlovic and a powerful low drive from Christian Pulisic on the hour mark.
The Rossoneri finally pulled one back when Pulisic's deep, looping cross was volleyed in from an incredibly tight angle by Moreira.
Just two minutes later, Moreira doubled his tally with another fine strike, this time picking out the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box.
Alphadjo Cisse was unable to hit the target with his best chance and was replaced by debutant Omari Hutchinson, but there was no way through for the Rossoneri.
Amorim masterminds Milan recovery
Milan dropped points for the first time this season against Juventus last weekend, when Federico Gatti's late goal made it 1-1.
They looked set for another disappointing result in Rome until Amorim's tactical tweaks turned the game on its head.
Moreira's introduction proved to be the catalyst for a stirring second-half comeback that ensured Milan avoided a third straight loss against Lazio at the Olimpico in all competitions.
Gennaro Gattuso will no doubt be frustrated by Lazio's failure to see out the victory, but in the second half they only had 28.1% of possession and added just 0.02 to their expected goals (xG) tally.
Lazio sit top of Serie A despite the result, although Roma and Inter can move above them by winning their meetings with Torino and Udinese respectively on Monday.
