AC Milan suffered an expensive point loss in Serie A on Monday evening. I Rossoneri did not get further than a 1-1 draw against Salernitana at home. Olivier Giroud’s goal just before half-time was canceled out by the visitors in the second half. Milan could have beaten Lazio, but is now fourth with 48 points.
Milan entered Salernitana with confidence after three league victories in a row. Junior Messias, who was still accurate at Atalanta (2-0) and Monza (0-1), was missing on Monday due to a suspension. Giroud was flanked by Brahim Díaz and Rafael Leão. Tonny Vilhena had to settle for a place on the bench at Salernitana. The team of coach Stefano Pioli got off to a rough start at home. Milan only handed out the first pinprick halfway through the first half, when Díaz fell short of a toe length on a failed shot from Leão.
???????? ??
Just before the break, Olivier Giroud heads AC Milan ahead. A downer for Salernitana??#ZiggoSport #SerieA #MilanSalernitana pic.twitter.com/HFf1YAdkOW
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) March 13, 2023
The home crowd jumped from their seats after half an hour, after Olivier Giroud was close to the opening goal with a spectacular bicycle kick. Salernitana only asserted itself once before the break via Grigoris Kastanos, who shot just wide after carelessly defending Milan. Both teams thought they would go to the dressing rooms with a 0-0 halftime score, but in the 46th minute it was still a hit for Milan. The striker was able to head in outlawed from a corner kick by Ismaël Bennacer: 1-0.
Due to a huge coverage error, the visitors came alongside with sixty minutes on the clock. Domagoj Bradaric crossed, after which Dia, without a Milan defender nearby, equalized the score: 1-1. Pioli then decided to bring in Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Referee Federico La Penna then seemed to help Pioli’s team by putting the ball on the penalty spot after a dive from Bennacer. However, the VAR intervened and managed to change the referee’s mind.
Milan continued to hunt for victory. For example, the home team was close to 2-1, after another substitute, Divock Origi, encountered Guillermo Ochoa. On the other side, Mike Maignan had to stay alert with a long shot from Krzysztof Piatek. Salernitana survived a predicament in the final phase. Norbert Gyomber narrowly managed to take a bet from Alessandro Florenzi off the line.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naples | 26 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 68 |
| 2 | Internazionale | 26 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 50 |
| 3 | Lazio | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 49 |
| 4 | AC Milan | 26 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 48 |
| 5 | AS Roma | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 47 |
| 6 | Atlanta | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 42 |
| 7 | Juventus | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 38 |
| 8 | Torino | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 37 |
| 9 | bologna | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | -3 | 36 |
| 10 | Udinese | 26 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 35 |
| 11 | Florence | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 34 |
| 12 | Monza | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 33 |
| 13 | Sassuolo | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | -6 | 33 |
| 14 | Empoli | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | -11 | 28 |
| 15 | Lecce | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | -7 | 27 |
| 16 | Salernitana | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | -16 | 26 |
| 17 | Spezia | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | -19 | 24 |
| 18 | Hellas Verona | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | -17 | 19 |
| 19 | Cremonese | 26 | 1 | 9 | 16 | -27 | 12 |
| 20 | Sampdoria | 26 | 2 | 6 | 18 | -30 | 12 |