MILAN (Reuters) – AC Milan forward Olivier Giroud said he had forgotten about his earlier yellow card when he took off his shirt to celebrate scoring a late goal in Saturday’s hard-fought 2-1 victory over Spezia in Serie A and was dismissed.
Milan took advantage of Atalanta’s stumble in their 2-1 home defeat by league leaders Napoli earlier on Saturday as the champions moved up to second place on 29 points after 13 games by beating relegation-threatened Spezia.
“The important thing is to have three more points in the table, but I’m very angry because I forgot about my first yellow card,” Milan’s France striker Giroud told Sky Sport.
“The adrenaline and happiness for giving the win to the team played a role, after a tough game. In my head I am still a kid, but I have great faith in my team.”
Milan boss Stefano Pioli said he understood that Giroud lost control after scoring the goal which earned the win.
“The fact that we believe in (a victory) so much made us rejoice a lot and you lose control, it means he will sit out Tuesday’s game,” Pioli told MilanTV.
Milan, who trail leaders Napoli by six points, travel to second-bottom Cremonese on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Silvia Recchimuzzi in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)
