soccer
Milan stumbles against Lecce and freezes in the Italian League
After leading 2-0, Noah Okafor’s team came close to defeat in Lecce (2-2). Without winning the championship for more than a month, she could fall off the podium on Sunday.
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Olivier Giroud scored his seventh league goal this season before being sent off at the end of the match.
imago
Four days later His Champions League success against Paris Saint-Germain at San Siro (2-1), Milan did not confirm its draw with its host Lecce (2-2), on Saturday, in the 12th round of the Italian League, after leading 2-0. The Rossoneri have not achieved any victory in the league since the beginning of October. Stefano Pioli’s third-placed side could lose their place if Napoli beats Empoli on Sunday. Lecce, who believed in victory at the end of the match (the goal was disallowed), is in 13th place.
The match began with a strong blow for Milan, with Rafael Leao leaving in the 10th minute with an injury to the right thigh after an acceleration. The Portuguese striker was forced to make way for Noah Okafor.
But as happened in the Champions League this week, Milan was able to rely on its top scorer, Olivier Giroud. The scorer of the second goal against the Parisians, the Frenchman did it again by receiving a cross from his compatriot Theo Hernandez, this time with the left thigh and not with the head (28). Tijani Reynders doubled the lead in the 35th minute with a low shot between the legs of the opposing goalkeeper.
Giroud was disqualified at the end of the match
Milan was heading towards a quiet 2-0 win when Lecce started the revolution by scoring two goals in four minutes. Nicola Sansone, who entered with difficulty, reduced the gap after a corner kick (66), then Lamek Banda equalized after Milan lost the ball, while Hernandez remained on the ground after a duel (70).
In stoppage time, Giroud, who claimed an opponent’s handball in the area, received a yellow card and then a red card in protest (90+3).
At ten, Milan escaped the worst when Roberto Piccoli’s wonderful goal, from a shot from 25 metres, was disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) due to a foul at the start of the match (90+4).
(AFP/Sports Center)
