Milan hit back after Balotelli misses penalty

Mario Balotelli missed a penalty as AC Milan, jeered off the field after a dismal first half, drew 3-3 with lowly Frosinone in Serie A on Sunday while Palermo's late survival bid continued with a 2-0 win over Sampdoria.

>>Reuters
Published : 1 May 2016, 05:13 PM
Updated : 1 May 2016, 05:13 PM

Juventus, who clinched a fifth successive Serie A title last Monday, refused to let up and notched their 25th win in 26 league games by beating lowly Carpi 2-0.

Carpi, in their debut season in Serie A, stayed 17th, one place above the relegation zone, with 35 points and are only ahead of Palermo on goal difference, with the two teams tied on their head-to-head record.

Frosinone, who like Carpi are playing in the top flight for the first time, are four points adrift of safety in 19th and, with two games left, look set to go straight back to Serie B.

Milan's season has gone from bad to worse since they fired coach Sinisa Mihajlovic three weeks ago and reached a new low when they lost to bottom-of-the-table Verona on Monday.

It looked even worse at halftime at San Siro as Frosinone led 2-0 with goals from Luca Paganini and Oliver Kragl but Milan, under interim coach Christian Brocchi, hit back after the break with the help of two penalties awarded for handball.

Balotelli squandered the first at the start of the half when his effort was saved by Francesco Bardi but Jeremy Menez made no mistake in the second minute of stoppage time to rescue a point for the hosts.

In between, Carlos Bacca pulled one back for Milan in the 50th minute, Federico Dionisi made it 3-1 for Frosinone after a blunder by Milan defender Alex five minutes later and Luca Antonelli replied for Milan with a bicycle kick.

There was also time for Balotelli, who has had a dreadful season, to smash a shot against the bar with the last kick of the game. Milan dropped to seventh below Sassuolo who beat Verona 1-0.

Palermo, who have had a chaotic season with eight coaching changes, overcame a subdued Sampdoria after Franco Vazquez scored in the first half and Nenad Krsticic turned the ball into his own net with five minutes left.

Juventus midfielder Hernanes, with his first goal for the club, and Simone Zaza scored in each half to increase Carpi's relegation worries. Juventus have 88 points from 36 games, 15 clear of Napoli who host Atalanta on Monday.