AC Milan salvage Udinese draw with last-gasp penalty
Franck Kessie scored a good 97th-minute penalty to rescue a good 1-1 draw for AC Milan in the home to Udinese on Wednesday, giving Serie A good leaders Inter Milan the chance to pull six points clear at the top.
Rodrigo Becao's second-50 % header at the San Siro completely deceived Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and Stefano Pioli's faltering part looked destined for a third defeat in four games.
But a needless handball from Udinese alternative Jens Stryger Larsen offered Milan a lifeline, with Ivorian international Kessie converting the penalty with the final kick of the match.
"Penalties are not easy," Kessie told broadcaster DAZN.
"When you make it happen, you have two alternatives: you must not feel fear or perhaps uncertainty, otherwise you will get it wrong.
"I had not been afraid and I scored."
Milan struggled to create many genuine chances found in the absence of best scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Swede sidelined by a groin injury picked up in last weekend's victory above Roma.
Ibrahimovic will miss Milan's visit to his former club Manchester United found in the 1st leg of their Europa League previous 16 tie, but of greater concern may be the club's dip found in form domestically.
Udinese goalkeeper Juan Musso made very good saves from Kessie and Samuel Castillejo early on in the next half, nonetheless it was the visitors who must have taken the lead when Ilija Nestorovski's header was cleared off the line brilliantly by Alessio Romagnoli.
Brazilian centre-returning Becao nodded Udinese in advance at a corner in 68 minutes, Donnarumma seemingly distracted by two players jostling before him as the ball floated past the Milan keeper.
Even so, the hosts snatched a spot at the death through Kessie to remain within three of metropolis rivals Inter before their game aside to Parma in Thursday.
- Atalanta roll, Roma bounce again -
Robin Gosens, Jose Luis Palomino, Luis Muriel, Josip Ilicic and Aleksei Miranchuk all scored for Atalanta in a 5-1 rout of bottom club Crotone.
Atalanta occupy the final Champions League location and so are two points free from Roma, who needed a late winner from Amadou Diawara to secure a good 2-1 victory at Fiorentina after Leonardo Spinazzola had scored at both ends.
"It had been very important that people get the win tonite," Roma boss Paulo Fonseca told Sky Sport Italia.
"Following the defeat to Milan, the workforce reacted well. It's important for us to comprehend what we have to improve and how we must react to setbacks."
Francesco Caputo's stoppage-time penalty earned Sassuolo a good dramatic 3-3 pull against Napoli, seeing that Gennaro Gattuso's part dropped vital points found in the race for the Champions League areas.
Sassuolo twice led through a good Nikola Maksimovic own goal and Domenico Berardi penalty. Piotr Zielinski's fine strike possessed levelled for Napoli who after that went in front thanks to Lorenzo Insigne's 90th-minute penalty following an equaliser by Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Cagliari, who actually sacked Eusebio Di Francesco last week after a 16-meet winless go, recorded their second victory found in a good row under his successor Leonardo Semplici because they defeated Bologna 1-0.
Benevento continuing their slide down the table following a 3-0 loss against Hellas Verona, while Genoa and Sampdoria drew 1-1.
On Tuesday Juventus gave their hopes of a 10th right Serie A subject a timely boost because they defeat struggling Spezia 3-0 to move within seven items of Inter.
Cristiano Ronaldo added a good late third as the Portugal superstar notched 20 league goals for the 12th straight season.
