SOCCER:ANTONIO CASSANO spared AC Milan's blushes by scoring a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with bottom club Bari at the San Siro yesterday as the Serie A leaders wasted a chance to pull away from Inter at the top of the table.

With Milan looking jaded after their Champions League exit to Tottenham midweek, Bari took a shock lead on 39 minutes with a clever free kick. Instead of shooting with a 35-metre free kick, Sergio Almiron slipped in Gergely Rudolf who controlled, turned and shot in one movement to beat Christian Abbiati inside the far corner.

With 15 minutes remaining, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off after being handed a second yellow card for a push on a defender. But Bari were made to pay for slack defending when Luca Antonini crossed from the left for Cassano to head home with eight minutes left.

Inter were held 1-1 by struggling Brescia on Friday.