Milan draw 2-2 with Palermo

Milan draw 2-2 with Palermo

 ROME, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- AC Milan fought back from 2-0 down to salvage¹ a 2-2 draw at Palermo in a Serie A match on Tuesday.

Fabrizio Miccoli converted a penalty to cap a strong first half for the home team before Franco Brienza double their lead almost immediately in the second half.

Riccardo Montolivo brought Milan back into the game in the 69th minute before Stephen El Shaarawy struck 10 minutes from time to complete the comeback and save Milan from falling below the Sicilians in the league table.

AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri insisted that his side could have won the game.

"Despite playing badly in the first half, the penalty could've been avoided. The lads did well after the break and we fully² deserved the draw. In fact, we could well have won it," he said.

His Palermo counterpart Gian Piero Gasperini was furious that his side "threw away an incredible opportunity".

"We stopped after the second goal. Instead of continuing to attack, we stopped at the edge of our own area without defending or playing," he said.

Miccoli was Palermo's dangerman, and he put the hosts ahead with a penalty just before the break after his cross hit the arm of Ignazio Abate³.

Brienza made it two early in the second half with a 25-yard effort which caught Amelia by surprise, but the Sicilians then decided⁴ to stop playing. They resorted to defending for the remainder of the game and Milan soon took advantage.

Bojan Krkic's shot was beaten away by Ujkani at his near post in the 58th minute and Abate's low ball needed just a touch from El Shaarawy, but he failed to provide it from a yard out.

Montolivo brought Milan back into the game moments later when his deflected⁵ shot left Ujkani no chance inside his near post.

Milan continued to attack and were rewarded in the 80th minute when Ujkani's punch fell to El Shaarawy, who managed to find the smallest of gaps with his instant shot inside the near post of the Palermo goal.

1 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 abate   

vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退

参考例句：

• We must abate the noise pollution in our city.我们必须消除我们城里的噪音污染。
• The doctor gave him some medicine to abate the powerful pain.医生给了他一些药，以减弱那剧烈的疼痛。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 deflected   

偏离的

参考例句：

• The ball deflected off Reid's body into the goal. 球打在里德身上反弹进球门。
• Most of its particles are deflected. 此物质的料子大多是偏斜的。