AC Milan and Fiorentina played out an entertaining game at San Siro on Saturday night but were eventually forced to settle for a 2-2 draw.
Fiorentina got themselves firmly in control early in the first half, with a Malick Thiaw own-goal – his third of the season – gifting them the lead before Moise Kean was on hand to hammer in a cross from Dodo.
Tammy Abraham halved the deficit midway through the opening 45 minutes and then substitute Luka Jovic levelled in the second half. Both sides had chances to win it, but Mike Maignan and David De Gea stepped up.
It is a draw that in truth does very little for the sides in ninth and eighth place respectively, though it did once again show the Rossoneri’s fighting spirit and it was a good avert for Serie A, maybe not for defending though.
Sergio Conceicao made two changes to the starting line-up from the team that drew with Inter in midweek. Fikayo Tomori returned in the centre of defence, while Yunus Musah got his place back in the midfield.
Milan made a bright start to the game, and yet it was Fiorentina who took the lead after just seven minutes. An awful giveaway from Musah inside his own half allowed the visitors to break, with Gudmundsson shifting onto his left foot inside the box and sending a ball across goal that Malick Thiaw tried to cut out but ended up turning into his own net at full stretch.
Three minutes later, Fiorentina doubled their lead and it was the in-form Kean who got the goal. A switch of play from the left wing-back Parisi to Dodo on the opposite flank resulted in the latter providing an unopposed cut-back for the Italian striker, who just had to tap in from close range with Mike Maignan helpless.
The Rossoneri had a massive chance to get themselves right back into it when a lovely ball over the top found Rafael Leao in stride. He surged into the box and it looked like he would open up and shoot inside the far corner, but opted to square it where Tammy Abraham and Musah were a yard behind it.
The gap between Milan’s defence and midfield was causing huge issues, with Maignan forced into a diving two-handed save to thwart Gudmundsson’s shot from just outside the edge of the box 20 minutes in.
Milan did halve the deficit at the midway point in the first half, and it was a lovely goal from Abraham. The striker did well to pick up possession and drive infield, offloading it to Christian Pulisic who had drifted centrally, then receiving it back after a run in behind and firing past De Gea at his near post.
Conceicao made his first change moments later, with Musah coming off after a disastrous 24 minutes and Luka Jovic coming on in his place. From the early signs, it looked like Jovic was playing just off Abraham in the No.10 role.
Moments after Theo Hernandez and Dodo were cautioned for an altercation, Fiorentina thought they had their third goal of the game with a screamer from Ranieri. Parisi laid it back to the centre-back who curled a beautiful shot inside the far post, yet the referee adjudged there to have been a foul on Pulisic in the build-up.
The second half started just as the first half did, with both sides showing little intention of doing anything other than playing open. Leao had a shot cut out in the nick of time after good work from Jovic, and at the other end a strong fist from Maignan denied Kean after he burst through and shot from a narrow angle.
Abraham was close to doubling his tally with a powerful header from Pulisic’s stood-up cross from the byline but De Gea saved well, then not long after Jovic brought a ball down well and fired over. That would be the striker’s last action as he took a bump, with Santiago Gimenez replacing him.
Milan missed a couple of huge chances in the 57th minute and really should have drawn level. Jovic found Reijnders’ penetrating run in behind and he drew a save from De Gea, then Pulisic should have buried the rebound and was denied, and a second rebound should have been cut back to the Serbian yet was sent into the side netting.
In the 64th minute Milan did get themselves level, and it was the substitute Jovic who scored against his former club. A rather hopeful ball forward from Tomori seemed to be more aimed towards Gimenez who was dropping deep, yet a gap opened up and the No.9 lifted it over De Gea having found himself through on goal.
The Rossoneri perhaps got a bit giddy after their comeback and sent bodies piling forward to try get a third. Maignan made a simply brilliant stop to deny Kean who had got one-on-one after a ball over the top, reading the bounce perfectly. At the other end, Theo went on a galloping run into the box down the left, and De Gea stopped his stinging effort from a narrow angle.
Gimenez could have made himself the hero inside the final 15 minutes when a lovely through ball from Pulisic found the Mexican’s run in behind, yet De Gea came charging off his line and made a brilliant tackle to dispossess him on the edge of the area.
Conceicao was forced into further changes after that chance, as Gimenez hurt himself in the process. He came off for Samu Chukwueze, with Joao Felix and Warren Bondo also coming on for Pulisic and Fofana.
The two sides continued to trade chances in an end-to-end game. Maignan was grateful to clutch a Kean header from a cross that found him unmarked in a central area, then Theo led but wasted a break with a shot that flew well over the bar. Shortly after, Kean hit a sweet shot from 20 yards that Maignan saved much more impressively this time.
Fiorentina thought that they had snatched it with a couple of minutes left when Dodo finished inside the box with a brilliant volley after having had his run in deep found over the top, yet VAR came to Milan’s rescue as he was a yard offside.
MUSHA, FELIX AND BONDO ALL NEED TO BE BENCHED INDEFINITELY. MUSHA CAUSED BOTH GOALS AND DIDNT EVEN BOTHER TO COMMIT TO LEAO’S PASS
Jovic with back to back man of the match performances, man deserves better than what we’ve done with him 100%. Meanwhile, where’s the guy who was hating on Gabbia and Pav 2 weeks ago??? Tried to say tomori and thiaw was our “best pair”??? Ridiculous. Musah and Felix once again not contributing a SINGLE positive thing on the pitch, but the coach remains blind and plays them more than guys who will actually fight like jovic, Terra, etc. Would rather have an 11 who puts in 110% than watch leao Felix and Theo need to be motivated to even play… it’s just painful at this point. Why not try something different and give minutes to those who deserve it? It’s not like we’re getting UCL this year…
Jovic deserve to get a chance from start.
We literally only seem to score when we have 2 up top rn, so idk why we arent doing it from the start. Put jovic and Abraham up top, or replace Abraham with Gimenez if his injury isn’t serious, and maybe we’ll actually score 1st in a game
Bondo and Musha, my word what in the world was that. It was criminal the way they played. Bondo is so flat footed that it really makes me wonder how he was even on a list of players Milan need. Musha has lost confidence and I don’t know what the club can do to help him if he makes the kind of mistakes he is making. He is responsible for conceding the second goal and the manner in which he capitulated is unacceptable. This is not the coach who is to blame this is down to individual players messing up.
Thiaw is just a liability and will never develop to be a top defender. I have lost count on his own goals since he joined Milan,
Better to cash out on him now that Bayarn and Leverkusen are knocking
Stop it there was no way he could determine the kind of contact his foot will have on the ball when he committed to the tackle. He was good and it is not his fault for that goal going in. He at least timed his tackle unlike before and he never made rash decisions.
‘entertaining’
The match itself was as bad of an advertisement for the league as it was Milan.
In the UK TNT sports does the Italian coverage and fair play to the commentary on the match making light hearted comments with regards the quality or lack of in this respect.
When you get headlines of MILAN GET DRAW IN ENTERTAINING GAME is it any wonder why questions get asked in regards to someones legitimacy with regards not just supporting Ac Milan but also Italian football.
I’ve watched Milan for over 30 years and something isn’t sitting right for me with regards the so called supporters and that’s before we get to Italian football as a whole.
#GET ELLIOT / REDBIRD OUT.