Cagliari 3-3 AC Milan: Rossoneri held to draw in six goal thriller despite Leao's brace

AC Milan had to settle for a 3-3 draw at Cagliari as Rafael Leao's first-half brace was equalled by Gabriele Zappa's double for the hosts after the interval in a Serie A thriller on Saturday.

The fast-paced contest saw multiple chances for both sides, with Milan taking 16 shots and Cagliari taking 13, as the two clubs had excellent opportunities to score more goals.

The result puts Milan in seventh place with 18 points, seven behind leaders Napoli. Cagliari are 16th with 10.

After 65 seconds, an unmarked Nadir Zortea volleyed the ball into the net following a corner, giving Cagliari the lead.

However, Portuguese attacker Leao beat the offside trap and neatly lobbed onrushing goalkeeper Alen Sherri to level after 15 minutes for the visitors.

Just before the half-hour mark, Cagliari's Roberto Piccoli scored after battling for the ball from a cross, but the strike was ruled out for offside.

Leao then put Milan ahead five minutes before halftime with a precise finish into an empty net following a burst past Sherri for his second goal.

Nicolas Viola thought he had levelled for Cagliari in first-half stoppage time when he slid in to net a goal that was already on its way over the line but was deemed offside.

Cagliari equalised eight minutes after the break, capitalising on a defensive blunder as a deflection gave Zappa a clear path into the box to score.

Milan reclaimed the lead in the 69th minute through substitute Tammy Abraham, who had only been on the pitch for three minutes when he tapped in a rebound after Serri made a one-handed save to stop Christian Pulisic's angled shot.

However, Zappa refused to give up, finding uncontested space to volley a cross into the top corner a minute before stoppage time, tying the game again and securing a draw for Cagliari.

SportsLigue