Cesena and AC Milan played out a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi on Sunday afternoon in Serie A.
Davide Succi reacted first to put Cesena in front but then Adil Rami leaped highest from the corner to equalise for the away side, who also had Christian Zapata sent off in the second half.
In the tenth minute, the first real chance of the match led to a goal for the Cavallucci Marini. Guido Marilungo went on a strong run and hit a fairly tame shot which Christian Abbiati failed to deal with, then Succi reacted quickest to fire home.
The Rossoneri nearly equalised soon after when Keisuke Honda curled a free-kick over the wall but Nicola Leali did well to tip over the bar.
Minutes later the away side did find the net. Honda whipped in the corner and from around the penalty spot, Rami won the aerial battle and guided his header accurately into the far corner.
On the half-hour mark Giacomo Bonaventura nearly gave Milan the lead when the loose ball fell to him but the winger fired just over the bar.
It was clear to see that both teams were finding it hard on the artificial surface, with players slipping over and misplacing passes.
Franco Brienza had a good chance on the stroke of half-time but the former Atalanta midfielder dragged his effort wide from the edge of the box.
Five minutes into the second half, Marilungo dinked the ball back to Manuel Coppola who tried his luck on the volley from outside the box which went a whisker wide of the post.
Mattia De Sciglio cut inside minutes later and smashed a low effort towards the bottom corner which was thwarted by Leali, palming wide.
With 65 minutes on the clock, Giuseppe De Feudis went for goal from around 30 yards out which bounced just wide of the far post.
In the 73rd minute, the Rossoneri were reduced to ten men as Zapata was dismissed. The Colombian was caught out of position as Gregorie Defrel was played in on goal and the defender brought him down, receiving a red card for being last man.
Five minutes from time the home side had a goal controversially disallowed. The corner was whipped in, Emmanuele Cascione rose highest but his header was saved by Abbiati and Stefano Lucchini bundled the ball in. According to the referee though, Cascione fouled the Milan defender.
Milan held out for a 1-1 draw but it could have been worse for Filippo Inzaghi’s side.
