Milan unrecognisable in Serie A: Leao's double outshined by Zappa's brace

Cagliari held AC Milan to a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Unipol Domus, halting a run of three consecutive defeats and preventing Milan from claiming a third straight away win.

Milan, last season’s Serie A runners-up, came into the game sitting in seventh place and looking to get back on track against a Cagliari side they’ve historically dominated, winning 31 and drawing eight of their last 40 meetings since 1999. However, Cagliari stunned the visitors with an early goal just two minutes in. Nadir Zortea fired home after a flicked header from Nicolas Viola found him unmarked at the far post, his first-time strike arrowing into the bottom corner.

Milan responded quickly and leveled the score around the 17-minute mark. Tijjani Reijnders lofted a brilliant chip to set up Rafael Leão, who stayed composed to lob Cagliari goalkeeper Alen Sherri. Just before halftime, Leão struck again, rounding Sherri to slot the ball into the open net, putting Milan ahead. Cagliari thought they’d equalized right before the break, but Gabriele Zappa’s effort was ruled offside after a VAR review.

The hosts didn’t have to wait long for their next chance, however. Eight minutes after the restart, Zappa capitalized on a mistake by Youssouf Fofana, calmly curling a shot past Mike Maignan to even things at 2-2. Milan responded strongly, creating several opportunities until Tammy Abraham put them back in front, slotting in the rebound after Christian Pulisic’s shot was parried by Sherri.

Yet, Milan couldn’t hold onto their lead. In the final minute of normal time, Zappa scored his second goal of the match, volleying home a precise cross from Tommaso Augelio at the back post. This hard-fought draw lifts Cagliari to 16th place, while Milan now face an anxious wait to see if they can stay close to the top six, depending on other results in this weekend’s fixtures.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 12

Thursday

Genoa - Como 1-1 (0-1)

/Vogliacco 90+1 - Cunha 17/

Friday

Lecce - Empoli 1-1 (0-1)

/Pierotti 77 - Pellegri 33/

Saturday

Venezia - Parma 1-2 (1-1)

/Caviglia 5 - Valeri 17, Bonny 68/

Cagliari - AC Milan 3-3 (1-2)

/Zortea 2, Zappa 53, 89 - Leao 15, 40, Abraham 69/

22:45: (1.57) Juventus (3.70) Torino (7.00)

Sunday

14:30: (1.40) Atalanta (5.25) Udinese (8.00)

17:00: (1.45) Fiorentina (4.40) Verona (7.50)

17:00: (2.15) Roma (3.35) Bologna (3.80)

20:00: (4.50) Monza (3.50) Lazio (1.83)

22:45: (1.95) Inter (3.60) Napoli (4.20)

***odds are subject to change***