AC Milan 2-2 Pisa: Athekame denies visitors first Serie A win of the season
AC Milan rescued a draw against newly-promoted Pisa in additional time thanks to Zachary Athekanme's first goal for the Rossoneri.
Zachary Athekame's 93rd-minute equaliser saw AC Milan salvage a 2-2 draw against Pisa at the San Siro.
After Juan Cuadrado cancelled out Rafael Leao's opener, it looked like the newly-promoted side had pulled off an upset when M'Bala Nzola scored in the 86th minute, but Athekame levelled for the Rossoneri in stoppage time.
Leao, who scored twice in Milan's win against Fiorentina last time out, continued his return from injury with another goal in the seventh minute. He picked up the ball on the right wing and cut inside before curling his effort into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box.
But the next goal would come courtesy of half-time substitute Cuadrado. The 37-year-old won a penalty after his shot struck the arm of Koni De Winter, and he made no mistake from 12 yards as he sent Mike Maignan the wrong way on the hour mark.
Leao then struck the crossbar after a brilliant backheel pass from Youssouf Fofana, while Adrian Semper produced a double save to deny a close-range header from Matteo Gabbia and then an attempt from distance by Alexis Saelemakers as Massimiliano Allegri's side pushed for a winner.
However, that left them open at the back and Nzola was picked out by a long ball from the top from Ebenezer Akinsanmiro as the forward slotted the ball past Maignan from close range.
Although the drama was not over just yet as Athekame found the bottom-right corner through a crowd of bodies, which left Semper unsighted, three minutes into second-half additional time to keep Milan's eight-game unbeaten run going, before Saelemakers dribbled through on goal only to poke his shot wide with the final touch of the game.
Data Debrief: Leao provides Allegri with a silver lining
Allegri warned his Milan side of the task at hand after they lost to newly-promoted Cremonese in their opening game of the season, and his side lacked the clinical edge they needed to beat Pisa.
Milan produced 1.74 expected goals (xG) from 20 attempts, while Pisa accumulated 1.05 from just eight shots.
Leao has scored in two consecutive home Serie A appearances for the first time since May 2024 (v Cagliari and Salernitana). The Portuguese international had gone 16 home league games in a row without scoring since.
Since the 2020-21 season, Leao (30 goals, 20 assists) is the only player to have scored 30 goals and provided 20 assists in home games in the Italian top-flight.
