Sixth-placed Milan failed to make it two wins in a row under new coach Cristian Brocchi as yesterday they were made to settle for a goalless draw by relegation strugglers Carpi at the San Siro.

The Rossoneri dominated possession for long stretches and had a penalty appeal turned down but it was their keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma who saved them after a great save to keep out a Marco Crimi effort in stoppage time.

Milan were denied a penalty six minutes from time when Carpi’s Emanuele Suagher came sliding in inside his box and the ball struck his trailing arm. However, the referee judged it to be involuntary.

There was a great double chance for Milan late on when keeper Vid Belec half parried a Luca Antonelli header and Alex fired the rebound straight at the goalkeeper at the near post.

Before kick-off Milan performed a publicity stunt version of the Haka. They dubbed their pre-match war dance the ‘Tekitanka’, with the name emblazoned on advertising boards along with social media hashtags.

The ruse was all designed as a marketing ploy for club sponsors Nivea. While attempting to be light-hearted, the attention-seeking ploy could backfire on the club, given the cultural sanctity New Zealanders place in traditional war dances like the Haka.

New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby union side perform the Haka before kick-off in their Test matches, with other Pacific Islands Test teams also performing their own traditional war dances.

A dim view is generally taken of mimicry however, even in flattery but most certainly if in jest.