DPA/Rome
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Mario Balotelli converted another late penalty as AC Milan rallied to a 1-1 draw Sunday at 10-man Cagliari in the Serie A.
Balotelli was on target from the spot in the 82nd minute after Victor Ibarbo put Cagliari ahead on the stroke of half-time. The hosts had Davide Astori sent off in the incident leading to the penalty.
The Italy forward Balotelli scored both goals, including a last-minute winner on a penalty, in last weekend’s game against Udinese, which marked his debut for the club after a January move from Manchester City.
Milan have four wins and two draws from their last outings and sit fifth on 41 points from 24 games.
City rivals Inter Milan went fourth on 43 points from a late 3-1 win over Chievo, secured with efforts from Antonio Cassano, Andrea Ranocchia and the returning forward Diego Milito.
Leaders Juventus on 55 points opened the weekend Saturday with a 2-0 home win over Fiorentina and are five points clear of Napoli, who drew 1-1 at third-place Lazio.
In the first half in Cagliari, the Devils failed to create chances for Balotelli and Stephan el-Shaarawy and struggled to contain the fast counterattacks from the Sardinian hosts.
Colombia’s Ibarbo, who had failed to finish off a break in the 21st minute, nodded home a free-kick from captain Daniele Conti.
Kevin-Prince Boateng and Bojan Krkic came on to help a pressing that was rewarded when Astori brought down Balotelli and was sent off with a second yellow card. Balotelli grabbed the equalizer from the ensuing penalty.
“It was a good point. We are not so happy because we wanted three points,” said Milan’s Ghanaian Sulley Muntari, who played a whole game after a nine-month absence. “Still, it is fine. We must continue to try to get points.”