Milan’s Andrea Poli (right) dashing in to stop Gervinho’s stride in attack, last night.Milan did their former coach Massimiliano Allegri a favour by holding Roma to a 0-0 draw with 10 men at the Stadio Olimpico yesterday.
The result means Allegri’s Juventus take a three-point lead over Roma into 2015 with the Giallorossi unable to break down Milan, who lost Pablo Armero to a red card in the 70th minute.
Roma had much the better of the first half with Gervinho menacing on the left and Alessandro Florenzi looking keen to take a rare chance he was granted by Rudi Garcia.
Milan were forced to defend their goal with Jeremy Menez left alone up front, giving the impression of a side punching above their weight and hoping to get away with a draw.
The Rossoneri’s recent form would not suggest any need for such an inferiority complex, though, and after weathering the early storm, they came out of their shells to cause a nervous-looking Morgan De Sanctis a few problems in the Roma goal, most notably with Philippe Mexes’ shot.
The guests transformed the game in the second half, up until the point it stopped being 11 against 11.
Armero picked up a second yellow card for handball with Roma’s Seydou Keita demanding that the referee Nicola Rizzoli dismiss the Milan defender, who eventually saw red amid opposing protests from both groups of players.
Alex replaced Keisuke Honda as Milan were forced to revert to their earlier reticence, while Mattia Destro was thrown on by Garcia to find the knockout blow.
Roma’s attempts to break Milan’s resistance grew but it was not until deep into stoppage time that they came close.
Gervinho’s mazy run and exchange of passes with Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa saw him faced with only Diego Lopez to beat, but he could only strike the Milan goalkeeper at full-stretch.
The siege continued, but there was no way through as Roma lost ground on Juve after being frustrated by Milan.
In yesterday’s other match, Cesena emerged from the fog of Reggio Emilia with a last-gasp equaliser to snatch a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo.
Simone Zaza put Sassuolo ahead with a controversial late penalty which was seen by only one half of the stadium as the fog thickened in Emilia-Romagna, but it was the other half of the stadium which witnessed Ze Eduardo’s first ever goal in Serie A with practically the last touch of the game.
Results
Serie A
Played yesterday
Sassuolo 1
Zaza 76 pen;
Cesena 1
Ze Eduardo 90;
HT: 0-0. Att: 10,050.
Roma 0
Milan 0
Att: 42,000.
Red card: Armero (M) 70.
Standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 7 | 39 |
| Roma | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 11 | 36 |
| Napoli | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 28 | 20 | 27 |
| Lazio | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 26 | 17 | 26 |
| Sampdoria | 15 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 20 | 12 | 26 |
| Genoa | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 13 | 26 |
| Milan | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 25 | 18 | 25 |
| Fiorentina | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 12 | 23 |
| Udinese | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 20 | 21 |
| Palermo | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 21 |
| Inter | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 21 | 20 |
| Sassuolo | 16 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 20 |
| Verona | 15 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 26 | 17 |
| Empoli | 15 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 16 |
| Torino | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 14 |
| Atalanta | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 14 |
| Chievo | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 13 |
| Cagliari | 16 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 12 |
| Cesena | 16 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 30 | 9 |
| Parma (-1) | 16 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 16 | 36 | 6 |
Playing today – 15.00
Atalanta vs Palermo
Fiorentina vs Empoli
Inter vs Lazio - 20.45
Sampdoria vs Udinese
Torino vs Genoa
Verona vs Chievo - 12.30
Next fixtures
January 5: 20.45 Lazio vs Sampdoria.
January 6: 12.30 Udinese vs Roma. 15.00 Chievo vs Torino; Empoli vs Verona; Genoa vs Atalanta; Milan vs Sassuolo; Palermo vs Cagliari; Parma vs Fiorentina. 18.00 Cesena vs Napoli.
21.00 Juventus vs Inter.
Serie B
Bari vs Latina - 1-0
Catania vs Brescia - 2-2
Entella vs Livorno - 1-1
Frosinone vs Cittadella - 1-1
Modena vs Trapani - 2-1
Perugia vs Pescara - 2-2
Pro Vercelli vs Ternana - 2-1
Varese vs Crotone - 1-0
Vicenza vs Spezia - 1-0
Standings: Carpi 37, Frosinone 31; Livorno 30; Lanciano, Spezia, Avellino 29; Bologna 28; Pro Vercelli, Trapani 27; Modena, Perugia, Vicenza 26; Bari 25; Pescara, Ternana, Entella 22; Catania 21; Brescia 20; Varese (-3) 19; Latina 18; Crotone 17; Cittadella 16.
Lega Pro
Group A: Lumezzane vs FeralpiSalo 1-3; Pordenone vs Real Vicenza 1-1; Pro Patria vs Venezia 0-2; Giana Erminio vs SudTirol 1-0.
Group B: Pistoiese vs Spal 1-5; Grosseto vs L’Aquila 1-2; Pro Piacenza vs Gubbio 1-0; Santarcangelo vs Prato 1-0; Carrarese vs Pontedera 1-1; Tuttocuoio vs Pisa 1-4.
Group C: Savoia vs Casertana 0-3; Foggia vs Barletta 0-1; Martina vs Paganese 2-0; Aversa vs Lupa Roma 3-1.