Athekame prevents Milan embarrassment against newly promoted Pisa

Prevented Milan's defeat against Pisa: Zachary Athekame. IMAGO/Nicolo Campo

To kick off Matchday 8 of Serie A, league leaders AC Milan faced bottom-placed and newly promoted Pisa Sporting Club in a clash of contrasts. In an effort to gain a foothold in the race for first place, Rossoneri coach Massimiliano Allegri made two changes following the recent 2-1 win against AC Fiorentina . De Winter and Gimenez started for Tomori and Athekame, respectively.

For the visitors, coach and former Milan player Alberto Gilardino saw more room for improvement and made four changes to his starting eleven after the 0-0 draw with Hellas Verona . Touré, Tramoni, Bonfanti, and Meister replaced Leris, Marin, Angori, and Moreo.

While the favored hosts didn't unleash any offensive fireworks in the first period, they were in control throughout. Nevertheless, Rafael Leao struck in the 7th minute to give AC an early lead.

After that, the game noticeably slowed down. Pisa was solid defensively and mostly only conceded long-range shots, which rarely posed a threat. Examples include shots from de Winter (28'), Fofana (40'), and Modric (42'), all of which went over the bar. Attacking, however, the visitors were barely present. Gilardino's team repeatedly broke through down the flanks via Touré and Bonfanti, but each time they were stopped at the very latest in the opponent's penalty area.

That changed at the start of the second half. Tramoni plucked up the courage in the 46th minute and simply fired a shot from distance. The ball flew just over the goal, but it was the best moment for the bottom team in Serie A up to that point.

Pisa continued to push forward and then had a stroke of luck. Substitute Cuadrado won a handball penalty in the 58th minute, firing at de Winter's arm after a brilliant solo effort. VAR subsequently overruled the penalty, so Cuadrado stepped up and slotted the ball home himself to make it 1-1 (60th).

The home side, however, refused to let that happen, overcame their passivity, and reasserted their dominant side. Rafael Leao had a chance to restore the lead shortly after the equalizer, but his shot hit the crossbar (65'). And Milan kept up the pressure. In the 70th minute, first Gabbia and then Saelemaekers were unable to beat the strong save from Semper.

And so it happened as it had to. Nzola shocked the home side in the 86th minute when, standing unmarked in front of goal, he actually gave the underdogs the lead. But the Rossoneri were able to recover from the shock, pushing Pisa deep into the back and forcing an equalizer. Athekame took aim from a corner and left Semper in goal with no chance (90'+3'). Almost as the final whistle blew, Saelemaekers almost wrapped up the third goal, but his solo effort missed the target by a few centimeters (90'+9').

Thus, the home team ultimately had to settle for the one point, while Pisa could have used the win in their relegation battle. Both teams will continue their Serie A campaign during the busy week. AC Milan visits Atalanta Bergamo on Tuesday (8:45 p.m.). Pisa hosts Lazio Rome next Thursday (8:45 p.m.).