AC Milan likely envisioned their visit to Sicily as an easy enough way to earn all three points, further pulling away from Juventus in the title challenge. But Catania had other plans. The rossazzuri, sitting in a surprising seventh place, were down at halftime after a goal from Robinho, but managed an equaliser from Nicolás Spolli to come away from the tie with a point.
Catania Vs. AC Milan, 2012 Serie A: Fulltime, Catania Earn Well-Deserved Point
Despite playing host to the league-leaders, Catania came out fighting, refusing to sit back and play defensive football. They employed their usual swift, counter-attacking style, although plenty of wayward passes allowed Milan to stop the attacks before they grew too dangerous. It was the visitors that took the lead in the 35th minute, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic played a clever ball to Robinho, allowing the Brazilian an easy tap-in. The rossazzurri continued to respond; alas, the most they could conjure up was a wonder strike from Alejandro Gomez that rebounded off the crossbar.
After the break, the hosts again started off brightly. Gomez managed to get the ball in the back of the net, although the goal was disallowed for offside. Replays showed the attacker was clearly kept on. But before the 60th minute, Catania found their deserved equaliser. In the confusion surrounding a corner, Spolli volleyed in a header from Nicola Legrottaglie, evening the scoreline.
In yet another questionable moment of the match, it appeared as though Robinho scored his second, but the hilarious rossazzurri defence somehow managed to rescue the ball. Giovanni Marchese cleared the ball off the line, and replays showed it hadn’t completely crossed over.
The title-holders certainly went down fighting, pressuring Catania to the very end. The rossoneri tried shot after shot, but somehow the Catania defense were up to it -- Vincezo Montella's defensive substitutions likely didn't hurt. Neither did the effort by goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo, who made a fantastic save to deny Ibra in the 89th minute.
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