AC Milan 1-1 Atalanta: Teun Koopmeiners' penalty cancels out Rafael Leao's superb solo strike as Ros Teun Koopmeiners' penalty cancels out Rafael Leao's superb solo strike as Rosssoneri lose ground in title race
Third-placed AC Milan lost ground in the Serie A title race after being held to a 1-1 draw by Atalanta on Sunday, with Teun Koopmeiners' penalty cancelling out Rafael Leao's superb early opener for the hosts.
Milan, who missed out on second place last weekend by losing 4-2 at mid-table Monza, are 13 points behind leaders Inter Milan, who won 4-0 at Lecce earlier on Sunday and still have a game in hand.
Stefano Pioli's Milan side are still third with 53 points from 26 games, four points behind second-place Juventus.
"Tonight we lost two points. If there was a team that deserved to win it was us," Pioli told DAZN.
"We played our best match against Atalanta, we played with personality and quality without letting them shoot. The best performance of the week."
With one more game to play than the teams immediately above them, Atalanta are fifth with 46 points, two behind fourth-place Bologna.
Milan got off to a fast start when Leao broke the deadlock in the third minute, finishing a solo run with a stunning shot into the top corner from a tight angle.
The Portugal forward ended his Serie A goal drought, scoring for the first time in five months.
However, Atalanta equalised against the run of play shortly before halftime when Koopmeiners sent Mike Maignan the wrong way following a penalty awarded for Olivier Giroud's foul.
Milan continued to dominate the game after the break, with 70% possession against Atalanta, who came to San Siro off the back of five consecutive victories and are unbeaten this year.
However, Gian Piero Gasperini's team, who defeated Milan 2-1 away in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals last month, were far from peak form. This, however, did not make Milan's task any easier, as the majority of the home team's 20 shots were off target.
Leao played a superb lofted pass to Christian Pulisic, who controlled the ball well but shot low just wide of the far post in the 69th minute, before Ruben Loftus-Cheek was denied by goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi.
"Milan are a great team, with very high values and they put us in difficulty," Gasperini told a press conference.
"In the other matches against them we didn't have this type of difficulty, while tonight we suffered from their strength."
Atalanta return to San Siro on Wednesday to face Inter.
SportsLigue