Laxalt earns a late yellow card for a cynical foul.
90' +3
D. Laxalt gets yellow.
90' +2
Rodriguez takes a corner which bounces awkwardly past the chest of Zapata – allowing Fiorentina to clear. Milan are running out of time!
90'
The fourth official indicates an additional four minutes at the end of the match for stoppages.
88'
M. Pjaca enters the game and replaces G. Simeone.
Simeone will also play no further part as Pjaca gets to stretch his legs for the final two minutes.
87'
V. Laurini enters the game and replaces M. Benassi.
Benassi is taken off in the closing stages as Laurini replaces him.
85'
TIPPED OVER THE BAR! Rodriguez’s header after Suso’s outside-of-the-foot cross is directed to the far corner from the penalty spot but Lafont uses his quick reactions to put the ball just over the crossbar and out for a corner. That looked an almost certain goal!
83'
A. Conti enters the game and replaces I. Abate.
It’s a triumphant return for Conti who takes to the pitch for the first time since August of last season after a number of injury concerns. Can he make the difference as he replaces Abate!?
80'
Vitor Hugo absolutely clatters into Calabria while leaping for the ball, sending the defender-turned-midfielder down onto the pitch in a heap holding his head. The Rossoneri players are absolutely livid with the referee who fails to produce a second booking for the centre-back which would have sent him off.
Minute
Description
78'
A. Romagnoli gets yellow.
And the cards are raining down now as Romagnoli catches up to the referee and gives him an earful – earning the captain a yellow.
77'
Suso gets yellow.
Suso is then shown a yellow card moments later for dragging back his man in midfield.
76'
Romagnoli looks to shield the ball out and gets barged from behind by Chiesa – sending the Milan captain to the floor. Despite the assistant being right in front of the challenge, and the winger only recently booked – the referee does not award Milan a free-kick and allows play to continue.
74'
F. Chiesa gets yellow.
It’s a silly booking for Chiesa who removes his shirt in celebration and receives the fourth yellow card of the game for Fiorentina.
73'
F. Chiesa has scored a goal for Fiorentina! Assist by J. Veretout.
Veretout gets the assist for Chiesa’s goal after his distribution put the winger in a position to beat his man.
OUT OF NOWHERE – CHIESA PUTS FIORENTINA AHEAD 1-0! He receives a pass on the right and checks inside, getting past Calabria before wiring a shot that nestles inside the far corner, beating Donnarumma comfortably despite the 6’5 goalkeeper at diving at full-stretch. With just over 15 minutes remaining, the Rossoneri now have a hole to dig themselves out of!
72'
Milan have made the tactical change to two strikers, as Cutrone immediately heads up the pitch to partner Higauin. The two strikers play very well together on the odd occasion Gattuso chooses to start with them both, which could spell a nervy last-20 minutes for the Viola.
70'
The home fans have some fun at Benassi’s expense after the midfielder lines up an off-balance shot from outside the penalty area and slips during his follow-through, sending the shot almost impossibly wide.
68'
D. Laxalt enters the game and replaces Samu Castillejo.
The manager uses two switches at once as Castillejo – who has had a particularly poor match – also leaves the pitch for Laxalt.
67'
P. Cutrone enters the game and replaces J. Mauri.
Gattuso does make the change, as Mauri is off for Cutrone in an attacking alteration.
66'
It’s Jose Mauri’s turn to give away a free-kick, this time in a more dangerous position as Veretout sends a powerful cross towards Donnarumma’s right-hand post looking for a team-mate to get a head onto it. Nobody in the vicinity is able to rise high enough to meet it – and it rolls out for a goal-kick.
64'
Castillejo gives away his third foul in two minutes as he drags down Vitor Hugo in midfield. It’s somewhat unbelievable that the former Villarreal forward hasn’t been booked yet – more for accumulation than malice.
62'
Gerson enters the game and replaces Kevin Mirallas.
E. Fernandes gets yellow.
It’s Fiorentina who roll the dice first, replacing Mirallas with Gerson.
The third yellow card of the match is also Fiorentina’s third as Fernandes’ late sliding tackle on Calabria is worthy of a booking.
60'
Gattuso has told a number of his substitutes to get up and warm as the hour approaches. Both Laxalt and Cutrone are being put through their paces on the touchline as a switch looks forthcoming.
58'
HIGUAIN FORCES A GREAT SAVE! A cross is floated in from the right towards the edge of the penalty area and Higuain does well to direct the ball towards goal with great accuracy, but Lafont is equal to it and dives to his right to make another good stop.
56'
Biraghi leaps forward in an attempt to win a header over Suso in midfield, but the left-back crashes into the right-winger, sending him to the pitch in a heap. Milan have a free-kick but promptly lose possession after switching play to the near side.
