Brahim Diaz and Calhanoglu Help Milan Overcome Fiorentina Resistance

Milan restarted their run in Serie A with a hard-earned 3-2 win over Fiorentina at the Artemio Franchi Stadium on Sunday night. After losing to Napoli one week ago and then to Manchester United in their mid-week Europa League effort, the Rossoneri managed to put themselves back on track to collect three key points in their hunt for a Champions League place for next season.

Facing a 1-2 deficit to Fiorentina in the second half, the Rossoneri found some unexpected help from two of his players whose performances had been the most disappointing the past few weeks: Brahim Diaz – whose season has been quite colorless so far – and Hakan Calhanoglu, who has been struggling to regain his stunning 2020 form.

The Viola, on the other hand, came up with a sparkling performance but lacked continuity and consistency. The danger zone is still seven points far and Cesare Prandelli’s side have little to worry about when it comes to relegation, but once again are finding themselves living a Serie A campaign below expectations.

Prandelli confirmed his offensive setup with Franck Ribery behind Dusan Vlahovic, deploying former Milan man Giacomo Bonaventura in the middle of the park.

For Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic came back as a starter, with Alexis Saelemaekers, Hakan Calhanoglu and Brahim Diaz behind him. In the dugout, Stefano Pioli faced his recent past as he had been at the helm of Fiorentina for two seasons before taking charge of the Rossoneri. 

TEAM NEWS | ?

Our starting line-up for #FiorentinaMilan ?#ForzaViola ? #FiorentinaMilan pic.twitter.com/HBiYrJbYv2

— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) March 21, 2021

There were emotions from the get-go at the Artemio Franchi as Fikayo Tomori anticipated Nikola Milenkovic right on the goal line, preventing the Serbian from heading the ball home from a corner kick.

But Milan drew first blood from their very first attempt, as Simon Kjaer turned provided with a long-range cross to pick up Zlatan beyond the Fiorentina defensive line. The Swede, kept into play by Lucas Martinez Quarta, could not fail and easily put the ball into the back of the net.

The Rossoneri‘s delusion didn’t last long, however, as Erick Pulgar equalized for Fiorentina with a perfect free-kick that sent the ball right into the top right corner of the goal. Gianluigi Donnarumma appeared caught by surprise and only managed to touch it. 

WHAT A GOAL. WHAT A GOAL. pic.twitter.com/qvj3Rcwh2N

— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) March 21, 2021

Fiorentina’s goal switched the momentum of the game in the Viola‘s favor. From a corner kick, German Pezzella conjured a spectacular back-heel deflection that hit the post. He deserved a better outcome, right under the eyes of Azzurri coach Roberto Mancini who once scored a fantastic goal in a similar way.

Milan promptly equalized the count of hit posts as Ibrahimovic’s strike from an Hakan Calhanoglu filtering pass was pushed back by Barlomiej Dragowski’s woodwork. On 40 minutes, Calhanoglu tried to take the matter into his own hands with a brilliant curling effort that was just a few inches too angled.

The first emotion of a sparkling first half was the substitution of Fiorentina goalkeeper Dragowski, who picked up an ankle injury, with his backup Pietro Terracciano.

#FiorentinaMilan@Ibra_official leads the line ?
Torna Zlatan dal primo minuto ?#SempreMilan@EASPORTSFIFA pic.twitter.com/zrdqgOUlXr

— AC Milan (@acmilan) March 21, 2021

Five minutes into the second half, Fiorentina completed their comeback, catching by surprise a Milan side who already seemed out of breath. From the right-hand side, Valentin Eysseric served Vlahovic in the box and the Serbian striker defended the ball before releasing Franck Ribery, whose clinical left-foot shot left no chance to Donnarumma.

But Fiorentina’s lead lasted only six minutes as Brahim Diaz scored his second seasonal goal, tapping the ball in from a Simon Kjaer deflection from a corner kick.

Milan’s equalizer was followed by a double substitution from Pioli, who sent in Samu Castillejo and Ismael Bennacer. That contributed to switch the momentum of the game again, this time in favor of the Rossoneri who came close to score the third with Ibrahimovic – whose cross effort hit the woodwork again.

Lorenzo Venuti replaced Gaetano Castrovilli for Fiorentina, but Cesare Prandelli didn’t have time to benefit of the substitution as Milan’s third goal came on 72 minutes. It was Hakan Calhanoglu to finalize a breakaway effort, receiving the ball from Franck Kessié and slotting it past Terracciano with a clinical right-foot shot.

39, 169 – Zlatan #Ibrahimovic, with 39 years and 169 days, is the oldest player to reach 15 goals in Serie A's history. Eternal.#FiorentinaMilan #SerieA pic.twitter.com/8r8rJFwIEh

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) March 21, 2021

Prandelli went all-in by adding two additional offensive players in Josè Callejon and Christian Kouamé but the Viola hadn’t it anymore and the score remained set at 2-3 for the visitors, who temporarily reduced their gap from Inter to six points.

After bowing out of the Europa League on Thursday, that’s just what the Rossoneri needed to recover some confidence and keep their pursuers for a Champions League spot at a distance.

 

MATCH REPORT

March 21, 2021 – Serie A 2020-2021 Round 28
FIORENTINA-MILAN 2-3

SCORERS: 9′ Ibrahimovic (M), 18′ Pulgar (F), 50′ Ribery (F), 56′ Brahim Diaz (M), 72′ Calhanoglu (M)

REFEREE: Mr. Guida from Pompei
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Calhanoglu, Diogo Dalot, Meité (M), Kouame (F); Extra Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 4′