MILAN, OCT 7: AC Milan slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Fiorentina on Sunday after having two penalties saved by star man David De Gea, while Juventus fell further behind Serie A leaders Napoli on a day of spot-kick drama.
Albert Gudmundsson lashed home the decisive goal in the 73rd minute of a match in Florence which was packed with drama and featured three failed attempts from the penalty spot.
The 27-year-old's winner was made possible by De Gea pulling off two incredible stops to deny Theo Hernandez and then Tammy Abraham from scoring penalties in a superb display from the former Spain goalkeeper.
Those saves contributed to Milan missing the chance to move second above champions Inter Milan and Juventus, with the latter held 1-1 by Cagliari due to Razvan Marin's late penalty.
"We need to work out why we played the way we did because at times we did well but we couldn't keep it up over the course of the match," said Milan defender Matteo Gabbia, who received his first Italy call-up on Friday.
Instead Milan, who did level Yacine Aldi's first-half opener for Fiorentina when Christian Pulisic deftly guided home Hernandez's cross on the hour, sit sixth and five points behind Napoli.
Adli's opener came in the 35th minute, after Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan made the first penalty save of the evening, easily keeping out Moise Kean's weak effort after Hernandez was penalised for kicking Dodo.
Italy international Kean had a tough night, missing a series of chances, having two goals rightly ruled out for offside and thumping the crossbar with a rocket in stoppage time, but he did provide the knockdown from which Gudmundsson won a thrilling contest.
Marin lashed home the 88th-minute penalty which gave Cagliari a point at the Allianz Stadium after Roberto Piccoli was clumsily brought down by Douglas Luiz.
Romania midfielder Marin's arrowed penalty levelled Dusan Vlahovic's 15th-minute spot-kick and moved Cagliari a point above the relegation zone.
It was the first goal conceded by Juve in Serie A this season and left Thiago Motta's third-placed side three points behind Napoli.
"We created a few opportunities but there was always the feeling that Cagliari could get back into the game," said Motta.
"What happened today is all our own fault."
Cagliari could have even snatched a last-gasp win as Adam Obert thumped the post in the fifth minute of stoppage time, with Juve down to 10 men following Francisco Conceicao's sending off almost immediately after Marin's equaliser for trying to win a penalty by simulating a foul.
Juventus would have almost certainly had the full three points had Vlahovic not wasted a huge chance in the 78th minute in front of Paul Pogba, who was in the stands after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided on Friday to cut his doping ban from four years to 18 months. —AFP