54'
STUNNING SUSO DOES EVERYTHING BUT SCORE! It’s a first real flash of trickery from the diminutive Spain international after he gets past two Fiorentina defenders – leaving both on the floor – before firing a shot at Lafont from a narrow angle. The goalkeeper does well to protect his near post and parries the shot away from his goal – preventing a corner as well.
52'
OVER FROM SIMEONE! Milenkovic makes an overlapping run down the left and receives a pass from Benassi before firing in a cross towards the penalty area. Under immediate pressure from Zapata, Simeone manages to hold possession with his back to goal before turning and firing a shot which loops over the crossbar.
50'
The home support are showing their displeasure after Castillejo loses the ball to Biraghi during a counter-attack. Higuain was ready to receive a pass but the Fiorentina left-back timed his intervention perfectly and once again frustrates the Milan attack.
48'
Castillejo loses the ball and immediately stops chasing as he looks at the referee complaining of a foul. Milenkovic was simply stronger in the challenge and won the duel fairly – much to the Milan players’ frustration.
46'
It's Fiorentina who get the match restarted from the kick-off!
45'
CALHANOGLU OFF THE LINE! Calabria keeps the ball in play with a volleyed pass to the far post for Calhanoglu in space. The Turkey international takes a touch and slots it past Lafont, but a goal-line clearance from Milenkovic keeps the score level!
HALF-TIME: MILAN 0-0 FIORENTINA.
43'
The trend continues as Calhanoglu’s free-kick is poorly taken to the edge of the penalty area, which is not conducive to a strike at goal as Castillejo can only awkwardly head the ball forward before its cleared.
42'
Vitor Hugo gets yellow.
Vitor Hugo goes into the referee’s notebook as both Fiorentina centre-backs now have yellow cards after a poorly timed tackle on Calabria.
40'
Castillejo loses the ball in midfield and Fiorentina immediately spray the ball forward for Simeone to chase against Zapata. It’s a physical duel, but the Milan defender holds on long enough to receive some support from Romagnoli – and the ball exits the field of play for a corner.
38'
The free-kick amounts to nothing as Fiorentina pack their own penalty area in order to fend off the delivery. They do so efficiently, giving Milan a corner-kick, which is also squandered after a poor take.
36'
Vitor Hugo steps across Castillejo – sending the forward down to the pitch. It’s a nasty challenge which goes without a card, despite Romagnoli’s protestations. The match official fails to change his mind about a booking, but Milan have a chance to take the lead via a free-kick on the right.
32'
G. Pezzella gets yellow.
Pezzella is shown a yellow card for a foul in midfield – much to the captain’s dismay. He’ll have to be careful going forward or he’ll put his side at a numerical disadvantage.
31'
WHAT A STRIKE! WHAT A SAVE! The ball exits the Fiorentina penalty area on the left, and Rodriguez charges towards it and absolutely hammers a strike which gets through the crowd of bodies with blazing pace. Lafont gets down extremely quickly and makes an excellent parry – putting it out for a corner.
29'
Milan win yet another free-kick in what a stop-start half hour as Benassi takes Calhanoglu down just inside the Fiorentina half. The set-piece is taken by the Turkey international towards the far post for Zapata, who loses the duel but wins a throw-in deep in opposition territory.
27'
Play is stopped as Mauri is down following a clash with Mirallas which saw the Fiorentina forward catch the midfielder in the face with a flailing arm. The referee gives Milan a free-kick, but nothing more.
25'
Mirallas charges towards the penalty area and shifts a pass to Biraghi on the left. The cross is good but Romagnoli rises higher than Simeone and clears it after a physical but fair battle in the penalty area.
23'
Higuain falls under the challenge from captain Pezzella in the centre-circle, which allows Milan to play again from midfield – fortunate as the previous phase of play saw the Rossoneri play it all the way back to Donnarumma in goal. The set-piece is played backwards all the same, much to the frustration of Higuain who isn’t getting any kind of service whatsoever.
21'
Simeone wins a free-kick from Zapata who goes right through the back of the forward. It’s quite far from goal, and Fiorentina opt to play it short and get the match restarted quickly, which leads to another cheap turnover in possession.
19'
Whistles from the crowd reign down as Benassi decides to try his luck with a long-distance shot which rises high – missing the goal. It was worth a try from Fiorentina’s goal-scoring leader, but it just isn’t coming off for them at the minute.
17'
CALHANOGLU MISSES FROM CLOSE! A one-two, worked with Suso around the edge of the area gets the Turkey international into the box despite a poor return pass, but the off-balance strike is disappointing and fails to force a save out of Lafont.
15'
The quality in front of goal has been lacking in the opening quarter-hour as both sides seem slightly timid. It’s certainly a fixture that neither side will want to lose – which could influence the aggressiveness with which they attack.
