Ten-men Fiorentina rescued a point at home to AC Milan through a late Erick Pulgar penalty that cancelled out Ante Rebić’s deflected strike from earlier in the second-half.
The first half was largely uneventful, but Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma did survive a scare, when his mistake in possession was not taken advantage of by Gaetano Castrovilli. Milan then thought they had scored when Zlatan Ibrahimović slid the ball past Bartłomiej Drągowski, but the goal was ruled out by VAR for his handball beforehand.
But it was in the second half when the away side finally made the breakthrough, through in-form winger Rebić whose deflected shot nestled in the back of the net. It got worse for La Viola, as left wing-back Dalbert was then sent off following a VAR check for a foul on Ibrahimović.
Yet there was still a great chance for Dušan Vlahović whose shot went wide across the goal. And Milan weren’t able to close the door on their opponents, allowing substitute Patrick Cutrone to win a penalty for a foul by Milan skipper Alessio Romagnoli. Midfielder Pulgar duly converted the spot-kick past substitute goalkeeper Asmir Begović, rescuing a point for the mid-table side.
Fiorentina
Key Talking Point
In the first-half, Fiorentina looked like they weren’t going to cause Milan many problems at all. They emphasised defending in deep positions, and very rarely ventured forward.
But after Rebić fired in for the away side, as well as the red card to left wing-back Dalbert, manager Giuseppe Iachini re-organised his side by moving forward Federico Chiesa to a right wing-back role. The change worked wonders, as La Viola had a threat on the right-wing to trouble Milan and cause chaos for the left-back Hernández. His next move to bring on ex-Milan striker Cutrone for the midfielder Castrovilli also increased the home side’s chances of scoring as the Wolves loanee teamed up with Vlahović to create problems for I Rossoneri.
Eventually, La Viola got their reward with a goal, and Iachini’s subsitutions were key in getting his side back into the game, when they had previously looked consigned to another defeat.
Fiorentina Player Ratings
Starting XI: Drągowski (6); Milenkovic (7), Pezzella (6), Cáceres (6); Lirola (6), Castrovilli (7), Duncan (7), Pulgar (6), Dalbert (5); Chiesa (7), Vlahović (7)
Substitutes: Cutrone (7), Igor (6)
Patrick Cutrone
While he had little time on the pitch, it was the loanee Patrick Cutrone who was instrumental to the home side coming back in this game.
The substitute helped turned the game around for Fiorentina, with his pace causing Romagnoli all sorts of problems. It was his movement and speed which ultimately won La Viola a penalty and their equaliser as a result.
AC Milan
Talking Point
The selection of Matteo Gabbia raised eyebrows amongst Milan fans. The 20-year-old only made his league debut in their last game against Torino as a substitute and he was deemed to have played well enough by manager Stefano Pioli to start against La Viola.
Partnering skipper Romagnoli, the youngster did not have much to do in the first-half, but when called upon he helped prevent Chiesa and Vlahović from creating any real chances. In the second-half the Italian found himself tested more by his opponents, but again defended solidly and stood up to the challenge.
AC Milan Player Ratings
Starting XI: Donnarumma (6); Conti (7), Gabbia (7), Romagnoli (6), Hernández (7); Kessié (8), Bennacer (6); Castillejo (7), Çalhanoğlu (6), Rebić (8); Ibrahimović (7)
Substitutes: Begović (7), Musacchio (6), Saelemaekers (6)
Franck Kessié
Every time La Viola looked to launch a counter-attack, it was Franck Kessié who seemed to always be in the way. The Ivorian was a strong presence as he used his strength to rob the ball off his opponents and made many successful interceptions to win the ball back for his team.
What has Pioli done to Kessie? He’s turning into prime Yaya Toure somehow
— Nikolas Michael (@nikolasmichael) February 22, 2020
Looking Ahead
Fiorentina travel to Udinese next Saturday evening, while Milan will host struggling Genoa on the following Sunday morning.