Milan stuttered once again with a relegation-threatened side after rotating the squad, as David Okereke had put Cremonese ahead before the Junior Messias free kick.
The Rossoneri were torn between needing points for the top four and resting players ahead of showdowns with Lazio in Serie A and Inter in the Champions League semi-final. Fikayo Tomori was suspended, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Tommaso Pobega injured. Cremonese were in penultimate place with Giacomo Quagliata suspended and former Milan midfielder Frank Tsadjout injured, but Leonardo Sernicola returned from his ban.
Alexis Saelemaekers had the ball in the net after 13 minutes with a splendid first touch to control the long Pierre Kalulu ball and turn in, but he was flagged offside.
Marco Carnesecchi was crucial in goal for Cremonese, first saving a Divock Origi angled drive, then preventing Charles De Ketelaere from making the most of a Soulaiho Meite back-pass.
De Ketelaere on a corner and Origi on the Saelemaekers cross failed to get their headers on target, while Saelemaekers and Felix Afena-Gyan ballooned over from promising positions.
Milan missed a sitter when Saelemaekers put the ball to the back post for Brahim Diaz, who couldn’t keep the header down from six yards.
Cremonese also wasted a big chance on the counter, Emanuele Valeri nodding over from the Sernicola cross.
Stefano Pioli finally threw on Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud, the Portuguese winger setting up another opportunity that Diaz got all wrong.
Instead, it was Cremonese who took the lead, as David Okereke ran onto a Pablo Galdames ball over the top, his change of direction sent both Kalulu and Malick Thiaw to ground, allowing him to beat Mike Maignan one-on-one.
Leao hit the side-netting from a corner, but Milan got their equaliser when Junior Messias won a free kick on the edge of the box and drilled it through a sea of legs, potentially with a deflection to wrong-foot Carnesecchi.
It wasn’t over, as Charles Pickel was sent off following a VAR review for his idiotic decision to punch Sandro Tonali in an off the ball situation.
With the last kick of a very long game, Carnesecchi got his fingertips to the Rade Krunic daisy-cutter to save the point.
Milan 1-1 Cremonese
Okereke 77 (C), Messias 93 (M)
Sent off: Pickel 96 (C)
Player statistic
| 77' |  |
David Okereke (Assist: Pablo Galdames) | ||
| 84' |  |
Pablo Galdames | ||
| Junior Messias | |
90+3' | ||
| 90+2' | |
Johan Vásquez | ||
| 90+6' |  |
Charles Pickel | ||
| 90+8' | |
Paolo Ghiglione |
Match statistic
