Title hopefuls AC Milan were held to a 1-1 draw by European-chasing Como 1907 in their rearranged Serie A fixture, as Rafael Leão’s second-half equaliser spared the hosts from a first head-to-head defeat since 1985.

The midweek clash served as a game in hand for both sides after being postponed from its original date due to the Winter Olympics opening ceremony at San Siro. While the ceremony celebrated sporting excellence, Milan’s focus remained firmly on their pursuit of the Scudetto — and they were left frustrated by a costly first-half error.

Como thought they had taken the lead earlier when Mërgim Vojvoda found the net, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside. However, the visitors did break through in the 32nd minute. A risky pass from the usually reliable Mike Maignan was intercepted by Nico Paz, who coolly drilled a low strike beyond the stranded goalkeeper to silence the home crowd.

Milan responded swiftly and nearly levelled when Fikayo Tomori met a delivery inside the box, but Jean Butez produced a superb reaction save to preserve Como’s advantage heading into the interval.

Butez’s heroics, though, were undone in the 64th minute by a costly misjudgment. Racing off his line to deal with a long ball, the goalkeeper was beaten by Leão, who calmly lifted his finish over him and into the empty net for his eighth league goal of the campaign.

Both sides pushed for a winner in a tense finale. Leão saw a header crash against the underside of the crossbar — though the effort would not have counted due to an offside infringement — while Anastasios Douvikas fired a late volley into the side-netting.

Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri was sent off following a heated exchange with the Como bench and watched the closing moments from the stands. The draw leaves Milan seven points behind Inter Milan in the title race, a gap that may prove difficult to bridge.

For Cesc Fabregas and his side, the point lifts Como up to sixth, moving them within four points of fifth-placed Juventus FC as their push for European qualification gathers momentum.