AC Milan held to a draw by Reggina

AC Milan were held to a 1-1 draw at San Siro by bottom club Reggina, and dropped eight points below Inter Milan ahead of next week's massive derby.

Milan hosted bottom of the table Reggina knowing that only a win would allow them to keep up with Serie A leaders Inter ahead of next week’s hotly anticipated Milan derby. With Andrea Pirlo out suspended, Ronaldinho made his return, playing in support of lone striker Pato along with Kaka in a 4-3-2-1 system. David Beckham started his sixth consecutive match in the Rossoneri’s shirt.

Meanwhile Reggina played in 3-5-2 formation with Davide Di Gennaro and Bernardo Corradi up front.

First Half

With Clarence Seedorf surprisingly kept on the bench Mathieu Flamini was given a rare opportunity to play, and had a positive impact on the match. In the 9th minute, he fired a dangerous shot from the edge of the area that was blocked on the ground by goalkeeper Andrea Campagnolo.

In the 14th minute, Kaka who came close for the first time with an audacious overhead kick that went just wide of the post after a poor clearence by Campagnolo on a cross by Beckham.

Five minutes later, Flamini threatened again with a powerful shot from distance after Kaka had lost the ball, forcing a good save from the goalkeeper.

Milan youth product Di Gennaro made himself dangerous in the 21st minute with a left-footed shot that forced Christian Abbiati to make his first serious save of the night.

The home side responded at the other end with another shot from the edge of the area, this time by Marek Jankulovski, but once again Campagnolo was in the way.

At the half-hour mark Beckham sent in one of his trademark razor-sharp crosses, which nearly caused an own goal as Corradi deflected it just past the post for a corner.

In the 33rd minute, Reggina took a shock lead through Di Gennaro, who volleyed the ball in on a cross by Matej Krajcik from the right which was deflected by Corradi, to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

For a while, Milan looked shocked after this goal, but around the 40th minute they started to regroup and created some chances. In the 41st minute, Ronaldinho made a brilliant solo run from midfield, going past three defenders, but his shot from the edge of the area went wide of the goal.

A minute before the break, the home side had strong claims for a penalty as Massimo Ambrosini seemed to be brought down in the area by Krajcik on a pass by Gianluca Zambrotta, but the referee ignored the incident.

The first half thus ended on a surprise 1-0 advantage for Reggina, who had played an outstanding first half against a somewhat disappointing Milan side.

Second Half

No changes were made during half time to either team. Reggina continued to look dangerous and in the 54th minute goalscoring hero Di Gennaro controlled the ball well on the edge of the area, dribbled past Flamini and look a left-footed shot that went just wide of the post.

On the hour mark, the home side had the ball in the net, but the referee disallowed it for a handball. Kaka’s shot from inside the area hit the far post, and the ball then came to substitute Clarence Seedorf, who saw the ball come off his arm before slotting the ball in.

In the 67th minute, the Milan were handed a lifeline as Krajcik made a silly foul on Pato in the area, which made a penalty kick inevitable. Kaka stepped up, and confidently made it 1-1 for the hosts.

After equalising, the Rossoneri started sending in cross after cross as they searched for a winner. In the 73rd minute, they came very close to getting the lead through substitute Filippo Inzaghi, who headed the ball just over the crossbar on a cross by Beckham.

Pippo went close again in the 85th minute, as he tried to deflect the ball in on an umpteenth cross by Beckham, but he just failed to connect with the ball.

Although five minutes of injury time were given, a frenetic and nervous looking Milan side failed to find a breakthrough, despite a constant supply of crosses from a tireless Beckham.

In the end, they had to make do with a draw that sees them drop eight points behind Inter, making next week’s derby even more of a make or break match for Milan.

Teams

Milan (4-3-2-1): Abbiati; Zambrotta, Bonera, Maldini, Jankulovski; Beckham, Flamini, Ambrosini (55’ Seedorf); Ronaldinho (65’ Inzaghi), Kaka (78’ Antonini); Pato. Coach: Ancelotti.

Reggina (3-5-2): Campagnolo; Lanzaro, Valdez, Santos; Krajcik, Carmona, Cozza (90’ Cirillo), Barilla, Costa; Di Gennaro (57’ Sestu), Corradi. Coach: Orlandi.

Goals: 33’ Di Gennaro (R), 67’ Kaka pen. (M)

Booked: Bonera, Flamini (M); Campagnolo, Barilla, Corradi, Carmona, Cozza (R)

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