13'
Mirallas isn’t allowed a chance to cross as his final ball is blocked out for a corner-kick. The set-piece is passed to Veretout whose delivery is blocked immediately – and Fiorentina are forced to send it back to Lafont.
11'
It’s Chiesa again who is really looking confident as he attempts a couple of step-overs before earning enough space to try at goal. Like Calhanoglu’s effort moments before, it’s a good idea but one where the quality is lacking as the shot goes wide of Donnarumma’s left-hand post.
9'
Chiesa looks to chip a ball towards the centre of the penalty area for Simeone, but Calabria is alert and gets a touch on the ball to direct it out of the Milan defensive third before the striker could take advantage.
7'
Calhanoglu brings the ball down with a wonderful first touch and charges towards goal before having a quick strike from the edge of the penalty area which drags just wide of the goalkeeper’s post.
3'
Milan’s injury and suspension concerns mean that Calabria – naturally a right-back – will start in midfield to the right of Mauri. It’s an unfamiliar position for him, but Gattuso has been forced into tactical creativity due to a lack of other options.
1'
It’s Milan who get the match underway from the kick-off!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the Serie A fixture between Milan and Fiorentina!
Despite a poor run of recent form, including a 3-1 defeat to Olympiakos which saw them exit the Europa League at the group stage, Milan remain in contention for Champions League qualification via their place in the table, with the Rossoneri in fourth position – five points above today’s opponents.
Two 0-0 draws in a row for Milan are quite uncharacteristic, as they had only managed one clean sheet in their previous 14. A makeshift defence including right-back Ignazio Abate playing out of position through the middle has worked despite the long list of injured players at the San Siro - however, Torino and Bologna don’t provide the sternest of tests at the back.
Main forward Giovanni Simeone has scored in back-to-back games, finding form after enduring a rough period which saw the promising striker go 10 appearances without one. In the interim, the midfield has really stepped up in that department, with Jordan Veretout and Marco Benassi combining for nine goals. With Tiemoue Bakayoko and Franck Kessie both suspended for today’s fixture for the Rossoneri, the Viola may have their way in the centre of the pitch.
Fiorentina in 10th have a chance to jump all the way up into a Europa League spot in sixth place with a win - highlighting the incredibly tight nature of the Serie A midtable as we head closer towards the second-half of the season. The Viola could have narrowed the gap further, had they not endured a run of five consecutive draws, followed by a 3-0 hammering against Juventus.
AC MILAN XI (4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Ricardo Rodriguez, Alessio Romagnoli, Cristian Zapata, Ignazio Abate; Hakan Calhanoglu, Jose Mauri, Davide Calabria; Samu Castillejo, Gonzalo Higuain, Suso.
With 15 minutes before kick-off, the team news has been confirmed! Let's start with the home side!
FIORENTINA XI (4-3-3): Alban Lafont; Nikola Milenkovic, German Pezzella, Vitor Hugo, Cristiano Biraghi; Marco Benassi, Jordan Veretout, Edimilson Fernandes; Kevin Mirallas, Giovanni Simeone, Federico Chiesa.
AC MILAN SUBS: Jose Reina, Marco Brescianini, Diego Laxalt, Patrick Cutrone, Riccardo Montolivo, Antonio Donnarumma, Mateo Musacchio, Andrea Conti, Alen Halilovic, Frank Tsadjout.
FIORENTINA SUBS: Christian Norgaard, Maximiliano Olivera, David Hancko, Bryan Dabo, Dusan Vlahovic, Cyril Thereau, Valentin Eysseric, Federico Ceccherini, Marko Pjaca, Vincent Laurini, Bartlomiej Dragowski.
Fiorentina have been very poor in the first half despite taking up a number of good attacking positions. Chiesa seems to have shoot-on-sight directives as he has taken a couple of quick strikes from outside the area which all rolled harmlessly wide of the goal. Simeone has been a complete non-factor outside of holding the ball up for team-mates. The Viola could count themselves somewhat fortunate to not go into half-time down a goal after a last-ditch clearance on a Calhanoglu strike which beat Lafont, and they must make the most of their fortune after the restart if they are to leave the San Siro with a victory.
It’s been a stop-start first-half of play as neither side look willing to lose the match. Milan have been the better of the two in testing the opposition goalkeeper, forcing a couple of good saves out of Lafont – none more than his wonderfully quick reaction to a Rodriguez thunderbolt from outside the area. The Rossoneri have had a number of well-placed set-pieces, but despite a number of dead-ball specialists on the pitch – they have been woefully poor. The game is certainly winnable for Gattuso’s side, but they must do better when looking for Higuain in the penalty area.
That concludes our Serie A coverage of the fixture between Milan and Fiorentina! We hope you enjoyed it!
Milan will look to get back to winning ways when they face Frosinone on December 26, while Fiorentina host Parma on the same day.
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