Milan capitulated to a Nico Gonzalez penalty and Luka Jovic diving header, as Fiorentina marked the fifth anniversary of Davide Astori’s death with a prestigious victory.
This was an emotional night, as Stefano Pioli was coach of the Viola when captain Davide Astori died in his sleep from an undiagnosed heart condition and returned here on the fifth anniversary of that tragic day.
The Rossoneri had rediscovered their form with four straight wins in all competition, but had Rafael Leao and Rade Krunic suspended, with Brahim Diaz nursing a slight knee sprain and Matteo Gabbia with flu. Aleksa Terzic was the only absentee for the hosts, who ended their poor Serie A run with a 3-0 victory away to Verona.
Fiorentina started very strong, with Malick Thiaw booked for tripping Arthur Cabral on the very edge of the box, from which Giacomo Bonaventura’s free kick pierced the defensive wall for a Mike Maignan save.
Play stopped at the 13th minute, as the crowd and both teams united in a standing ovation for Astori, DA13.
Maignan also got behind two Nico Gonzalez snapshots, as Fiorentina racked up seven corners in the opening 20 minutes.
They thought the breakthrough had come on 26 minutes when Bonaventura got a shot away while slipping from 12 yards, but did not count on Maignan getting a toe to the shot to slow it down, allowing Fikayo Tomori to make a desperate goal-line clearance.
Milan’s first attempt came on 32 minutes, a ball floated over the top for Olivier Giroud’s well-taken volley, Pietro Terracciano parrying with his legs.
Terracciano also had to rush outside his penalty area to clear when Ante Rebic had sprung the offside trap and Junior Messias couldn’t keep his header on target from a Charles De Ketelaere cross.
At the dawn of the second half, Jonathan Ikone burst into the box and went down under pressure from Tomori for a penalty. Nico Gonzalez converted with confidence, sending Maignan the wrong way. It was the first goal the Rossoneri had conceded after 502 minutes of football in all competition.
Milan almost equalised immediately, Terracciano parrying a Rebic header from point-blank range on a corner. The goalkeeper also had to sprint off his line and use his stomach to charge down a Theo Hernandez strike after out-sprinting Igor and Lucas Martinez Quarta.
Dodo went on a mazy run to force a save from six yards and Bonaventura curled wide, while Igor got a decisive block on Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
There was an odd moment on 79 minutes when the referee pointed to the spot for what he thought was an Arthur Cabral handball on a Milan corner, but a VAR on-field review quickly showed it was a clean header.
Luka Jovic came off the bench and almost scored with his first touch, a header on Rolando Mandragora’s free kick that Maignan pushed off the line.
The Serbian did get his goal eventually, as the Viola moved the ball from left to right where Dodo whipped in a cross for the acrobatic diving Jovic header at the far post, sending it back across Maignan.
When Milan did get on the scoresheet with a ferocious Theo Hernandez strike into the near top corner from a tricky angle, it was too late to get this game back on track.
Fiorentina 2-1 Milan
Nico Gonzalez pen 49 (F), Jovic 87 (F), Theo Hernandez 95 (M)
Player statistic
| 11' |  |
Malick Thiaw | ||
| Arthur Cabral | |
29' | ||
| 36' | |
Junior Messias |
| Nicólas González |  |
49' | ||
| Jonathan Ikoné | |
59' | ||
| Nicólas González | |
70' | ||
| 80' | |
Pierre Kalulu | ||
| Luka Jovic (Assist: Dodô) |
 |
87' | ||
| 90+5' | |
Theo Hernández (Assist: Alexis Saelemaekers) |
Match statistic
