Christian Pulisic’s late assist for AC Milan was not enough to overcome the team’s sloppy defense in their home draw against Genoa, while Tanner Tessmann and Gianluca Busio kept their narrow hopes of automatic promotion alive with a surprisingly tough win over relegated FeralpiSalo.
AC Milan 3 – 3 Genoa
With Yunus Musah suspended due to yellow card accumulation, Christian Pulisic was the lone American in action for AC Milan on Sunday afternoon, assisting in what could have been a winner for the Rossoneri, only to see the team’s efforts go to waste thanks to a late own-goal by the defense.
In a move sure to delight American fans, Milan head coach Stefan Pioli deployed Pulisic in a central attacking role in the midfield, and a strong performance by the USMNT star will give the coach a strong backing to continue the experiment through the season’s final few games.
He had a total of 48 touches between the starting and final whistle, completing 81% of his 32 passes, taking a total of three shots, setting up three additional chances, winning two of his four attempted dribbles, while winning four out of seven duels and drawing a pair of fouls.
Despite Milan’s overall dominance, Genoa were far more opportunistic with their scant few chances, and found themselves with an early lead thanks to an error in the defense. While attempting to beat Alessandro Vogliacco to a ball just to the right of goal, Fikayo Tomori knocked his opponent to the ground, leading to a relatively easy penalty call by the referee.
Mateo Retegui took the resulting spot kick, sending Milan keeper Marco Sportiello diving the wrong way, and nailing his shot to the upper left corner for the fifth-minute, 1-0 lead.
Eight minutes later, Pulisic nearly equalized with a shot from the left side of the area towards the far side of goal, however it klanged off the upright, much to the relief of the visitors.
However, Alessandro Florenzi pulled the Rossoneri even on the stroke of halftime, redirecting in a short cross from Samuel Chukwueze with a glancing header at the near post.
Still Genoa continued to take their chances well, surging to the lead three minutes after the half. Central defender Vogliacco was again the key, firing in a perfect cross from deep in the right flank, that Caleb Ekuban headed in from near the penalty spot to the right side of goal.
Three minutes after Olivier Giroud blew what looked to be a near-certain chance in front of Genoa’s goal, Florenzi turned provider as Milan equalized again in the 72nd minute. The goal came off of clinical execution on a corner, as Matteo Gabbia headed in Florenzi’s perfectly placed inswinging corner just inside the right upright.
Then three minutes later, Pulisic and Giroud teamed up on what looked to the the winner for the hosts. Receiving the ball from Chukwueze just outside of the area, Pulisic wove past a pair of Genoa defenders before firing his cross towards the left side of the six-yard box, where an unmarked Giroud was waiting to give his team the 3-2 lead with a sweeping, one-timed finish.
However, their evening would still end with some degree of disappointment, after Malick Thiaw bungled Morten Thorsby’s cross from the right side over the line, forcing the team to settle for one point.
With three games left, Milan still hold a five-point lead over Juventus in the race for second place. They next host 15th-place Cagliari on Saturday.
Roma 1 – 1 Juventus
Weston McKennie and Tim Weah both started for Juventus on Sunday evening, as the team were able to overturn an early deficit to earn a road draw at Roma.
Weah lasted just over an hour before being subbed out in a precautionary move by head coach Massimiliano Allegri. Playing on the right wing, he had little impact on the team’s attack, which was more focused on the left. However he did pick up his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he will miss the team’s next game due to suspension.
McKennie was his usual dependable self alongside Manuel Locatelli in the central midfield, creating three chances, while winning half of his four duels, making a pair of clearances, and nailing three out of four long balls and crosses.
Roma needed just 15 minutes to take the lead, with Romelu Lukaku cleaning up from short range after Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny blocked Bryan Cristante’s shot directly into the Belgian’s path.
However, Federico Chiesa, who was the main driving offensive force for the visitors, orchestrated the 31st-minute equalizer.
The Italian international left Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini sliding in the turf after being fooled by a quick cut-back on the right side, then launched a cross to the top edge of the six-yard box. Gleison Bremer rose above the crowd, and sent his header just inside the right upright to bring the score to 1-1.
Weah was pulled in the 61st minute, just moments after narrowly avoiding a second yellow, when referee Andrea Colombo generously awarded a free kick instead of a booking for a clumsy collision with Leandro Paredes.
Chiesa nearly put Juventus back in front with 11 minutes left with an excellent shot to the upper right corner, only to see Mile Svilar knock it away with a one-handed save. Then Moise Kean saw his hopes dashed of heading in a likely winner with three minutes left, with Svilar again deflecting the ball to safety.
The point keeps Juventus in third place with a five-point hurdle to overcome in the final three games. They next host relegated Salernitana on Sunday.
Venezia 2 – 1 FeralpiSalo
Tanner Tessmann and Gianluca Busio both saw action for Venezia on Sunday afternoon, with the team’s come-from-behind victory over FeralpiSalo keeping their narrow hopes of gaining automatic promotion to Serie A barely on life support.
Busio started in the midfield, playing 73 minutes, taking one shot and setting up one chance, while Tessmann entered the game at halftime, as head coach Paolo Vanoli looked to have his team break through after several close calls.
Venezia took the lead shortly before the hour mark, after Christian Gytkjær set up Joel Pohjanpalo for a spectacular one-bounce volley that flew into the upper left corner of the visitors’ goal.
With seven minutes left, FeralpiSalo looked to have equalized thanks to Mattia Compagnon’s short-range poke over the line, but Pohjanpalo secured the win deep into added time, combining with Michael Svoboda on a breakaway to trick visiting keeper Samuel Pizzignacco, and striking his shot into the open net.
Venezia need to make up a two-point gap behind second-place Como if they hope to gain automatic promotion to Serie A, meaning a win over Spezia on Friday is a must, while hoping that Como slip up against Cosenza. Otherwise, they will compete in the post-season promotion playoff.
Notes
Andrija Novakovich played the second half of Lecco’s visit to Brescia, having little impact amidst his seven touches in a 4-1 loss. Guaranteed to end up in last place in Serie B, Lecco close their season on Friday when they host Modena.
Nicholas Gioacchini didn’t make it off of Como’s bench on Sunday in their scoreless draw at Modena. With one game left to go, Como hold a two-point lead over Venezia in the race for the second automatic promotion spot, and will look to secure their future in Serie A when they host Cosenza on Friday.
Kristoffer Lund played the full game at left wing-back on Sunday when Palermo welcomed Ascoli. The back-and-forth game ended a 2-2 draw. Palermo are already guaranteed a spot in the promotion playoff, and will try to protect their seeding on Friday when they visit ninth-place Südtirol.
