Game is over and the final score is Milan 1-0 Fiorentina. Here is the match report.
Match Report
Rafael Leao left it late to pounce on a Pietro Terracciano error to give Milan victory over Fiorentina and take another step towards the Scudetto.
The Rossoneri were in charge of their destiny after Inter lost the game in hand with Bologna, giving them a two-point lead at the top of the table, plus the advantage in head-to-head records. Ismael Bennacer was only fit for the bench, with Simon Kjaer and Alessandro Florenzi out, while the Viola were missing Alvaro Odriozola and Gaetano Castrovilli, with Giacomo Bonaventura and Lucas Torreira only ready for the bench. They were shaken by a 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Udinese midweek and needed to get back on track in order to continue their push for Europe.
Theo Hernandez had the ball in the net after seven minutes with a Theo Hernandez scorcher, but it was all for nothing as Junior Messias was offside in the build-up.
Igor also threatened at the other end, controlling a corner to strike inches wide of the far post, while Olivier Giroud prodded wide one-on-one with Pietro Terracciano after springing the offside trap on Franck Kessie’s assist.
Youssef Maleh was booked in the opening 120 seconds and risked another yellow a couple of times in the opening 20 minutes.
Riccardo Saponara stung Mike Maignan’s gloves from a tricky angle and Terracciano intercepted the Theo Hernandez cross for Giroud.
Milan should’ve taken the lead straight after the restart, but Rafael Leao slipped at the crucial moment and ballooned over after great work from Brahim Diaz and Giroud.
Theo Hernandez also turned off target after an awkward bounce of the ball, as did Ante Rebic, while Fikayo Tomori intercepted the Saponara assist before Cabral could tap in.
Mike Maignan needed a simply spectacular save to rescue Milan on 76 minutes, showing remarkable reactions on Cabral’s header from point-blank range after the Cristiano Biraghi cross.
The deadlock was finally broken thanks to a gift from Terracciano, his awful pass out from the back straight to Leao, who took full advantage by finding the net from a tricky angle.
Leao nearly got a second on the counter, but was denied by a dubious Jonathan Ikone tackle.
Match Events
0' KICK-OFF! Who can win this match?
1' Yellow Card! Youssef Maleh booked
6' OFFSIDE! Theo’s goal disallowed
15' CLOSE! Giroud’s shot wide out
20' CLOSE! Saponara’s shot !
32' Kessie’s shot flies into the sky
42' Calabria fires his shot into the sky
47' Leao’s shot flies into the sky
52' Theo’s shot flies into the sky
59' CLOSE! Rebic’s shot wide out
71' Yellow Card! Martínez booked
75' What a save from Maignan!
81' GOAL! Milan 1-0 Fiorentina (Leao)
Line-ups
Milan XI: Giroud, Maignan, Calabria, Kessie, Tomori, Theo, Brahim, Junior Messias, Tonali, Leao, Kalulu
Subs: Ibrahimovic, Mirante, Tatarusanu, Bakayoko, Rebic, Castillejo, Romagnoli, Krunic, F.Toure, Bennacer, Gabbia, A. Saelemaekers
Fiorentina XI: P. Terracciano, Saponara, Biraghi, A.Duncan, Venuti, Amrabat, Arthur Cabral, Igor, Milenkovic, N. Gonzalez, Youssef Maleh
Subs: Rosati, Bonaventura, Callejon, A. Kokorin, Nastasic, B. Drągowski, Piatek, Torreira, Ikone, L. Martínez, A. Terzić, Sottil