Stefano Pioli feels Milan dropped two points against Roma despite Alexis Saelemaekers snatching a draw with a 97th-minute equaliser at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
The Rossoneri headed into the match in the Champions League places but above fifth-placed Roma on just goal difference, and it appeared the Giallorossi would leapfrog Pioli's men as Tammy Abraham scored in the 94th minute with the match's first shot on target.
But with Roma seconds away from a huge win, Saelemaekers turned home from Rafael Leao's deep cross to break the hosts' hearts and keep Milan in the top four.
Despite his team snatching a draw at the death, Pioli still felt Milan dropped two points, with city rivals Inter just three points behind and with a game in hand.
When asked if Roma had dropped points, Pioli replied: "For us too, it means that tonight we all go home unhappy. It's not the result we wanted.
"We didn't play badly, we lacked the right decisions in the last 30 metres. It's a shame we didn't exploit situations. We knew that the difficulty was to unlock the match, we didn't succeed."
Roma may have seen a crucial three points slip through their fingers with seconds to play, but head coach Jose Mourinho remained appreciative of his players' efforts, telling reporters: "I'm sad, but I'm more proud than sad.
"Only we can do what we've done, only us with all our limitations, only us with all the players we've lost, could play this match against Milan. Milan have two teams, one on the pitch and one on the bench. I'm not envious of Pioli; he is always fair and nice to me.
"I'm super proud and I'm sure Roma fans go home like I do, sad but proud."
Maresca: Chelsea 'not ready' to complete for trophies with Man City and Arsenal
Enzo Maresca says that Chelsea "are not ready" to compete for major trophies against Manchester City and Arsenal this season.
The Blues have made a strong start to life under Maresca, losing just two of their 10 matches so far.
They are currently on a five-match winning run in all competitions, most recently seeing off Gent 4-2 in their Conference League opener on Thursday.
So far, Chelsea have scored 27 goals under the Italian, with 15 of those coming in the league, outperforming their 12.2 expected goals (xG), and only failed to score in their opening Premier League match against City.
However, Maresca has insisted people should not get carried away by Chelsea's recent form, playing down their chances of lifting any silverware this campaign.
"I really don't think we can compete with City or Arsenal," Maresca said.
"I really don't think that, because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things, you need that time.
"After Arsenal beat PSG [in the Champions League] they asked Luis Enrique, and he said the same thing, that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and [PSG] only a year and a half.
"Imagine us, only three months… so it's a huge difference. So, I am really convinced we cannot compete with those clubs."
Before Maresca's appointment, Mauricio Pochettino only spent a season at Stamford Bridge, while Graham Potter before him was only in the position for just under seven months.
After another busy transfer window for Chelsea saw them bring in 13 players, Maresca has urged for patience as they continue to find their footing in the early stages of his tenure.
"The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get closer to those clubs but at the moment we are not ready for that," he added.
“There is no timeframe because you can continue to improve and add solutions to things always.”
Chelsea face Nottingham Forest at home on Sunday in their final match before the international break.
Ten Hag's future 'not my call', says Man Utd co-owner Ratcliffe
Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe says he does not hold power over the future of boss Erik ten Hag, amid the Red Devils' woeful start to the season.
United have taken just seven points from their first six Premier League matches, only beating Fulham and Southampton while suffering back-to-back 3-0 home defeats versus Liverpool and Tottenham.
That is their joint-worst return through six games of any season in the competition, having made identical starts under David Moyes in 2013-14 and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020-21.
In the Europa League, meanwhile, United were pegged back in a 1-1 draw at home to Feyenoord on matchday one then squandered a 2-0 lead in Thursday's 3-3 draw at Porto.
Those results have led to fierce criticism coming Ten Hag's way, but Ratcliffe says United's new football hierarchy will make any decisions regarding the Dutchman's future.
Asked if he retained faith in Ten Hag, who signed a new contract in pre-season, Ratcliffe told BBC Sport: "I don't want to answer that question.
"I like Erik. I think he's a very good coach but at the end of the day it's not my call.
"It's the management team that's running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.
"But that team that's running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren't there in January, February, March or April – [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [sporting director] Dan Ashworth – they only arrived in July.
"They've only been there… you can count it in weeks almost - they've not been there a long time, so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.
"Our objective is very clear – we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it's not there yet, obviously – that's very clear."
United go to Aston Villa for their next Premier League game on Sunday, having won 40 Premier League games against the Villans, with only the Red Devils themselves beating an opponent more often in the competition's history (41 versus Everton).
Villa have won just one of their last 25 Premier League home games against United (eight draws, 16 losses), with that victory coming in Unai Emery's first game in charge of the club in November 2022 (3-1).
FC Cincinnati v Orlando City: Noonan praying for hosts to become a team again
Pat Noonan said his FC Cincinnati side must become a team again in order to return to winning ways after their winless MLS run extended to three games in midweek.
The Orange and Blue were on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller, losing 3-2 to New York City FC as another slow start was punished at the Red Bull Arena.
While having already secured their spot in the playoffs, Noonan expressed the importance of team cohesion for the final two games of the regular season, starting this weekend against Orlando City.
"We need to be more of a team on the field. I think we have too many individual moments where we're not doing what is in the best interest of the team," Noonan said.
"It's a lot of players at a lot of different times. It's not a singular thing. We're making too many decisions where guys want to be the playmaker, they want to be the goalscorer, they want to be the assist man.
“We need to do simple things better. We overcomplicate the game right now."
Orlando, meanwhile, come into the encounter at the TQL Stadium having won five of their last six MLS games, the latest of which came in a 2-1 victory over Philadelphia Union.
Over that period of success, the Lions have scored 16 goals, conceding only six as they continue to build momentum ahead of their upcoming playoff campaign.
Head coach Oscar Pareja was pleased with his side’s display against the Union last time out, believing his side are currently the best team in the division at this moment in time.
“We are obviously very happy and satisfied with the way the team has found ways to win games and put us in a decent spot in the standings at this time of the season,” Pareja said.
“Another hard game, well played by us. We could’ve had more precision in certain moments when we could have put the game away from Philadelphia [Union], but we ended up just finishing with the 2-1 [win].
“Very tight plays at the end with them pushing and really making us feel that it could be a tight game. But all in all, I thought we were the best team on the pitch, and we have been one of the best teams in the league for me."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta has recorded a goal contribution in each of his last three matches, including scoring on Wednesday night.
This is the Argentine’s 11th different streak of three or more consecutive regular-season games with a goal contribution since the start of the 2022 season.
Orlando City – Facundo Torres
Torres scored in Orlando City’s win on Wednesday, his sixth straight match with a goal contribution, equalling the club record.
The Uruguayan is the third Lions player to record such a streak, after Martin Ojeda and Sacha Kljestan.
MATCH PREDICTION: FC CINCINNATI WIN
While Cincinnati are favoured to win by Opta’s data-led simulations, they have lost five of their last nine regular-season home matches (W3 D1) dating back to late May. Cincinnati had lost only three of their previous 31 home league matches dating back to June 2022.
Orlando, meanwhile, have enjoyed games away from home. Their win over Dallas last time out was their seventh road win of the season and 16th overall since the start of the 2023 campaign. Only Cincinnati (17) has more away wins since the start of last season than Orlando.
However, the last seven meetings between Cincinnati and Orlando have all been either drawn (two) or decided by a one-goal margin (Cincinnati W3, Orlando W2). There have been three total goals scored in the last four games between the sides.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
FC Cincinnati – 43.7%
Draw – 26.8%
Orlando City – 29.5%
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