Rafael Leao scored twice for Milan before the Tammy Abraham tap-in, but Gabriele Zappa was the hero for Cagliari in a dramatic 3-3 draw at the death.
The Rossoneri were fresh from a stunning 3-1 Champions League victory away to Real Madrid, but lost Alvaro Morata to an accidental clash of heads with Strahinja Pavlovic in training. So with Luka Jovic, Ismael Bennacer, Matteo Gabbia and Alessandro Florenzi also out, plus Tammy Abraham not at 100 per cent, 16-year-old Francesco Camarda got his first Serie A start. The hosts had Michel Adopo and Yerry Mina suspended after the chaotic defeat to Lazio, but surprisingly launched Albania international Alen Sherri in goal.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
Cagliari broke the deadlock within 70 seconds, as a Nicolas Viola corner was flicked on by Sebastiano Luperto for Nadir Zortea unmarked at the back post to drill through a sea of legs from a tight angle into the far bottom corner.
Rafael Leao fired just over, but Milan equalised with a simply magnificent goal. Tijjani Reijnders scooped the ball up over the defence with his right boot, allowing Rafael Leao to spring the offside trap and beat the on-rushing Sherri with a delicate lob.
Luperto’s header on another corner was straight at Mike Maignan, while Roberto Piccoli had the ball in the net with another wonderful piece of skill over the goalkeeper, but he was narrowly offside.
Maignan plucked a dangerous Zortea header out of the air at the back stick from Tommaso Augello’s cross, but less than a minute later Milan had turned the game around. Youssouf Fofana’s through ball sent Rafael Leao running just past the centre-circle and he dribbled around Sherri to sweep into the empty net. It was his 50th Serie A goal and his first brace since June 2023.
Piccoli tried to equalise moments later when holding off Malick Thiaw, but Maignan rushed off his line to block and the collision became inevitable. Zito Luvumbo’s header also flashed across the face of goal, skimming the head of teammate Piccoli.
Cagliari had equalised for 2-2 on the stroke of half-time with a Gabriele Zappa volley at the back post on Augello’s cross, but Viola went sliding in and got the final touch before it crossed the line and he was in an offside position.
Straight after the restart, Samu Chukwueze scuffed the finish horribly from 12 yards on a Camarda pull-back, while Zortea saw another ferocious volley charged down by Theo Hernandez.
Zappa finally did get his goal thanks to a gift from Fofana, who did not realise his defensive flick was in fact sending the winger clear on goal to beat Maignan one-on-one. It was only his second career Serie A goal.
Camarda’s header was captured by Sherri, but the striker also had to act like a defender with practically a goal-line clearance on Piccoli’s effort from a Cagliari corner.
Milan restored their advantage with substitute Tammy Abraham, who was ready to meet the rebound when Sherri got down for a one-handed save on Pulisic’s angled drive.
It still wasn’t over, as Zappa was a man who had scored only one previous goal in Serie A before this evening, but completed his brace late on with a magnificent right-foot volley into the top corner on Augello’s cross. Despite his incredible performance, he was again left practically unmarked at the back post.
Cagliari weren’t satisfied and Gianluca Lapadula blasted a half-volley just over from the edge of the area, while Noah Okafor’s header was too weak to trouble Sherri.
Cagliari 3-3 Milan
Zortea 2 (C), Leao 15, 40 (M), Zappa 54, 89 (C), Abraham 69 (M)
Player statistic
| Nadir Zortea (Assist: Sebastiano Luperto) |
 |
2' | ||
| 15' | |
Rafael Leão (Assist: Tijjani Reijnders) | ||
| 40' | |
Rafael Leão (Assist: Youssouf Fofana) |
| Gabriele Zappa | |
53' | ||
| 61' |  |
Youssouf Fofana | ||
| 69' | |
Tammy Abraham | ||
| Gabriele Zappa (Assist: Tommaso Augello) |
|
89' | ||
| 90+1' | |
Theo Hernández |
Match statistic
Milan’s inability to d3fend on crosses is amateur level. Cagliari deserved much more.
Some of the individual mistakes are like watching a cartoon. Theo’s positioning – horrific all season. If not for maignan in the 1st half, Cagliari would’ve scored 5 or 6