AC Milan’s troubles continued Saturday when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Fiorentina to see their insurmountable lead at the top of the Serie A table vanish. Milan’s loss coupled with Juve’s 2-o win at Palermo means that the Bianconeri move into first place in the table standings with one point more than Milan.
Milan took the lead through swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 31st minute before Jovetic leveled early in the second half. The game seemed to be heading for a draw until a 90th minute strike from Amauri handed condemned Milan to a shock home defeat.
Speaking after the match, Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri refused to admitted that though the result was a huge blow to their title hopes, the title race was far from over
“We have to accept this result, in the knowledge that there are still lots of games remaining and everything remains wide open. It has not been a great week, but we have to bounce back because we still have everything to play for,” he told reporters.
Unbeaten Juventus on the other hand moved a step closer toward winning their first scudetto since 2003 thanks to goals from Bonucci and Quagliarella that saw them defeat Palermo.
Speaking before the match, Conte revealed that all his team was waiting for was a slip up from Milan.
“We are not thinking about what Milan will do, but what we will do,” he said.
“Milan have a two-point lead and an easier fixture list than us. We are on the right track, we must continue to win and wait for Milan to slip up. We will give our all so that we will not have any regrets after our matches.”
Conte got his wish on Saturday when the Rossoneri slumped to their 5th loss of the season and one that could prove to be a turning point in their title campaign.
Elsewhere, Inter Milan under stand in coach Andrea Stramaccioni were held to a 2 all draw at Cagliari to further dent their chances of qualifying for European football next season.
“This draw leaves a bitter taste in the mouth,” Stramaccioni said.
“It was an exciting game between two exciting teams, and Cagliari looked very good; especially in the first 15 minutes after half time. We had worked our way back into the game and tried to win until the end, and if Ranocchia’s chance had gone in in the 93rd minute it could have been the winning goal.”
With 7 games left in the season, there is still all to play for for both Milan and Juventus. If anything, this season’s title race could be a repeat of the 2004 title race that saw Milan edge Juventus to the title on the last day of league action.
photo credit © mgio92
