Neither side will be particularly pleased about today’s result, as AC Milan draw 3-3 against Frosinone at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Sunday afternoon.
Luca Paganini opened the scoring inside the first two minutes before Oliver Kragl scored a missile of a free kick just before the break. Carlos Bacca converted a tap-in before Federico Dionisi restored the two-goal advantage soon after. A stellar Luca Antonelli bicycle kick gave Milan life before Jeremy Menez earned a point from the penalty spot.
Frosinone stunned the home side 70 seconds in, when Paganini finished off a clever run of possession by tucking his effort from just outside the box into the near corner of the net.
Bardi was then called to make a string of impressive saves on Balotelli, Juraj Kucka, Alex and Keisuke Honda, as the Inter-owned shot-stopper was on fine form in the first half.
The saves proved important as Frosinone doubled their advantage against the run of play. A Kragl wonder-goal from all of 40 yards found its way straight into the near post to walk Milan off the pitch to a chorus of jeers.
Two minutes after the interval, Milan were awarded a penalty for an Adriano Russo handball in the box. Balotelli stepped up and attempted a stutter step but Bardi was not deceived guessing the right way to make the save, as it seemed that the 24-year-old was destined to maintain the clean sheet.
After parrying a long-range Alex strike, the keeper allowed an Ignazio Abate cross to trickle though his arms and provided Bacca the opportunity to pull one goal back after 50 minutes.
However, an Alex error in possession minutes later allowed Dionisi through on goal to unleash a low-left-foot strike into the far corner of the net.
In the 74th minute an Alex head-on found Luca Antonelli who controlled with his chest before unleashing an acrobatic bicycle kick that beat Bardi. The goal came mere seconds after his introduction as a substitute.
With stoppage time looming, Milan were awarded a second penalty for another hand ball in the box. Bardi guessed the correct way again but could not deny Jeremy Menez.
In the dying embers of the match, Balotelli had a chance to play the hero but his effort hit the crossbar.
The draw brings Milan down to 7th place, after Sassuolo’s victory over Hellas Verona. Should the Rossoneri not be able to reclaim the 6th spot, they will need to defeat Juventus in the Coppa Italia final in order to gain entry into the Europa League next season.
Frosinone meanwhile, find themselves one point closer to salvation but still remain four points behind with two matches left to play. Palermo’s victory over Sampdoria means that the Canarini remain in 19th place.
