The hosts looked to have nicked all three points with a
late header from Stefano Denswil but the Rossoneri forward levelled matters
with an injury-time spot-kick.
Ajax brought a run of three successive defeats in the
Champions League to an end as they drew 1-1 with AC Milan in Amsterdam.
The Eredivisie side dominated large parts of the Group H
encounter and were unlucky not to have taken all three points after scoring in
the 90th minute through Stefano Denswil, but a stoppage-time penalty from Mario
Balotelli earned the visitors a point.
Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Viktor Fischer both went close
for the hosts early but they failed to stretch Christian Abbiati in the Milan
goal.
Both teams came into the clash off the back of league
victories at the weekend, but there were still changes from those games.
Daley Blind and Sigthorsson came in for the hosts, while
Massimiliano Allegri made three changes, with Balotelli, Ignazio Abate and
Riccardo Montolivo all starting.
Frank de Boer's side began the game in the ascendancy as
they controlled possession and went closest to opening the scoring.
Sigthorsson was the first to test Abbiati in the fifth
minute after receiving a pass from Lerin Duarte, the Iceland international
fired low towards the bottom corner but the goalkeeper saved well with his
legs.
Milan were struggling to get hold of the ball and they
were let off again 13 minutes later as Fischer sent a drive just wide of
Abbiati's left-hand post.
The Dane received the ball from Blind after neat work
from the full-back, but his effort never worried the Milan goal.
Niklas Moisander should have opened the scoring with nine
minutes of the half remaining, but he fired over the bar after Milan had failed
to clear a corner properly.
Montolivo had the first chance after the break but he
could not break the deadlock as he forced Cillessen into his first save of the
match. The midfielder met a low pull-back from Kevin Constant but his shot was
punched away by the Dutch goalkeeper.
Ajax were far from out of the game though and Abbiati was
again called into action just before the hour. Sigthorsson got himself in front
of Abate to meet a Fischer cross but he headed straight at Abbiati, who did not
have to move to make the save.
Balotelli had been anonymous in attack for the visitors
but he burst into life in the 63rd minute as he saw a curling crash against the
crossbar.
The striker cut inside Moisander on the left-hand side of
the penalty area and fired a shot that looked destined for the top corner, but
Cillessen got his fingertips to it and turned it onto the bar.
Both sides pushed for a late winner and the hosts thought
they had one when Denswil evaded the Milan defenders to power a header home
from six yards out.
However, Balotelli was brought down inside the penalty
area in stoppage time by Mike van der Hoorn and the striker made no mistake
from the spot, sending Cillessen the wrong way, to seal a point.
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