Lazio returned from their trip to San Siro with fresh three points after a hard-fought and slightly controversial victory over AC Milan. Mattia Zaccagni scored for the Biancocelesti in the 28th minute, and his team received a further boost when Milan defender Strahinja Pavlovic was shown a straight red card in the 67th. Milan fought valiantly with 10 men and eventually equalized in the 87th through substitute Samuel Chuwueze, but the game was settled by a very late penalty for Lazio, converted by veteran Pedro almost eight minutes after the 90 had expired.
Teams
Milan head coach Sergio Conceicao was without the services of right-back Emerson Royal (muscle), as well as left-back Alessandro Florenzi (knee) and midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek (knock).
Conceicao named 19-year-old Alejandro Jimenez on the right defensive flank, with Theo Hernandez, Matteo Gabia and Strahinja Pavlovic comprising the rest of the back line, ahead of goalkeeper Mike Maignan. Youssouf Fofana and Yunus Musah paired up in the middle of the park, with the trio of Christian Pulisic, Tijjani Reijnders and Rafael Leao supporting Santiago Gimenez in attack.
Lazio boss Marco Baroni also had significant injuries to work around, namely striker Taty Castellanos (thigh), midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru (ankle), former Milan captain Alessio Romagnoli, and fellow defender Elseid Hysaj.
With Ivan Provedel in goal, centre-backs Samuel Gigot and Mario Gila were flanked by Nuno Tavares and Adam Marusic. In midfield, Matteo Guendouzi stood next to Nicolo Rovella, while Mattia Zaccagni, Boulaye Dia and Gustav Isaksen played behind striker Loum Tchaouna.
Game recap
The match began in an unpleasantly quiet atmosphere as Milan’s Curva Sud ultras left their section empty until the 15th minute in protest against owner Gerry Cardinale, Conceicao, as well as the players, amid a disappointing season.
Lazio dominated the early stages, with Dia racing through on goal after a Rovella pass, only for Maignan to deny him with a sharp save. A dangerous pullback from Nuno Tavares nearly led to an own goal by Pavlovic, while Isaksen fired just wide from distance.
The visitors finally took a deserved lead in the 28th minute when Maignan parried Marusic’s shot into the path of Zaccagni, who tapped in at the back post.
A frustrated Conceicao introduced Joao Felix for Musah, but Lazio remained the more threatening side, with Zaccagni volleying just wide before Milan were jeered off by the home crowd at halftime.
The hosts responded after the break, with Felix blasting over and Gimenez glancing a header narrowly off target. However, their hopes of a comeback suffered a blow in the 67th minute when Pavlovic was sent off for what was deemed a last-man foul on Isaksen during a Lazio counterattack.
Despite being down to 10 men, Milan found an equalizer six minutes from time when Samuel Chukwueze powered a header past Provedel from a Leao cross.
But just as Milan looked to have salvaged a point, Maignan fouled Isaksen in the box in stoppage time, allowing Pedro to convert the penalty and hand Milan their third straight league defeat.
Debatable calls
Referee Gianluca Manganiello made two very big decisions which obviously impacted the contest greatly, both going against Milan and in favour of Lazio.
There can be no denying the fact that Pavlovic’s tackle on Isaksen was late – it was a foul and a bookable one at that, but it’s highly debatable whether Isaksen’s position in that situation can be classed as a clear goalscoring opportunity. It happened well outside the box, slightly wide on the right, while two other Milan players were cutting across from the other side. Several camera angles arguably indicate that at least one would’ve gotten there in time to prevent Isaksen from going one-on-one with Maignan.
Nonetheless, Manganiello was very quick to flash the red card at Pavlovic.
Deep in stoppage time, Isaksen did go one-on-one with Maignan, got to the ball first and poked it away from the Milan goalkeeper, who pulled his arms out not to commit a foul but still caught the Lazio winger with his trailing legs. The contact was there, but it was very clear that Isaksen had poked it too hard, and there was no way for him to retrieve it before it crossed the pitch boundary.
In fact, Manganiello didn’t even give the penalty at first, awarding Milan a goal-kick, but the VAR intervened this time and sent him to the screen, prompting a change of decision.
From a neutral point of view, both these calls could be described as 50-50, which would mean that neither of Manganiello’s initial calls was a “clear and obvious error” and that the VAR was right not to get involved when Pavlovic got his marching orders, but based on the same principle, there should’ve been no late penalty for Lazio.
Conceicao under increased pressure
Be that as it may, Milan’s overall performance in this match was exactly the kind which has gotten them where they are. Conceicao’s tenure began with Suppercoppa glory, but the Rossoneri have since been eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Feyenoord, and the third league defeat in a row has pushed them down to ninth place.
There is a lot of quality in Conceicao’s squad, complemented notably by the arrivals of Kyle Walker and Santiago Gimenez this winter, but the team simply couldn’t identify the right way to go forward, to create a proper chance, or prevent the visitors from repeatedly causing them problems through quick transition.
If things don’t improve very soon, Conceicao is likely to find himself walking through the exit door rather soon. The games away to Lecce and at home against Como MUST be won, especially with the Coppa Italia semifinal first leg against Inter Milan and a trip to Napoli to come after that.
Lazio plow on
While things look very gloomy for Milan at the moment, the view is very different from the other side. Lazio won’t be looking back at this game for too long – the three points they took have pushed them straight into the top four, though they will be aware that they’re likely to end the round in fifth, after Juventus host Hellas Verona in Turin on Monday.
Baroni’s team will now start preparing for the double header against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League round of 16, with a home match against Udinese nestled in between.
