AC Milan narrowly beat Fiorentina in Serie A on Saturday night thanks to a penalty that was both won and scored by Theo Hernandez.
The Frenchman ensured an important three points for the Rossoneri, with arguably the best moment of the night being when Francesco Camarda made his debut from the bench at the age of 15.
Both teams made a timid start to the game with Milan occasionally combining well in the final third, but little came of any attack. The sides were clearly feeling one another out in the early stages.
The first clear sight of goal came in the 23rd minute when Christian Pulisic brought the ball down excellently from height and fired a half-volley in Pietro Terracciano’s direction, but the goalkeeper was able to parry it away for a corner.
There were half-hearted appeals for a Milan penalty when Samuel Chukwueze went down in the box under Nikola Milenkovic’s challenge. He quickly got to his feet but Milan then had a great opening down the right with Davide Calabria but the defender either miscued his cross or went for a shot from a very tight angle.
Fiorentina were limited to the occasional pot-shot from the edge of the box which Mike Maignan had little trouble dealing with.
Milan’s best moments seemed to come down the right wing, with Chukwueze getting into the box late in the first half but his cross was cut out well. That was followed by a Calabria cross being deflected towards goal but Terracciano reacted well. Milan were building a head of steam before the break and it resulted in a penalty for Milan.
Theo Hernandez raced into the box and Fabiano Parisi bundled him over in desperation. It was a clear penalty and a yellow card for Parisi. Hernandez quickly grabbed the ball and hit a powerful penalty into the bottom-left corner, grabbing his second goal of the season and making sure Milan were 1-0 up at the break.
The second half was a much more open affair than the first, with both sides showing more attacking intent. Milan had the better of the possession but Fiorentina certainly still carried a threat going forward.
Fiorentina were beginning to get close to an equaliser. Nico Gonzalez was a constant issue for Milan and with Tomori on a yellow card, he could not deal with the Argentine as effectively as he might like. La Viola were getting into the box fairly easily in the middle of the second half.
They wanted a penalty after a frantic episode in the box that ended with Riccardo Sottil’s shot hitting Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s arm. It was from incredibly close range and there was a VAR check. It was a nervy wait for Milan but nothing came of it.
They then had a perfect chance to wrap up the game as Hernandez slipped the ball through to Luka Jovic who made a superb run, but his shot from close range was saved by Terracciano. It was a wonderful chance for the Serbian to get his first goal for Milan.
Late in the game, there was a special moment as the 15-year-old Francesco Camarda was brought on for his first senior Milan appearance. He was given a particularly loud announcement and was clearly moved when the San Siro crowd shouted his name. He came on in the 84th minute, meaning there was little time to make an impact. He became the youngest player to make their debut in Serie A ever
Danger remained right until the end for Milan as Maxime Lopez hit a superb shot just wide of the target as the 90th minute approached. Maignan produced a world-class save from Rolando Mandragora in the dying seconds, smothering the ball from a yard out.
The win keeps Milan in third place above Napoli, with Inter and Juventus set to play each other on Sunday night.
