Spezia strike late as they prevent AC Milan from climbing to the top of the Serie A table
Emmanuel Gyasi coolly completed a 96th-minute counterattack to give Spezia their first Serie A victory against AC Milan, 2-1, on Monday night.
Milan gave up a 1-0 lead as they missed a chance to overtake neighbors Inter at the top of Serie A, while third-placed Napoli moved within two points with a 2-0 win at Bologna.
Late in the game, Fiorentina crushed a dejected Genoa 6-0 to jump sixth.
Milan dominated much of the game but fended off a host of chances.
In the 44th minute, Rafael Leao broke away behind the Spezia defense but was flattened by goalkeeper Ivan Provedel who kicked wildly the bouncing ball.
Theo Hernandez fired the penalty wide.
A minute later, Leao broke away again and this time reached the ball first and launched Provedel to give Milan the lead.
Spezia fought back when Kevin Agudelo, presented a huge hole in the home defence, tapped in a low cross from Daniele Verde at the near post after 64 minutes.
As the game entered five minutes of added time, Junior Messias put the ball in the net for Milan, but the referee had already called a foul rather than give the home side the lead.
Milan coach Stefano Pioli blamed that decision for what happened next.
“We lost our lucidity after suffering an injustice, it’s a shame,” Pioli told Italian TV channel DAZN.
“The responsibility is ours but it must be shared tonight with the referee. It’s all the more strange that he didn’t whistle for half faults the whole game and now he whistles when the ball is in our player’s foot. »
Milan applied frantic pressure and Provedel made three saves from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The first was from a close-range shot, the second from a curling free-kick and the third, and best, from recovering a looping header from just under the bar.
Spezia launched a final counterattack. Victor Kovalenko rolled the ball through the penalty area towards Gyasi, who, with the game on the line, carefully controlled and then placed the ball coolly inside the far post.
‘Bad night’
“Anyone can have a bad night,” Pioli said. “We will try to react, the team has always known how to do it. »
Milan host Juventus on Sunday.
It was Spezia’s third win in a row and lifted them to 14th in the table, six pints clear of the relegation places.
In Bologna, the Mexican Hirving Lozano scored from close range in the 20th and 47th minutes.
Striker Victor Osimhen entered the final 20 minutes wearing a protective mask, just under two months after suffering facial fractures.
Osimhen had traveled to Nigeria to join the national team for the Africa Cup of Nations but returned to Italy after contracting Covid-19.
In Florence, rising star Dusan Vlahovic squandered an 11th-minute penalty for the home side with a lazy Panenka which Salvatore Sirigu, reaching out, stomped on.
It didn’t matter as the home side ripped apart Genoa, who won the league once in all season and sacked Andriy Shevchenko on Saturday after just two months as manager.
Four minutes later, Sirigu dove at the feet of Vlahovic for a brave save but the ball raced towards Alvaro Odriozola who scored to start the rout.
Cristiano Biraghi struck with two free kicks from long range. Giacomo Bonaventura scored from close range. Vlahovic hit the target with another cute lob. The diminutive Lucas Torreira finished the score with a header.
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