BOLOGNA: AC Milan were held to a 1-1 draw by Bologna on Saturday as a second-string line-up slipped in Serie A’s top four race ahead of a Champions League showdown with Napoli.
The Italian champions travel to Naples with a one-goal lead to defend in Tuesday’s quarter-final second leg and the Milan coach’s decision to rest his stars at in-form Bologna led to a stalemate which leaves his team fourth in Italy’s top flight, level on 53 points with third-placed Roma.
Coach Stefano Pioli dropped every single outfield player from Wednesday’s win and Nicola Sansone slammed home Stefan Posch’s cross for the hosts just 33 seconds into the match at the Stadio Dall’Ara.
Milan recovered from the early shock, quickly took control of the match and, after Ante Rebic and Alessandro Florenzi, both forced decent saves from Lukasz Skorupski, Tommaso Pobega slammed the leveller in off the post four minutes before the break.
Pioli began to bring on his more trusted players midway through the second half but form forward Brahim Diaz and Rafael Leao failed to find the breakthrough which would have ensured them a spot in the Champions League places for at least another week.
Instead his side can be overtaken by Inter Milan, who sit two points behind their local rivals and host fellow Lombardy outift Monza in Saturday’s late match.
“We shouldn’t have conceded a goal like that so early, we controlled the match, we didn’t let Bologna play their usual way and we created a lot,” said Pioli to DAZN.
“We weren’t accurate enough with the chances we created... we’re not satisfied because we did everything possible to win.”
Bologna, who survived a penalty shout for handball by Jhon Lucumi to the bafflement of Milan, stay eighth and five points from the Europa Conference League spot held by Atalanta, who are at Fiorentina on Monday night.
Napoli host struggling Verona later on Saturday hoping to take their league lead back to 16 points before turning their attentions to Milan.
Luciano Spalletti has also made a raft of changes ahead of Tuesday’s clash, while off the field a truce appears to have been made in a feud between hardcore fans and owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.
On Saturday film mogul De Laurentiis posted on Twitter a photo with a number of the club’s “ultras” with the message “We are Napoli. Fans and president together for victory!.”
The atmosphere at Napoli’s recent home matches has been toxic, with their recent 4-0 home thumping at the hands of Milan marred by fights in the stands as the ultras decided to watch the game in near silence.
The ultras had ostensibly been protesting about being prevented from bringing drums, flags and banners to the stadium to create an atmosphere worthy of a season in which Napoli should win Serie for the first time since 1990, with weeks to spare.
Napoli told AFP that the meeting was aimed at finding “common ground” between club and supporters which would satisfy both parties while “respecting the rules.”
Milan held at Bologna ahead of Champions League decider at Napoli
https://arab.news/zfp4r
Milan held at Bologna ahead of Champions League decider at Napoli
- The Italian champions travel to Naples with a one-goal lead to defend in Tuesday's quarter-final second leg
- Coach Stefano Pioli dropped every single outfield player from Wednesday's win
Marmoush, Salah strike as Egypt edge out holders Ivory Coast in quarter-final
- Egypt wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute
- That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance
AGADIR, Morocco: Omar Marmoush netted the opener and Mohamed Salah scored the decisive goal as Egypt ended Ivory Coast’s reign with a narrow 3-2 triumph in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final.
Center back Rami Rabia was the other scorer for the Egyptians, who had little possession at the Grande Stade Agadir but took their chances with clinical precision and held on grimly to book a semifinal meeting with Senegal on Wednesday.
An own goal from Ahmed Fatouh and a late effort by Guela Doue proved insufficient for the Ivory Coast, winners of the tournament on home soil two years ago but now deposed as African champions.
Egypt, who have won a record seven Cup of Nations titles, wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute after Hamdi Fathy pinched the ball from Franck Kessie in the midfield, allowing Emam Ashour to thread a pinpoint ball to the sprinting Marmoush. He still needed to shrug off the attentions of defender Odilon Kossounou before slotting home.
But it quickly became clear the Ivorians were going to dominate possession, showing much more physical strength on the ball but without setting up clear chances.
Egypt went 2-0 up in the 32nd minute when Rabia rose above the defenders to head his side further ahead from a corner.
The Ivory Coast, who had 70 percent of possession in the first half, reduced the deficit eight minutes later when teenager Yann Diomande’s freekick near the corner took a slight brush off Kossounou’s head and ricocheted off the knee of full back Fatouh and into the net.
SALAH FINISHED OFF CLEVER MOVE
The Ivorians had come from 2-0 down to beat Gabon 3-2 earlier in the tournament but hopes of turning the scoreline around soon after the re-start were stymied by a simply created, but superbly finished, goal for Salah seven minutes after the break.
Rabia was well inside his own half when he chipped the ball over the top of the Ivorian defensive line, allowing Ashour to run onto it and hit an accurate pass with the outside of his right boot into the path of Salah to score.
An Ivorian comeback was still on when Doue touched home at the end of a goalmouth scramble in the 73rd minute.
That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance.
Earlier on Saturday, Nigeria overpowered Algeria 2-0 in Marrakech and will take on hosts Morocco in the other semifinal.
