Serie A | Milan 1-2 Lazio: Pedro plunges Rossoneri into crisis | OneFootball

Milan fell into a full-blown crisis with a third consecutive defeat, but only a last-gasp Pedro penalty knocked down the 10 men after Strahinja Pavlovic saw red.

The Rossoneri are struggling badly after the Champions League exit, then back-to-back defeats against Torino and the rescheduled Week 9 fixture with Bologna, leaving them floundering in eighth place. Christian Pulisic shook off a knock to return, dropping Joao Felix after six straight starts with Kyle Walker only fit for the bench. The Aquile were held to two straight draws by Napoli and Venezia, with Taty Castellanos, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Elseid Hysaj injured, plus Alessio Romagnoli and Matias Vecino not fully fit after their Coppa Italia quarter-final elimination to Inter on Tuesday.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Milan fans protested by leaving the Curva Sud empty for the first 15 minutes, save for a banner warning they were there ‘only for the shirt.’

Boulaye Dia sprung the offside trap on a Niccolò Rovella through ball, denied by a desperate Mike Maignan save one-on-one.

Nuno Tavares then dribbled past Alex Jimenez to pull back at the by-line, beating Maignan only for Strahinja Pavlovic to risk an own goal with the deflection.

Yunus Musah ran a huge risk when losing the ball cheaply, but made up for it by sprinting back for the desperate tackle on Dia.

Tijjani Reijnders failed to make the most of a smart Rafael Leao pass with a weak finish, while Alex Jimenez curled past the far top corner.

Lazio broke the deadlock when Pavlovic was robbed to spark an attack down the right with Loum Tchaouna, it was rolled across and Maignan made the save on Adam Marusic, but could do nothing on Mattia Zaccagni’s follow-up at the back post.

Sergio Conceicao made a tactical substitution after just 37 minutes, replacing Musah with Joao Felix. The Chelsea-owned starlet slipped while bending a finish wide, then Zaccagni volleyed inches wide on the Nuno Tavares counter-attack from a Milan corner.

MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 02: Strahinja Pavlovic of AC Milan is shown a red card by Referee Gianluca Manganiello during the Serie A match between AC Milan and SS Lazio at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on March 02, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Pavlovic tested Ivan Provedel with a rocket from distance, but they left the field at half-time to deafening jeers.

Kyle Walker came on for the restart, along with Manuel Lazzari after Marusic sprained his ankle in an accidental collision with Theo Hernandez.

Samuel Gigot on the counter fired straight at Maignan from a Nuno Tavares assist, while Joao Felix blasted over on a Pulisic pass and Zaccagni’s right-foot curler was just wide of the far post.

Provedel got down to fingertip a Matteo Gabbia pull-back away from danger, then Santiago Gimenez’s glancing header flashed wide as Leao stood up the cross.

However, Milan went down to 10 men on 67 minutes when Matteo Guendouzi sent Isaksen on the counter and he was brought down by a lunging Pavlovic tackle. The referee opted for a straight red card.

Theo Hernandez struggled to clear a free kick that Maignan had pushed onto his leg, while Dia was offside when drilling into the net on 83 minutes.

Despite being down to 10, Milan still managed to equalise when Rafael Leao stood up a cross from the left and Nuno Tavares had totally lost sight of Chukwueze, allowing a free header at the back post that went in off the underside of the crossbar.

It was suddenly wide open, Isaksen blasting into the arms of Maignan, the same result for a Nuno Tavares free kick.

Luka Jovic was acting as a defender in stoppages with a decisive block on Pedro inside the penalty area, while Leao’s counter-attack almost sent Gimenez clear.

The drama continued deep into stoppages when Isaksen went down in the box as Maignan came flying off his line and a penalty was awarded following the VAR On-Field Review. Pedro stepped up and kept his cool to send Maignan the wrong way, converting the last-gasp winner.

This result means Milan are now in ninth place, having been leapfrogged by Roma.

Milan 1-2 Lazio

Zaccagni 28 (L), Chukwueze 86 (M), Pedro 98 (L)

Sent off: Pavlovic 67 (M)