Milan claims a thriller but passions boil over
Tijjani Reijnders and Samuel Chukwueze both scored stoppage-time goals as AC Milan snatched an unlikely 3-2 win over Parma in a dramatic clash at San Siro that saw passions boil over on the touchline inside the Milan camp.
Parma took the lead in the 24th minute through Matteo Cancellieri's strike from outside the area before Christian Pulisic equalised with a penalty seven minutes before the break.
Enrico Del Prato put the visiting Parma back in front with just 10 minutes remaining, capitalising on a loose ball after Mike Maignan denied Drissa Camara.
Strahinja Pavlovic thought he had levelled late on, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside, but Reijnders made amends minutes later.
The Milan midfielder was slotted in by Yunus Musah, keeping his cool to tuck past Zion Suzuki and level two minutes into additional time.
Late drama increased when substitute Chukwueze bundled home with his thigh from Pavlovic's downwards header in the 95th minute, sealing a remarkable turnaround for Sergio Conceicao's hosts.
In the midst of their celebrations for Chukwueze's winner, Conceicao and Davide Calabria needed to be separated by team-mates and staff on the touchline.
Calabria had been replaced in the 77th minute by Luka Jovic in an attacking change for the hosts, which eventually proved pivotal in deciding the contest.
Conceicao was clearly upset at something in the exchange and tried to approach his captain to resolve the issue, but was held back before the situation escalated.
"I live the matches and in terms of how I live them and how I feel about them, there is a lot of passion and desire to win," Conceicao said.
"In the end, there was a little extra adrenaline. I was talking about a game situation with Davide and, in my opinion, there was one too many words spoken.
"The players know that they are all important to me, like a family. If I'm at a restaurant and my son does something I don't like, I'll tell him, there's no hypocrisy.
"It wasn't nice to see, but in football it's okay. We are not in church."
It has been a difficult season for 28-year-old Calabria, having started just four games in Serie A this term after missing five matches earlier in the campaign through injury.
He has also lost the captaincy to goalkeeper Mike Maignan, with Emerson Royal often preferred in the right-back position.
Milan also welcomed Manchester City defender Kyle Walker on loan for the rest of the season earlier this week, giving Calabria even more competition.
Against Parma, however, Calabria made more clearances (eight) than any of his team-mates, while only Strahinja Pavlovic (11) won more duels than the Italian (five).
"It is not a positive year like others have been," Calabria said.
"There are situations that are not simple, even private and personal ones that nobody is aware of. I don't even want to talk about it too much.
"I want to end this season in the best possible way for the good of the team, which is the thing I care about the most, even more than myself sometimes.
"Honestly, I'm thinking about staying focused on that, having grown up with this shirt. Then there are situations like today that can happen, but they are part of the journey."
The dramatic win moved Milan to sixth on the standings with 34 points, while Parma is 17th after managing 20 points in the 2024-2025 campaign.
This defeat leaves Parma without a win in its past four league games.
