AC Milan plunged deeper into crisis on Sunday after Pedro’s penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time condemned the seven-time European champions to a 2-1 home defeat to Lazio
AC Milan plunged deeper into crisis on Sunday after Pedro’s penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time condemned the seven-time European champions to a 2-1 home defeat to Lazio in front of livid fans. Pedro was cool from the penalty spot to fire Lazio into fourth and the Champions League places, a point ahead of Juventus who host Verona on Monday night. The former Spain forward was given the chance to snatch the win by Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan cleaning out Gustav Isaksen just as Samuel Chukwueze’s 85th-minute leveller looked like giving Milan a barely-deserved point.
Instead Sergio Conceicao’s team languish in ninth place following a largely dismal home display in which Milan had to play with 10 men for over 20 minutes after Strahinja Pavlovic was sent off for chopping down Gustav Isaksen.
“It’s not an easy period for the club, the players can feel everything that’s going on around them,” said Conceicao to DAZN.
Mattia Zaccagni thought he had decided the match with his 10th goal of the season in all competitions in the 28th minute but Pedro stepped up to save the day for Lazio at the last.
An eventful match was almost a sideshow to the vociferous fan protests at the San Siro, with Milan’s hardcore supporters not entering the stands until the 15th minute as a demonstration of anger at performances and the direction of the club.
And when they did show up the fans offered no support for the team, instead loudly calling the players “shameful” and demanding American owners RedBird sell the club.
The boos and whistles which had crashed down from the stands all match got louder once Pedro slotted home his spot-kick and condemned Milan to their third defeat in little more than a week.
“It’s the first time in my career that I’ve ever seen anything like it,” added Conceicao.
“When you play in an atmosphere like that your boots become boiling hot. It’s not easy… and I have to say tonight the team showed the desire to change things. We managed to level with 10 men and could have even won the game.”
Fans have good reason to be frustrated as Milan, a giant of European football, are a whopping 19 points behind lead leaders and local rivals Inter Milan, and nine from the Champions League spots after another desperate defeat.
Ranieri’s Roma revival
Milan have also been overtaken by Lazio’s local rivals Roma who continued their revival under Claudio Ranieri with a 2-1 win over 10-man Como which kept the capital club in touch with the European places.
Goals in the second half from substitutes Alexis Saelemaekers and Artem Dovbyk turned an engaging match in Roma’s favour and put them in eighth place.
Roma are four points behind Bologna who sit sixth — in the division’s Conference League spot — after beating Cagliari 2-1 earlier on Sunday.
An eighth win in 11 league matches put Ranieri’s team one place and two points above Milan.
Roma looked in danger of relegation when Ranieri took charge in November but they haven’t lost in Serie A since falling at Como in mid-December and their form has been such that the 73-year-old was named the division’s manager of the month for February.
Como, who took the lead just before half-time at the Stadio Olimpico through Lucas Da Cunha, will feel hard done by after performing well all evening, even after Marc Kempf was sent off for two bookable offences in the 63rd minute.
Cesc Fabregas’ side somehow managed to not level two minutes before the end when Mergim Vojvoda hit the post and Patrick Cutrone shot straight at Mile Svilar on the rebound.
However ambitious Como have been excellent since the turn of the year and should stay up as they sit six points above the relegation zone in 13th place.
