A stoppage-time penalty from Pedro secured a 2-1 victory for Lazio over AC Milan at the San Siro, piling further pressure on Milan manager Sergio Conceicao. The defeat, Milan’s third in a row, leaves them languishing in ninth place in Serie A, six points adrift of the European qualification spots.
Milan’s ultras staged a pre-match protest, leaving their section empty for the first 15 minutes due to dissatisfaction with the team’s recent performances. They returned just in time to witness Lazio take the lead. Mattia Zaccagni scored on his 150th appearance for Lazio, capitalizing on a rebound after Milan captain Mike Maignan saved Adam Marusic’s initial shot.
Milan’s woes were compounded in the 67th minute when Strahinja Pavlovic was shown a straight red card for a harsh tackle on Gustav Isaksen. Despite being a man down, substitute Samuel Chukwueze equalized for Milan in the 83rd minute, his header bouncing in off the crossbar.
However, the drama was far from over. In stoppage time, Maignan fouled Isaksen in the box, and after a VAR review, a penalty was awarded to Lazio. Pedro calmly converted, sending Maignan the wrong way to secure a dramatic victory for the visitors.
Milan’s Struggles Continue, Lazio’s European Hopes Boosted
The defeat extends a difficult period for Milan. Despite winning the Supercoppa Italiana in January under Conceicao, their league form has deteriorated significantly. This was their eighth league defeat of the season; the last time they suffered more losses after 27 games was in the 2019-20 campaign. Pavlovic’s red card adds to Milan’s disciplinary issues, with only Hellas Verona receiving more red cards in Serie A this season.
Lazio, on the other hand, celebrated only their second win at the San Siro since the 1994-95 season. The victory lifts them to fourth place in the table, eight points behind leaders Napoli. Lazio’s attacking threat was evident throughout the match, as demonstrated by expected goals (xG) total of 2.85 from 21 shots on target. Pedro’s winning goal, timed at 97 minutes and three seconds, was Lazio’s second-latest Serie A goal in the past two decades.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
