New Telegraph

Serie A: Ibra’s goal sparks Milan comeback to beat Juve

*As Lazio’s Patric sees red for biting

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s penalty sparked a remarkable AC Milan comeback victory against title-chasing Juventus at the San Siro.
After an uneventful first half, Milan scored four unanswered second-half goals having gone 2-0 down to Juve strikes from Adrien Rabiot and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ibrahimovic’s 62nd-minute penalty offered hope, before Franck Kessie and Rafael Leao completed a five-minute turnaround, reports the BBC.
Ante Rebic added a fourth to secure a memorable victory with 10 minutes remaining.
Defeat sees Maurizio Sarri’s side miss the chance to move 10 points clear of second-placed Lazio, who lost 2-1 to relegation-threatened Lecce earlier on Tuesday.
It took Maurizio Sarri’s visitors until first-half injury time to register their first shot on target, but Rabiot’s spectacular finish from the edge of the box – after running with the ball from his own half – sparked the contest into life.
Ronaldo, who became the first player to reach 25 Serie A goals in a season for the club since 1961 on Saturday, met Juan Cuadrado’s pass to score for a fifth successive game and leave Juve in control.
However, Ibrahimovic’s spot-kick, which was awarded after Leonardo Bonucci was penalised for handball, flipped the momentum.
Milan were soon level after Kessie wriggled through the Juventus defence unchallenged, while Leao beat Gianluigi Donnarumma at his near post from a tight angle.
A fired-up Milan continued to attack Sarri’s shell-shocked side and were rewarded as Rebic swept home to seal three points which send a resurgent Milan up to fifth.
And Lazio’s Patric was sent off for biting late on in a loss at Lecce that dealt a massive blow to their title hopes.
Defender Patric was shown a straight red card for biting Lecce’s Giulio Donati on the arm in injury time.
Felipe Caicedo had scored a fifth-minute opener for the visitors but Khouma Babacar headed in Filippo Falco’s cross to level on 30 minutes.
Struggling Lecce completed the turnaround after half-time, as defender Fabio Lucioni headed in from a corner.
Simone Inzaghi’s Lazio remain seven points behind leaders Juventus, who themselves lost 4-2 against AC Milan.
A disappointing evening for Lazio was further soured by Patric’s indefensible bite on Donati, identified clearly by a video assistant referee review.
As the Lecce defender organised his team-mates to defend a set-piece with outstretched arms, Patric lent in from behind and bit Donati just above the elbow,
The hosts had responded well to their early set-back, having also seen Marco Mancuso’s third-minute goal disallowed by VAR due to a handball in the build-up.
Mancuso then blazed a penalty over the bar at the end of a lively first half, after the ball had struck Patric on the arm.
Serie A’s leading goalscorer Ciro Immobile was denied at close range by Lecce goalkeeper Gabriel as Lazio suffered a third defeat in five games since the league restarted.
RESULTS
Milan 4 – 2 Juventus
Lecce 2 – 1 Lazio

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