Pulisic penalty saved as Milan slips up
Christian Pulisic saw a penalty saved as AC Milan missed the chance to close the gap on the top four in Serie A, after going down 2-1 at Torino.
The Rossoneri missed the chance to close the gap on the top four, as Gvidas Gineitis's 76th-minute strike sealed all three points for the hosts.
Torino took the lead in bizarre fashion after just five minutes, with Mike Maignan's attempted clearance ricocheting off Malick Thiaw and into his own net.
Milan was awarded a golden opportunity to equalise in the 32nd minute when Marcus Pedersen was penalised for handball, but Vanja Milinkovic-Savic guessed correctly to keep out Pulisic's spot-kick.
Milinkovic-Savic made a string of fine saves to keep the Rossoneri at bay until the 74th minute, when his resistance was finally broken by Tijjani Reijnders's fierce strike into the top corner.
However, just two minutes later, Gieitis scored what proved to be the winner, latching on to a free-kick and drilling a low shot beyond Maignan.
Milan coach Sergio Conceicao understood the fans' frustration, hitting out at his team.
The travelling fans voiced their disappointment with several banners and chants urging the squad to improve its performance.
"They are absolutely right to do so. It is on us that we come here and do not win, so naturally there are higher expectations. We are not satisfied when there is criticism on the directors, players or staff. We are Milan and we take the criticism together," Conceicao said.
"Torino were 1-0 up at half-time without a single shot on goal, whereas we missed a penalty and several other chances.
"Things happen and we must be stronger when reacting to them. I realise it’s not easy for the players either when Torino's best player was their goalkeeper and we had 30 attempts on goal.
"I am sorry for the fans who were present for these last few games.
"The last 12-15 goals we conceded were pretty much all unforced errors. It’s not about strategy or formations, these are things I often wonder how they are even possible."
The former Porto boss risked some ire from the travelling fans when he substituted Rafael Leao at half-time.
Leao had struggled to make an impact in the first half, having just 29 touches and getting off only one shot.
"Rafa was not at his best, there are other players and they are all important," Conceicao said.
"I still say we mustn’t focus on substitutions or formations when conceding two ridiculous goals like that, as anyone would suffer in those circumstances."
Milan has lost four of its past five away matches in all competitions – two in Serie A and two in the UEFA Champions League – as many as it suffered in all its previous 12 away matches played this season.
