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AC Milan's winning run came to an end against AS Roma as both sides played out a topsy-turvy, thrilling 3-3 draw at the San Siro. The result left the Giallorossi in 9th place on the Serie A table, while the Rossoneri still remain on top of the Italian top-flight.
The game was barely two minutes old when AC Milan took the lead, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic stretching out his right foot to poke the ball home after a peach of a chipped through ball from Rafael Leao on the left wing.
AS Roma responded soon after, with Edin Dzeko heading home a wicked in-swinging corner from Lorenzo Pellegrini in the 14th minute. Both sides continued to look threatening from set-pieces, but went into the break on level terms.
In a repeat of the first half, Milan took the lead two minutes after the restart, as Leao got the better of Karsdorp down Milan's left wing and cut the ball back for Alexis Saelemaekers to make it 2-1 with a well-timed finish. Roma's response took longer, but it came in fortuitous fashion as Pedro was awarded a debatable penalty after going down under pressure from Ismael Bennacer in the box.
Jordan Veretout stepped up, and confidently slammed the ball home to level the scoreline yet again. A few minutes later, Piero Giacomelli awarded another soft penalty to AC Milan, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic converting with aplomb to make it 3-2.
The Swede turned villain late on, as his miscue from a corner fell to Marash Kumbulla, who made it 3-3 in the 84th minute. Alessio Romagnoli had a late chance to win the game for Milan, but glanced his header wide from an injury-time corner.
Here are the five major talking points from an entertaining encounter at the San Siro:
#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an ageless wonder
Zlatan Ibrahimovic turned 39 years old at the start of this month, but the Swedish legend continues to defy expectations. He began the game in storming fashion, making a supremely intelligent run behind Roma's backline and stretching out a his leg to guide the ball beyond Mirante.
Ibra's opener was the fastest of the 57 he's scored for AC Milan in Serie A, and also drew him level with the number of goals he scored for Inter Milan. His second goal brought him into the top 10 of all-time goalscorers, and the scary thing is that he doesn't look like he's about to stop anytime soon.
Just the way he was able to press and run the channels against Roma's back four was enough to silence his doubters, but Ibrahimovic capped it off with goals as well. He may have been at fault for Roma's third goal, but even at 39, the game was all about Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
#4 Roma boss Paulo Fonseca gets tactics right, personnel wrong
In what has become di rigueur for Giallorossi fans, Paulo Fonseca's 3-4-2-1 formation caused plenty of problems for the opponents, but failed at important moments.
In a system which is heavily dependent on the fullbacks being able to attack and defend in equal measure, Fonseca started with Rick Karsdorp and Leonardo Spinazzola in the wingback positions. The pair struggled quite a bit, with Roma looking much better once Bruno Peres came on in the second half.
Roma were perhaps fortunate to come away with a point, but the fight shown to come back from a goal down three times in the game is something Fonseca can work with for the future.
#3 Rafael Leao rises to the occasion yet again
While Zlatan Ibrahimovic will walk away with most of the headlines and plaudits, his much younger teammate turned in yet another fantastic night of football. Leao struggled in the centre-forward role last season for Milan, but the Portuguese youngster always kept toiling away.
Stefano Pioli has worked out that he's best deployed in the left wing/channel, with Leao proving him right in the Derby della Madonnina 10 days ago. The 21-year-old was at the races yet again, toying with Rick Karsdorp throughout the game and setting up two goals in a wonderful performance.
With Zlatan alongside to mentor Leao, Milan could very well have another gem of a forward on their hands.
#2 Referee and VAR lose the plot
While the game was entertaining for the neutral, it was surely agony for both sets of fans as referee Piero Giacomelli turned in an astonishingly bad performance. Even prior to the controversial penalties awarded, the on-field referee got plenty of minor decisions wrong and completely missed two very obvious foul throws.
The penalties awarded to both Roma and Milan were far from justifiable, and the VAR seemed to barely take a look at them as well. Pedro was fortunate to even get the foul with replays showing him to be the culprit, while Gianluca Mancini was penalised for.... kicking air with a high boot.
Giacomelli followed all of this by dishing out a flurry of yellow cards - 5 in a 12-minute spell - surely a symptom of a referee realising he was not having the best of nights. The officiating in Serie A doesn't have a very high bar to begin with, but tonight was an abject low.
#1 Milan's winning run comes to an end, but the title challenge continues
Stefano Pioli had plenty of doubters prior to the resumption of football following the COVID-19 break last season, especially after Milan were linked with Ralf Rangnick during that period. Yet, Pioli has overseen an incredible 22-match unbeaten run since football resumed in Italy.
Milan were the only team left in Europe's Top 5 leagues with a perfect start to the season prior to this game, and while the Rossoneri faithful will be disappointed to see that run come to an end, there are huge positives to take away from this run.
That Milan are challenging for the title seems a bold claim to make with the season so young, but Pioli's charges have looked impressive every time they take to the pitch. With Juventus having a stuttering start in the Andrea Pirlo era, this may be the ideal time for a welcome surprise to befall long-suffering Milan fans.
Make no mistake, this Milan is the real deal.
