Bafana Bafana midfielder Thulani Serero sat out of Ajax Amsterdam’s Champions League tie which ended in a 1-1 draw against AC Milan.
The South African injured his shoulder last Wednesday in the cup win over second division FC Volendam and was forced to watch from the side-lines as his club took on the Italians at the Amsterdam Arena.
The match started off uneventfully and only came to life once 90 minutes had been played, with the Dutch side first taking the lead through a Stefano Denswil header, before AC Milan’s controversial striker Mario Balotelli equalised with a penalty a minute later.
The home side created the only first-half chances through Daley Blind who evaded three defenders on the left to set up Viktor Fischer, but he could only send his shot just wide from outside the area.
The home side created the only first-half chances through Daley Blind who evaded three defenders on the left to set up Viktor Fischer, but he could only send his shot just wide from outside the area.
Milan keeper Christian Abbiati was forced into the first save of the match when he smartly tipped over a left-footed shot by Lerin Duarte in the 35th minute.
The Italians had to wait for the second-half to get their first shot of the game, which came through none other than Balotelli, who was latched onto a ball by Robinho but his shot was tipped onto the bar Ajax’s shot-stopper Jasper Cillessen.
Super Mario was fouled in the box by Ajax defender Mike van der Hoorn and confidently slotted home the penalty after missing his first penalty in his professional career recently.
The Italians will be thankful to striker Balotelli who won the dubious penalty and seems to grab the headlines for both the right and wrong reasons.
Ajax will feel hard done by the result, by both conceding the equaliser as well as the penalty to throw away all three points and give the Italian visitors a share of the spoils.
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