Three talking points after AC Milan’s 3-3 draw vs AS Roma | OneFootball

AC Milan could not continue their perfect start to the season as they played out a 3-3 draw against AS Roma at the San Siro on Monday night.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened the scoring for the Rossoneri after just two minutes on the clock after latching on a brilliant pass from Rafael Leao.

However, the visitors levelled the scores in the 14th minute through Edin Dzeko, who had a free header on goal after goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu failed to punch the ball away from a corner.

Shortly after the interval, Belgian midfielder Alexis Saelemaekers made it 2-1 in the hosts’ favour. Leao was once again the creator as he drove down the left wing before delivering a superb cross.

In the 69th minute, Tatarusanu was the culprit once again as he spilled a shot. In his attempt to recover the ball, Ismael Bennacer clattered against Pedro which resulted in a penalty.

The VAR showed that it was rather Pedro who had stood on Bennacer’s ankle, but the penalty stood much to the frustration of Milan. Jordan Veretout comfortably converted the spot-kick.

Within 10 minutes, Milan had a penalty of their own which was similarly questionable. Hakan Calhanoglu appeared to go down easily under the challenge of Gianluca Mancini, but the decision was not overturned.

Ibrahimovic successfully converted the penalty which took his tally to six goals from just three league outings. Just when the Rossoneri thought that they had taken the points, there was further drama to unfold.

Ibrahimovic, who almost had the perfect day, was largely to blame for Roma’s equalising for the third occasion. The Swede made a poor attempt to clear the ball from a corner driven from the left and the deflection fell into the path of Marash Kumbulla at the back post, who scored with a free header.

Three things we learned:

Tatarusanu’s dismal debut: The 34-year-old made his first-ever appearance for the Rossoneri on Monday night after regular goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma tested positive for COVID-19. He did not have much to do in terms of distribution, but was at fault for the opening goal after completely missing his punch from a corner which allowed Dzeko with a free header. Elsewhere, the Romanian’s spilled shot in the second half contributed to Roma earning their fortuitous penalty and that capped off a dismal debut for the former Lyon man.

Ibrahimovic’s mixed day: The 39-year-old scored a brace for the second game running, but that was not sufficient to deliver the victory. Ibrahimovic scored terrific composure to beat Antonio Mirante within the opening two minutes and he coolly slotted his second goal from the penalty spot which made it 3-2 on the night for the Rossoneri. However, all of his hard work was undone by a poor attempted clearance which gifted Roma a late equaliser. The Swede tried to clear the ball with his right foot, but he instead flicked it past his goalkeeper for Kumbulla to head in at the far post.

Milan continue unbeaten run: Milan won’t be too pleased with the outcome of the encounter after squandering their advantage on three separate occasions. Still, they continue to remain top of the pile and are unbeaten in 17 straight Serie A games, a run which started after the coronavirus lockdown. They have a slender two-point over Napoli at the top and could sustain the gap with winnable fixtures against Udinese and Hellas Verona to come before the November international break. Following the interval, Milan will make the trip to Naples to face Gennaro Gattuso’s Napoli.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com