AC Milan battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Torino on Monday night keeping their bid for Europe alive by moving fifth in the Serie A table. Andrea Belotti had put Torino ahead after 21 minutes with his 14th league goal of the season and Marco Benassi adding a second for the hosts five minutes later.
But Milan’s 17-year-old keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Adem Ljajic’s penalty to prevent the hosts going 3-0 up after just 32 minutes. And once the storm had passed Milan responded positively with Andrea Bertolacci scoring on 55 minutes and Carlos Bacca slotting in a penalty five minutes later.
Milan played the final minutes of the game with 10 men after Alessio Romagnoli was sent off on 88 minutes for a second yellow card. They overtake city rivals Inter Milan, moving fifth with 37 points, eight points behind leader Juventus, ahead of Saturday’s clash against third-placed Napoli. Torino, knocked out of the Italian Cup 1 last week by AC Milan, stay eighth equal on 30 points with Fiorentina, six points off the first European qualifying place.
Gasperini hit with two-game touchline ban
Atalanta coach Gianpiero Gasperini has been hit with a two-game touchline ban for a foul-mouthed tirade at match officials as he was sent off in a 2-1 defeat at Lazio.
Gasperini followed Simone Inzaghi in being sent off for dissent, in the 79th minute of the game, but while the Lazio coach walked away quietly six minutes before half-time Gasperini launched a series of insults at the fourth official and match referee.
Serie A bosses yesterday banned Gasperini for Atalanta’s next two league games, at home to Sampdoria and away to Torino, “for serious and injurious insults aimed at the fourth official and the referee”.
Pescara coach Massimo Oddo was hit with a one-game touchline ban for “using disrespectful language while protesting to the match referee”, meaning he will miss his side’s home game with Sassuolo on Sunday.
Torino striker Andrea Belotti, who hit the opener in a 2-2 draw with AC Milan on Monday, will miss Sunday’s trip to Bologna due to a one-match ban for collecting a fifth caution. Fiorentina striker Nikola Kalinic will miss Saturday’s trip to Chievo with a one-match ban triggered by a fifth caution.
Gasperini complained after his side’s defeat his expulsion had been planned by the referee. “For the entire game the fourth official was threatening to send me off,” Gasperini raged in comments to Sky Sport. “The referee had planned to send me off, because earlier he’d got rid of Inzaghi and so he had to apply the same rule.”
Veteran Demichelis
rejoins Malaga
Argentine international Martin Demichelis rejoined Spanish La Liga side Malaga till the end of the season yesterday. Demichelis, 36, was a free agent having had his contract with Espanyol rescinded last week and returns to the Andalusian side where he enjoyed two successful years between 2011 and 2013 as Malaga reached the Champions League quarter-finals in 2012/13.
“Centre-back Martin Demichelis will play with Malaga for the rest of the 2016/17 season,” Malaga said in a statement. “The Argentine player, with huge experience at the elite level of European football, joins Malaga for a second time having playing more than 100 games for the club in La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League.”
Malaga sit 14th in La Liga and Demichelis could face a daunting debut as they travel to face European champions Real Madrid on Saturday.
AC Milan’s defender Alessio Romagnoli (top) vies for the ball with Torino’s forward Andrea Belotti during the Italian Serie A match at the ‘Grande Torino Stadium’ in Turin. (AFP)
