AC Milan Denied By Last Gasp Lazio

Ac Milan was left out last night of the tournament for the Coppa Italia in the cruelest possible manner, after a brilliant last-gasp comeback from Lazio saw them turning the fate of a match which the Romans were losing 1-0 three minutes before the end of the official time.

Playing with 10 men after the 65' dismissal of Emerson (twice booked), Milan fought their way to capitalize on one of the several occasions they had through the means of Shevchenko (77'), who scored from outside the penalty area with a masterful left-foot strike and showed he still has gunpowder in his boots, if we dare to doubt him.

And that was the end of good news for the Rossoneri. 

In the 87th minute, Favalli brought down Pandev within the penalty area, granting an inopportune penalty—which allowed Zárate to score to level the match (1-1).

Five minutes later, in the first of the two supplementary extra-periods (92') and with the thwarted Rossoneri struggling to react, Pandev took profit of this and of the incapacity of Milan's defense to carry out an effective clearance, scoring the second of the night for Lazio after a sequence of rebounds within Milan's penalty area.

Milan tried it out in the supplementary time—notably with a free kick from Ronaldinho which hit the post—but they were visibly affected by the late blow and the numerical handicap, and showed a lack of ideas.

In fact, Lazio went very close to a third goal by the time the final whistle was blown.

The victory sent Lazio to quarterfinals, where they will face in January the winner of the match between Fiorentina and Torino.

What can we say about Milan? Again they lost a match that seemed as already won. Again, in the final instants. Again, in their own stadium, before the eyes of their own supporters, and being one of those matches that leave you morally wounded.

Again, old vices seemed to have aroused within the squad, as they failed to show more grip and determination toward the end of the game, didn’t work enough to secure the advantage, and then left the rival took away a victory that would have choked recent criticism for their latest results.

Instead of that, they are now one step closer to the edge of the abyss, and it seems that the time has come for Milan players to grit their teeth and learn to suffer well, if they are to contend for the two other options they still have available to fight for in the season: Scudetto and UEFA Cup.

The good: Pandev (9) Great performance from the Macedonian. Generated the penalty which leaded to the first goal, and scored himself the second with a great volley after being first denied by Dida.

The bad: Emerson (3) Ingenuously provoked his dismissal after being booked twice in less than seven minutes, the last booking resulting from an unnecessary challenge over Ledesma.

The ugly: Favalli (4) Overall was not a bad match for Milan’s veteran defender, but his late imprudence inevitably rendered him the villain of the night.