Milan were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation fighters Cagliari at San Siro on Saturday in Sergio Conceicao's Serie A debut.
The hosts dominated throughout the match but struggled to get going in the first half, with Mattia Felici even coming closest to breaking the deadlock when he forced a fine save from Mike Maignan.
Milan started the second half on the front foot, but Christian Pulisic rattled the crossbar with a half-volley from the edge of the penalty area shortly after the break.
They finally got their reward in the 51st minute. Alvaro Morata was perfectly placed to turn in from close range after Pulisic's low volley hit the post.
However, Cagliari stunned the home side four minutes later after a counter-attack, with defender Nadir Zortea scoring with a low shot from outside the penalty area.
Milan continued to push, with Elia Caprile making brilliant saves to deny Pulisic, Tammy Abraham and Theo Hernandez, who were denied in the final seconds.
Conceicao's side are eighth in the standings with 28 points, eight points behind Lazio in fourth place, but with two games to go. Cagliari is 18th with 18 points.
It ends in a draw at San Siro #MilanCagliari #SempreMilanBrought to you by @Bitpanda_global pic.twitter.com/hxN7xfXz6V
— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 11, 2025
Data debrief: Milan Rue wasted opportunities
Conceicao's previous two games in charge of Milan saw the team fall behind, even though they came back to win them both on their way to winning the Supercoppa Italiana.
So it was somewhat new territory for the new boss as Morata's fifth goal of the season put them ahead at the start of a dominant second half.
Milan had a total of 24 chances, 11 of which were on target, after scoring 2.14 expected goals (xG), 16 of which came after the break.
However, one defensive lapse in concentration cost them three points. Zortea has now scored four league goals this season, a joint high among defenders in the top five European leagues – level with Willi Orban, Lukas Kublar and Josko Gvardiol.
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