Match Recap: Milan go to Florence and get a 1-0 win over Fiorentina

AC Milan and Fiorentina both came into this game needed a win,but for completely opposite reasons. Milan would have been looking to keep pace with Atalanta, who won earlier in the day against Genoa, while Fiorentina would have just been looking for any kind of positive result after having not won in five matches, and having only drawn once since former Milan manager Vincenzo Montella made his return to Florence.

Milan was the dominant team in the first half, enjoying the the majority of possession, chances, shots, and corner kicks. Fiorentina seemed second-best to every ball and weren’t able to really put very much pressure on Gigio Donnarumma. Even when Fiorentina were able to put pressure on the Milan keeper, Donnarumma did well to snuff out any real chances that came his way.

Milan were rewarded in the first half for their attacking intent, with Hakan Calhanoglu getting a goal from a pretty good assist from Suso. Calhanoglu rose above the crowd to get a header on Suso’s cross/shot and his effort did well to get past the hands of the Viola keeper, Alban Lafont.

Not much else from either team in the first half, at least attacking-wise, and Milan went into half-time up a goal, and perhaps could have been by more had Franck Kessie made a poor decision to shoot instead of pick out a pass.

Fiorentina looked better in the second half, as they attempted to claw their way back into the match while Milan looked a tad worse for wear. Kevin Mirallas tried to insist he’d won a penalty in the second half, but the referee and VAR weren’t interested and play was waved on.

Fiorentina continued to threaten, and came close a few other times. Donnarumma was well-tested in the second half, with the Italy national team keeper having to bail out his team on a number of occasions.

Patrick Cutrone was brought on for Krzysztoff Piatek in the 74th minute, and he came close to doubling Milan’s lead in the 80th minute, but his shot drifted just past the post and rolled harmlessly out of touch. Replays confirmed that Cutrone probably should have put the ball in the back of the net, but such is the life of a Milan fan right now.

Fabio Borini was taken off for Diego Laxalt in the 88th minute after getting bloodied defending in the Milan box through a clash of heads. Milan saw out the rest of the match and kept the clean sheet, while Fiorentina has now only scored one goal in their past five matches and were condemned to yet another defeat.

Milan did their best to get a win despite missing a few pieces and while they still sit in fifth place, they are only a point behind Inter Milan for fourth place and will go into Sunday ahead of AS Roma by three points.