Juve still top but Allegri livid over disallowed 'valid' goal

MILAN • Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri slammed refereeing officials after seeing Miralem Pjanic's goal chalked off, as the champions were stunned 1-0 by AC Milan in a San Siro Serie A sizzler on Saturday.

The Turin giants had beaten Milan in the sides' last nine meetings. And, in front of 75,829 spectators, they showed why they are being tipped to claim a record sixth straight title at the season's end.

But Juve's failure to find a way past Milan's teenage goalkeeping sensation Gianluigi Donnarumma proved costly. The visitors were also given few favours by referee Nicola Rizzoli on their way to a second successive San Siro setback just over a month after suffering a 2-1 reverse to Inter Milan.

Pjanic looked to have finally broken the deadlock for the visitors when he spun away in delight to celebrate beating 17-year-old Donnarumma with a rasping free kick just after the half-hour.

But the Bosnia midfielder's joy was short-lived.

Milan's players surrounded Rizzoli claiming offside and, after consultation with his assistant, he overturned his decision on the goal.

Allegri said: "It's clear that our goal was valid. I shouldn't say it, but everyone will say it."

He suggested that the home team's protests had influenced the officials' decision.

"The first protests from Milan certainly put the pressure, but we should focus on playing. Anyway, this result shouldn't alter the path we're on," he said.

"People say we played badly, but I feel that, tonight, we played well technically, and lost."

Manuel Locatelli's stunning second-half strike that beat Gianluigi Buffon in the 65th minute gave Milan the winner.

Juve remain top but their second loss of the league campaign has added a new, dramatic twist to this season's fight for the Serie A title.

Milan moved up to second (19 points) to sit only two points adrift to signal their return to the fray, after several seasons struggling to keep pace and falling down the pecking order in Europe.

But Roma, runners-up in 2014 and last year, could reclaim second place from Milan if they account for Palermo this morning (Singapore time).

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 24, 2016, with the headline Juve still top but Allegri livid over disallowed 'valid' goal. Subscribe