Saelemaekers Shines, AC Milan Still Fails to Win

PARMA, SUNDAY – In just 25 minutes, AC Milan had already taken a two-goal lead against Parma in the match of the 11th week of the Italian League, Sunday (9/11/2025) early morning WIB, at the Ennio Tardini Stadium. However, the three points and the comfort of dominating the top of the standings were dashed due to the two goals from the home team.

Milan only brought home one point from Parma's home ground as the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Two points slipped away that could have helped Milan maintain control in the title race.

That single point indeed helps "I Rossoneri" to occupy the first position. However, the team coached by Massimiliano Allegri only leads in goal productivity over Napoli. Both teams have 22 points.

We wasted two points. I do not know what the end of the match will be like, but if we could have maintained a 2-0 score in the first half, the result would certainly have been better for us.

Milan's position is very vulnerable to being displaced this Sunday. This is because three competitors, namely Napoli (vs. Bologna), AS Roma (vs. Udinese), and Inter Milan (vs. Lazio), will be playing matches on Sunday local time. For Napoli and Inter, a draw would be sufficient to return Milan to third place.

The situation left the Milan players disappointed as they failed to bring home three points from Ennio Tardini. Rafael Leao, Milan's forward, even covered his face with his jersey after the final whistle was blown by referee Marco Di Bello. A similar gesture was shown by Leao when he witnessed Parma equalize with a header from defender Enrico Del Prato in the 62nd minute.

"We threw away two points. I don't know how the game would have ended, but if we had kept the score at 2-0 at halftime, it would have been a better result for us," Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.

At the beginning of the match, Milan performed very effectively. I Rossoneri were supported by the brilliant individual actions of winger Alexis Saelemaekers. The Belgian passport holder put Milan ahead just 11 minutes into the game.

Through a positive transition scheme, Saelemaekers concluded the period of attack with a low shot towards the bottom right corner of the goal defended by Zion Suzuki of Parma. About 10 minutes later, Saelemaekers' weaving action resulted in a foul by Parma's defender, Abdoulaye N’Diaye.

Without hesitation, the referee pointed to the penalty spot, although the penalty for Milan needed to be confirmed through the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Leao calmly executed the penalty to extend Milan's lead in the 25th minute.

Parma seemed to arrive from an unexpected place thanks to a goal that reduced the deficit from a curved shot by midfielder Adrian Bernabe. That goal boosted Parma's confidence at the beginning of the second half.

Before equalizing, Parma had the best opportunity from a header by striker Mateo Pellegrino. Unfortunately, the header hit the crossbar.

Receiving the best opportunity from Parma did not awaken Milan. Starting from a throw-in situation, Parma's wing-back, Sacha Britschgi, delivered a pass to Del Prato, which brought the score to 2-2.

"Regardless of the goal, we entered the second half slowly. We allowed them to have two or three great chances before scoring the equalizer. We seemed half asleep," said Allegri.

After conceding the second goal, Milan tried to improve their offensive performance. Allegri brought on Christian Pulisic, who had just recovered from injury.

The captain of the United States national team failed to meet the expectations of Allegri and the Milan supporters present in the away stands at Ennio Tardini. He had a golden opportunity in the 76th minute when he was one-on-one with Suzuki. However, Pulisic's shot went wide to the left side of the Parma goal.

In fact, that was Milan's best chance of the second half. Pulisic's chance had a 40 percent chance of scoring.

"We had at least three chances to score, but we failed to capitalize. It's a psychological problem because there's fear after conceding. We dropped valuable points against Parma, Pisa, and Cremonese," said Allegri, a six-time Scudetto winner.

Meanwhile, Parma ended a streak of two consecutive losses. The team nicknamed "I Gialloblu" had previously been defeated by Roma and Bologna.

Parma is in 17th place with a total of eight points. The additional point against Milan helps Parma maintain a two-point distance from the relegation zone.

Parma's coach Calos Cuesta stated that the revival of Parma is more than just a tactical approach. According to the Spanish tactician, the fighting spirit is the main ingredient that enables Parma to withstand Milan.

"During the halftime break, we tried to rectify the game plan that was not working. Beyond that, the children played with heart and high spirit to be more aggressive in pressing and aimed to play more dominantly," said Cuesta.

Interestingly, Parma was two goals behind despite dominating the game with 53 percent ball possession. In the second half, they recorded only 43 percent ball possession.

Nevertheless, I Gialloblu created more shots. The comparison is 14 shots created by Parma, while Milan only produced nine shots.

"We must take the positive side of this result. I am also still adapting to the Italian League. I am trying to help our young players reach their maximum potential," he stated.