With the opportunity to soar to the top spot seemingly wide open for Milan, after their city rivals’ 1-0 win over Roma yesterday evening, the hosts almost got off to a dream start.
Centre-half Fikayo Tomori was presented with a golden opportunity after only four minutes played, but he blazed the ball over the bar from inside the penalty area, when he should have at least forced the goalkeeper into action.
The Rossoneri then proceeded to miss a sitter shortly before the midway point of the first half, when Serbian international Strahinja Pavlovic somehow missed the target altogether, capping off a very disappointing first half.
However, the dynamic of the game shifted dramatically 10 minutes into the second half, when Robin Gosens bundled the ball home to give the visitors the lead and secure his first Serie A goal of the season.
Fiorentina’s opener appeared to wake the hosts up, and they responded quickly, eventually equalising in the 63rd minute with their first shot on target, as Rafael Leao’s superb strike from 25 yards out found the bottom corner to send the home crowd wild.
And Milan came close to taking the lead for the first time in the game in the 76th minute, after Santiago Gimenez’s close-range attempt was superbly tipped over the bar by David de Gea.
With the match seemingly destined for a draw, the hosts were awarded a penalty via VAR with five minutes of normal time remaining, and Leao stepped up to take the spot-kick, coolly sending De Gea the other way to put his side 2-1 up.
With no fight left in Fiorentina after their earlier efforts, it proved decisive, sending Milan top by a one-point margin and putting the final death knell on what was shaping up to be a productive match for Stefano Pioli on his 500th Serie A match as a manager.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Rafael Leao (AC Milan)