Christian Pulisic missed a penalty for the first time in his career, and it proved costly as Milan fell to Torino.
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Pulisic misses first penaltyMilan fall to TorinoDefeat comes after Champions League elimination midweekFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?
AC Milan's tough week continued with a 2-1 loss to Torino in Serie A, a defeat partly due to U.S. international Christian Pulisic missing a penalty in the 33rd minute. The match began with a disastrous own goal from goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who inadvertently smashed a clearance off Malick Thiaw and straight into his own net, giving Torino an early lead.
Pulisic had a chance to level the score when a handball in the box led to a Milan penalty. However, Torino's goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic made a crucial save, diving to deny Pulisic's attempt. This marked the first missed penalty of Pulisic's career, having previously converted 12 successful attempts at all levels.
Milan eventually found a goal in the 74th minute through Tijani Reijnders, pulling the score back to 2-1. However, Torino responded immediately, with Gvidas Gineitis scoring just minutes later, sealing the 2-1 victory for the visitors and condemning Milan to yet another defeat.
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With the loss, Milan's hopes of making a Serie A climb took a huge hit. Milan currently sit seventh, six points behind fourth-place Lazio as they push for a Champions League spot. Just this week, Milan were eliminated from this year's Champions League competition, falling to Feyenoord to suffer elimination before the Round of 16.
It's been a tough week for Pulisic, in particular, as he was forced to come out and deny reports of a rift with new coach Sergio Conceicao. The Milan boss then added that Pulisic's midweek substitution against Feyenoord was due to Pulisic not being 90 minutes fit, although the American did play all 90 on Saturday.
Yunus Musah, meanwhile, started in midfield and went 54 minutes in the defeat.
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR MILAN?
Milan will be back in action on Thursday when they visit Bologna in their next Serie A match. After that, they'll be right back home for a crucial meeting with Lazio on March 2.
