Milan draws with Lazio

Lazio squandered a two-goal lead against visiting Milan to settle for a disappointing 2-2 draw in the fourth round of the Italian league yesterday. Lazio appeared to have sealed the match in the first half with goals from Matteo Cancellieri (10th minute) and Dutchman Tjani Reijnders (39th minute), but Milan responded in the second half with two goals within two minutes, both scored by Belgian substitute Diego Moreira, who came on after the break (65th and 67th minutes). Moreira, who joined from French club Strasbourg for around €50 million, opened his Serie A account in his second appearance for the Rossoneri.

Lazio played the match in front of nearly empty stands due to a boycott by their fans, who were protesting against owner Claudio Lotito’s policies. After three consecutive wins—1-0 against Bologna and Genoa, and 2-1 against Udinese—the capital city side, led by former Milan star and coach Gennaro Gattuso, failed to secure a victory in their first real test of the season against Milan, who had also not yet tasted defeat but had drawn 1-1 with Juventus in the previous round.

The draw lifted Lazio’s tally to 10 points, placing them top of the table, one point ahead of second-placed Roma, who host Torino today. Defending champions and third-placed Inter, who host Udinese on the same day, remain in contention. Milan, managed by Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim, sit fourth with eight points.

Cagliari secured their second consecutive win, defeating hosts Atalanta 2-1 to move up to fourth place with nine points, while Atalanta suffered their second straight loss and dropped to ninth with six points. Goals for the winners came from Senegalese striker Boulaye Dia (19th minute) and Daniele Maldini (61st minute, penalty), while Gianluca Scamacca scored for the losers (41st minute). Genoa drew 1-1 with Frosinone. Como also play today against Parma.