Paulo Fonseca, the new AC Milan coach, saw his team draw 2-2 with Lazio in Serie A on Saturday after benching three key players.
Despite AC Milan taking the lead early with Strahinja Pavlovic's goal, Lazio's Taty Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scored in the second half. Substitute Rafael Leao equalized for Milan, marking their third consecutive game without a win.
Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku scored on his debut for Napoli as Antonio Conte’s side came from behind to defeat a 10-man Parma 2-1 for their second consecutive win.
In an effort to spark a response from his team, AC Milan coach Fonseca benched Rafael Leao, Theo Hernandez, and Davide Calabria. Despite this bold move, Milan began well with Pavlovic's early goal. However, Lazio turned the game around with second-half goals from Castellanos and Dia.
Leao, introduced as a substitute, managed to level the score for Milan after Lazio’s two strikes.
Leao and Hernandez, both brought on after the two Lazio goals, stayed on the far side of the field during a cooling break, seemingly isolated from the rest of the Milan squad.
Fonseca said Leao and Hernandez didn't need to join the team for drinks because they had just come on minutes earlier.
"Let's not create a problem because there is no problem. The reaction from the players was good," Fonseca said. "When there's a problem, I take responsibility but right now there's no problem."
Tammy Abraham, making his Milan debut after moving from Roma, provided an assist for Leao's equalizer.
Currently, Milan have two points from two draws and a loss, while Lazio have four points.
Elsewhere, Parma's defender Enrico Del Prato had to fill in as goalkeeper after starter Zion Suzuki received two yellow cards and was sent off, with all five substitutions already made. Del Prato could only manage a weak touch on a shot from Lukaku and reacted late to a header from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa during 15 minutes of stoppage time.
Parma had initially taken the lead through Ange-Yoan Bonny's penalty.
Lukaku, recently signed from Chelsea, reunited with Conte at Napoli and donned the No. 11 shirt instead of his customary No. 9. Victor Osimhen, who has not secured a transfer, remains sidelined from the squad. Napoli now have six points following their initial 3-0 loss to Hellas Verona.
A tribute was made to former Lazio coach Sven-Goran Eriksson before the Lazio-Milan match. Eriksson, who passed away on Monday from pancreatic cancer, was honoured with a three-minute video of his years at Lazio displayed on the jumbo screens at the Stadio Olimpico. A banner in the center circle read, "Sven Goran Eriksson forever."
Eriksson led Lazio to the Serie A title in 2000 and also secured a Cup Winner's Cup with the club. Lazio players wore black armbands, and a minute of silence was held before every Serie A game this weekend in his memory.
Giovanni Fabbian and Emmanuel Gyasi scored early goals as Bologna drew 1-1 with Empoli, leaving Bologna, last season's fifth-placed team, winless. They host Shakhtar Donetsk in their Champions League opener on September 18.
In another match, Lecce secured a 1-0 victory over Cagliari with a goal from Nikola Krstovic, even though they played the entire second half with 10 men.
