Milan take 'step backward' in wild draw at Cagliari

AC Milan fell further behind the title race after twice throwing away the lead in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Cagliari on Saturday.

The Rossoneri remain seventh but are now four points off the Champions League places and seven behind pacesetters Napoli.

Rafael Leao scored twice in the first half to give Milan the lead after Nadir Zortea's early opener.

Cagliari struck back soon after the break through Gabriele Zappa before Tammy Abraham restored the visitors' lead, only for Zappa to score a sensational equaliser in the final stages.

"This draw is clearly a step backward," AC Milan coach Paulo Fonseca said to DAZN, referencing his side's midweek 3-1 victory in the Champions League against Real Madrid.

"Our problem today was our defence, we lacked aggression, we let them cross too much, we lost too many aerial duels, it's not possible to win a match in those conditions."

For the home side, the draw takes them to 16th place on 10 points, one clear of the drop zone.

Zortea gave Cagliari the perfect start on two minutes as he smashed home from the back post after a corner.

Leao brought Milan level 13 minutes later with a lobbed finish after being sent in behind the defence by Tijjani Reijnders' excellent lofted pass.

The Portuguese winger then doubled up five minutes before the break as Youssouf Fofana released him with an accurate long ball to his feet and he rounded the goalkeeper to give Milan the advantage.

Nine minutes after the break Fofana was at fault as he inadvertently played Zappa in behind his own defence and the Cagliari player finished past the advancing Mike Maignan.

Abraham looked to have completed the comeback for Fonseca's side with his second goal of the season when he tapped home on 69 minutes.

But Zappa equalised again for Cagliari with one minute left via a thumping volley from a looping cross.