Genoa's Last Minute Penalty Fails, AC Milan Escapes Defeat

AC Milan almost lost to Genoa before drawing 1-1 in an Italian Serie A match. (X/@acmilan)

AC Milan almost lost when Genoa's last-minute penalty did not fail. Milan also closed the match with a 1-1 draw in the Italian Serie A match at the San Siro Stadium, Friday, January 9, 2026 early morning WIB.

It was a shame for Genoa who should have created a surprise when visiting Milan's headquarters. They were ahead and should have won the match. However, two incidents in injury time made Genoa lose two points.

Genoa's failure at the beginning when Rafael Leao managed to score a goal that tied the score when there was a crisis in front of the goal. Leao's goal was created in the 90th minute +2.

After the goal, Genoa actually continued to play offensively. As a result, the visiting team got a penalty when David Bartesaghi knocked down Mikael Ellertsson in the penalty box. The referee immediately pointed to the white spot which then received protests from goalkeeper Mike Maignan. The French national team goalkeeper's loud protest also resulted in a yellow card.

The referee then reviewed the incident via VAR. After reviewing the incident for several minutes, the referee remained firm in his decision to award Genoa a penalty.

The penalty was executed by Nikolae Stanciu. However, his kick bounced over the crossbar, thwarting Genoa's chances of winning. The failure of the penalty made the Milan players rejoice because they avoided defeat.

"This draw is fair enough. They [Milan] did not deserve to lose in the second half. On the other hand, we deserved to win. In the first half, we showed as a strong team. However, we must be disappointed to end the game like this," said Genoa coach Daniele De Rossi as quoted by Football Italia.

Regarding the consideration of appointing Stanciu as the penalty executor, De Rossi stated that usually Ruslan Malinovsky and Aaron Martin did it. It's just that they were pulled out when Genoa got a penalty.

"We do have two penalty takers, Malinovskyi and Martin. But I've pulled it. It was my choice [when Stanciu executed] because he often does it in training. His shot is also hard. It's a reasonable choice. Unfortunately he failed," said De Rossi.

The match itself was tight. Milan, who played at home, actually experienced a setback against Genoa's offensive game which looked effortless.

Even Genoa managed to take the lead when forward Lorenzo Colombo, who was not guarded, greeted Malinovskyi's pass. The 23-year-old Milan player who was loaned to Genoa refused to celebrate the goal.

When Genoa almost got three points, Leao managed to stop it. It started from Luka Modric's corner kick and then there was a mess and Leao continued with a header that broke the opponent's goal.

The score was 1-1 and held until the end of the match after Stanciu failed to finish the penalty in the 90+9th minute. Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said the players were not patient enough so they couldn't take advantage of the many opportunities that were created.

"You have to accept whatever the result is. We have to be positive from this match result. They did play well and locked our game. But in the second half their intensity decreased. On the other hand, our game was better," said Allegri.

"This match teaches us, especially in terms of maturity, if we want to achieve our target, which is to finish in the top four. We have to improve ourselves. We are not patient enough and in a hurry," he said again.

The draw keeps Milan in second place with 39 points. One point ahead of Napoli in third place. Only the Rossoneri failed to close the gap on the leaders, Inter Milan. This one city rival has collected 42 points after winning 2-0 over Parma.

Meanwhile, Genoa failed to get away from the relegation zone. They remain in 17th place with 16 points. Genoa is only three points ahead of Hellas Verona, which is in 18th place or above the red zone teams.