AC Milan are level with Napoli at the top of Serie A after throwing away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 on Saturday in an entertaining match at lowly Parma. Two ahead in the 25th minute thanks to Alexis Saelemaekers’ early strike and a Rafael Leao penalty, Milan looked set to go two points in front of Napoli ahead of the champions’ tricky away fixture at Bologna on Sunday. But Adrian Bernabe curled in a magnificent goal for the hosts on the stroke of half-time to halve the deficit and Enrico Delprato’s glancing header gave Parma a deserved draw which put them two points above the relegation zone.
Mateo Pellegrino hit the post seconds before captain Delprato’s first goal since January as Milan had to deal with an attacking onslaught from Parma after half-time.
“We needed to battle more but we were too passive,” said Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri.
“You cannot just let them shoot like we did right at the end of the first half when the match looked done, because you make it easier to be caught.
“Then we came out for the second half all over the place and we only woke up once they made it 2-2.”
Milan have dropped points from winning positions against Parma, Pisa and Atalanta, and can be overtaken on Sunday by Roma and local rivals Inter Milan, who take on Lazio at the San Siro, with both teams a point behind the leading pair.
The away side could have escaped with a win as substitute Christian Pulisic and Saelemaekers wasted golden opportunities to score.
Pulisic rolled wide when one-on-one with Parma goalkeeper Zion Suzuki in the 76th minute, and six minutes later Saelemaekers blasted over in front of an open goal having already skipped round Suzuki.
Three points behind Milan and Napoli are Juventus, who were held to a goalless draw by local rivals Torino on a day which had featured no goals until Saelemaekers opened the scoring in Parma.
Juve sit fifth on 19 points after a scrappy but engaging derby at their Allianz Stadium in which both teams had chances to win.
Che Adams was denied in the 63rd minute when the Scotland forward charged forward and unleashed a low drive which was brilliantly kept out by Juve goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio.
And moments later Di Gregorio’s Torino counterpart Alberto Paleari pulled off an even more impressive stop to claw away Weston McKennie’s close-range header.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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