AC Milan suffered a 2-1 defeat against Fiorentina on Sunday, as star goalkeeper David De Gea saved two crucial penalties in a day of Serie A spot-kick drama.
Albert Gudmundsson scored the decisive goal in the 73rd minute of a thrilling match in Florence, which saw three missed penalties. The 27-year-old's winner was secured thanks to De Gea's stunning performance, making two remarkable saves to deny Theo Hernandez and Tammy Abraham from the penalty spot, showcasing the former Spain goalkeeper's brilliance. Meanwhile, Juventus slipped further behind Serie A leaders Napoli.
De Gea's penalty saves cost AC Milan the chance to move up to second place, overtaking champions Inter Milan and Juventus. Juventus, meanwhile, were held to a 1-1 draw by Cagliari after Razvan Marin's late penalty secured a point for the visitors.
“We need to work out why we played the way we did because at times we did well but we couldn’t keep it up over the course of the match,” said Milan defender Matteo Gabbia, who received his first Italy call-up on Friday.
Instead, Milan, who equalized Yacine Adli’s first-half opener for Fiorentina with Christian Pulisic expertly guiding home Hernandez’s cross on the hour mark, now sit sixth, five points behind Napoli.
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Adli’s opener came in the 35th minute, shortly after Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan made the first penalty save of the night, comfortably stopping Moise Kean’s weak effort after Hernandez was penalized for a foul on Dodo.
Italy international Kean had a tough night, missing a series of chances, having two goals rightly ruled out for offside and thumping the crossbar with a rocket in stoppage time, but he did provide the knockdown from which Gudmundsson won a thrilling contest.
Marin lashed home the 88th-minute penalty which gave Cagliari a point at the Allianz Stadium after Roberto Piccoli was clumsily brought down by Douglas Luiz.
Romania midfielder Marin’s arrowed penalty levelled Dusan Vlahovic’s 15th-minute spot-kick and moved Cagliari a point above the relegation zone.
It was the first goal conceded by Juve in Serie A this season and left Thiago Motta’s third-placed side three points behind Napoli.
“We created a few opportunities but there was always the feeling that Cagliari could get back into the game,” said Motta.
“What happened today is all our own fault.”
Cagliari could have even snatched a last-gasp win as Adam Obert thumped the post in the fifth minute of stoppage time, with Juve down to 10 men following Francisco Conceicao’s sending off almost immediately after Marin’s equaliser for trying to win a penalty by simulating a foul.
Juventus would have almost certainly had the full three points had Vlahovic not wasted a huge chance in the 78th minute in front of Paul Pogba, who was in the stands after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided on Friday to cut his doping ban from four years to 18 months.
France midfielder Pogba can return to action in March but sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli gave the impression that the 31-year-old has no future at Juve.
“We’ll make our decision once the CAS decision has been made official. He was a great footballer but he hasn’t played for a long time,” Giuntoli said pre-match.
Juve have been joined on 13 points by their next opponents Lazio, who are fourth after winning their fourth straight match in all competitions, 2-1 over Empoli.
Roma’s sporting director Florent Ghisolfi meanwhile demanded “respect” for his team after the capital club were denied a late penalty during their 1-1 draw at Monza.
Georgios Kyriakopoulos’ 87th-minute challenge on Tommaso Baldanzi, which was if anything worse than Douglas Luiz’s on Piccoli, sparked a furious reaction from Roma’s players on the pitch and Ghisolfi later vented his frustration to Sky.
“What happened today was unacceptable, it was a clear penalty. Why did VAR not intervene?” said the Frenchman.
“There is a huge amount of frustration in the dressing room. We demand respect.”
Bologna’s difficult start to life under Vincenzo Italiano continued with a goalless draw against 10-man Parma.
