Olivier Giroud was angry with himself for forgetting he had already been booked when he whipped off his shirt to celebrate scoring Milan s late winner against Spezia.
Giroud came off the bench to snatch a 2-1 victory for the Rossoneri with an 89th-minute volley after being picked out by a superb Sandro Tonali pass.
The France striker was then given his marching orders, having been shown a yellow card six minutes before scoring his decisive goal.
Giroud has been in the thick of the action this week, scoring two goals and providing as many assists in a 4-0 thrashing of Salzburg that put Stefano Pioli s side in the Champions League round of 16.
The 36-year-old was frustrated that his earlier caution had slipped his mind after his clinical finish in the closing stages at San Siro.
It was certainly a very nice goal, which came thanks to Tonali s assist, he told Sky Sport. We wanted to win this match, the important thing is to have three points more in the standings but I m angry because I forgot about the first yellow card.
Asked if he was not thinking clearly due to the ecstasy of scoring the winner, he replied: Yes, football is like that. The adrenaline and the happiness of having given victory to the team after a difficult match has affected me.
In my head I am still a child, but I have great faith in the team and also on Tuesday [against Cremonese] we will fight to win the three points.
Another addition to this man s unreal career collection
— AC Milan (@acmilan)
Theo Hernandez put Milan in front with a first-half volley from close range, but Daniel Maldini equalised against his parent club with Spezia s first away goal of the season.
Tonali had a goal ruled out at 1-1 for a foul on M Bala Nzola by Fikayo Tomori following a VAR check, but Giroud moved them six points behind Napoli in second place after the leaders beat Atalanta 2-1 earlier on Saturday.
