Depleted Milan Miss Chance to Go Second with 4-2 Loss at Monza 

AC Milan's French forward #09 Olivier Giroud reacts at the end of the Italian Serie A football match between AC Monza and AC Milan at the Brianteo stadium in Monza, Italy on February 18, 2024. (AFP)
AC Milan's French forward #09 Olivier Giroud reacts at the end of the Italian Serie A football match between AC Monza and AC Milan at the Brianteo stadium in Monza, Italy on February 18, 2024. (AFP)
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Depleted Milan Miss Chance to Go Second with 4-2 Loss at Monza 

AC Milan's French forward #09 Olivier Giroud reacts at the end of the Italian Serie A football match between AC Monza and AC Milan at the Brianteo stadium in Monza, Italy on February 18, 2024. (AFP)
AC Milan's French forward #09 Olivier Giroud reacts at the end of the Italian Serie A football match between AC Monza and AC Milan at the Brianteo stadium in Monza, Italy on February 18, 2024. (AFP)

AC Milan missed out on the chance to move into second in the Serie A standings when they lost 4-2 at mid-table Monza on Sunday after being reduced to 10 men early in the second half.

Milan remained third in the standings on 52 points, two adrift of second-placed Juventus and 11 behind leaders Inter Milan, who have a game in hand.

The Rossoneri, who beat Stade Rennais 3-0 at home in the Europa League in midweek and travel to France for the second leg on Thursday, suffered their first league loss in more than two months to end their unbeaten run of nine games.

Matteo Pessina and Dany Mota put Monza ahead in the first half before substitutes Olivier Giroud and Christian Pulisic pulled Milan level in the second. Warren Bondo and Lorenzo Colombo secured the hosts all three points with a goal apiece in the dying minutes.

Milan went down to 10 men in the 52nd minute when Luka Jovic was sent off for violent conduct against Monza captain Pessina, with the referee overturning his original decision to just book the Serbia striker after consulting the VAR screen.

"We made mistakes that ruined the match. When you concede four goals it feels wrong to say our first half-hour was good, but that is true," Milan coach Stefano Pioli told DAZN.

"Going a man down made it even more difficult. After equalizing we should've been sharper to defend better. The team felt confident and wanted to go on to win."

With Giroud, Pulisic and Rafael Leao starting on the bench, Milan had early chances through Jovic and Theo Hernandez before a shot by Samuel Chukwueze was denied by Monza goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio.

Pessina gave Monza the lead from the spot just before the break, sending Milan keeper Mike Maignan the wrong way after the penalty was awarded for a foul by Malick Thiaw, and Mota doubled the advantage for the hosts in first-half stoppage time.

Di Gregorio had to be substituted late in the first half after a clash of heads with defender Andrea Carboni.

Pulisic, Leao and Tijjani Reijnders all took to the field following halftime and Giroud joined minutes later but things got worse for Milan when they had Jovic sent off.

Giroud eventually pulled a goal back for the visitors with a shot from close range, netting a Pulisic headed pass in the 64th minute, and the American equalized in the 88th with a curled shot inside the far post.

But feisty Monza did not settle for a draw, with Bondo and Colombo sealing their historic first win and points over Milan in Serie A.

"These are serious errors; we all should've done better. It is a painful defeat but one that we must learn from," the Italian manager added.

"We stopped after a long unbeaten run in Serie A, third place is not solid yet and second place is also not far away."



Japan’s King Kazu Wants More After First Appearance of 40th Season 

Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)
Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)
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Japan’s King Kazu Wants More After First Appearance of 40th Season 

Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)
Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)

Japan's Kazuyoshi "King Kazu" Miura made his first appearance of his 40th season as a professional footballer at the weekend and shows no sign of wanting to hang up his boots any time soon.

The former international forward, who turned 58 in February, came on as a late substitute in Atletico Suzuka's 2-1 win over YSCC Yokohama in the fourth tier of the Japanese pyramid on Sunday.

The popular striker signed an 18-month loan deal with Suzuka last June but a leg injury sustained in January had kept him on the sidelines from the start of this Japan Football League season.

"I hope to play again showing my character," Miura told Kyodo news agency after the match.

"I managed to play thanks to the support from everyone. I'm looking to stepping up a gear from here."

Miura made his first two appearances for Santos in the 1986 Brazilian Championship, having headed alone to South America to pursue his football dream as a 15-year-old.

He returned to Japan as an established international to join Verdy Kawasaki and helped them win the first two J.League titles in 1993 and 1994. He scored 55 goals in 89 appearances for Japan, the last of which came in 2000.

Miura, whose long club career has also included spells in Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal, still has a way to go to match Egyptian Ezzeldin Bahader's record of turning out for a professional team at the age of 74.

Given his commitment to the game, however, it might be foolish to write him off.

"When I was around 35 or 40, I did start saying to myself, 'I can't keep playing this way'," he told FIFA.com in April.

"Rather than giving any thought to quitting, it was more about pushing myself to give more. It's not so much that the word 'retire' isn't in my vocabulary, but more that I've never felt any desire to do it."