AC Milan and AS Roma ended their intense Serie A encounter with a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
The match saw an early lead from Tijjani Reijnders, quickly cancelled out by a remarkable volley from Paulo Dybala. This result placed Milan in eighth position with 27 points, trailing Atalanta and Napoli by 14 points at the top, whilst Roma sit in 10th place with 20 points. The San Siro was electric, as eight yellow cards were handed out during this final game of the year. Early on, Artem Dovbyk challenged Milan’s goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, with a low drive that hit the post. Milan took the lead 16 minutes in when Youssouf Fofana surged into the penalty area and set up Reijnders, who scored with a first-time finish. Just seven minutes later, Roma levelled through a moment of brilliance as Dovbyk’s deft back-heel flick lifted the ball to Dybala, who expertly volleyed it home.
The first half saw rising tensions just before the interval when Reijnders went down in the penalty area, but the referee allowed play to continue. Milan’s manager, Paulo Fonseca, was sent off for his protests against the decision.
In the second half, Milan was boosted by Ismael Bennacer’s return, his first game since a severe calf injury in August. Not long after, Dovbyk challenged Maignan once more with a shot from a narrow angle, but the French goalkeeper responded swiftly to thwart the attempt.
The home side then dominated the game, with Roma’s keeper Mile Svilar making several crucial saves, including an impressive dive to block Samuel Chukwueze just before the hour mark.
Towards the end of the match, Roma regained some momentum, as Stephan El Shaarawy’s strike was saved by Maignan.
Eldor Shomurodov’s header from a free kick was expertly deflected onto the crossbar by Maignan in the closing minutes; however, the Roma substitute had already been flagged offside.
In the dying moments of the match, Dybala squandered the opportunity to become Roma’s hero by sending his shot just above the crossbar.
