Hosts AC Milan held to a draw by Real Madrid
Real Madrid fought back to earn a 2–2 draw away to AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday, 3 November.
Gonzalo Higuain put the Spaniards ahead in the first half before Pedro Leon's injury-time strike cancelled out Filippo Inzaghi's brace for Massimiliano Allegri's team.
"It was a great game, with everything. We showed for more than an hour we are a great team playing great quality football," Real manager Jose Mourinho said after the game, not entirely pleased with sharing
the spoils. “We had chances to kill the game, but when you are 2-1 down and you don't lose, you cannot be sad."
Higuain exemplified Real's intent early on, twisting on the edge of the box to test Christian Abbiati, who parried the ball wide for a corner.
Angel di Maria should have done better in the 13th minute, but the Spaniard could only strike the outside of the post after twisting his way into space in the area.
Pirlo to the rescue for Milan
In the 20th minute Andrea Pirlo, not known for his aerial ability, managed two clearing headers on Milan's goal line when he denied Higuain and then di Maria.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic should have put Milan in the lead with 37 minutes played. The Swede ran onto a delightful chip by Ronaldinho only to lob the ball wide of Iker Casillas' right post.
Higuain put Real in front shortly before the interval when di Maria's through ball found him in the box. The Spaniard, unmarked by the Milan defence, turned and found the left corner from close range.
Inzaghi, who came off for Ronaldinho at half time, took 22 minutes to pull his team level. Ibrahimovic won the ball off the left flank before sending a wayward cross towards the Italian, who pounced on
Casillas' slip to headed in from close range.
The veteran striker doubled his tally in the 78th minute, when he beat Real's offside trap after Gennaro Gattuso's ball and finished under the advancing Casillas to stun the Spaniards.
Leon rescues a point for Real
Real got the last word, however, when Leon made a diagonal run onto fellow substitute Karim Benzema's clever ball and finished between the legs of Abbiati to leave the San Siro silent.
Real remain top of Group G with ten points from four games with Milan trailing them by five points. Ajax Amsterdam are third with four points after losing to AJ Auxerre on Wednesday as the French team
earned their first three points in the competition.
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