Rafael Leao’s goal after 90 seconds and a messy Nikola Milenkovic own goal in stoppage time gave Milan a last-ditch victory over Fiorentina in a match that featured numerous opportunities for both teams.
Rafael Leao, who had been rested for the midweek draw with Cremonese, along with Olivier Giroud and Theo Hernandez, returned from suspension, but Junior Messias ended up joining Mike Maignan, Davide Calabria, Alexis Saelemaekers, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Alessandro Florenzi on the injured list.
With Giacomo Bonaventura withdrawing during the warm-up, the Viola were without Riccardo Sottil, Nico Gonzalez, and Gaetano Castrovilli despite coming off five straight victories in both Serie A and the Conference League.
Just 90 seconds into the game, Giroud knocked down the ball, sending Rafael Leao scurrying, and sweeping with the inside of his right boot into the far bottom corner.
Arthur Cabral was denied by Ciprian Tatarusanu with his knee from close range, and Cristiano Biraghi came dangerously close to tying the score on minute eight after Barak had turned Fikayo Tomori.
Dodo tore a muscle while attempting to sprint with Leao, so he was replaced by Lorenzo Venuti. However, the Viola were controlling possession, so it was expected that they would equalize.
Barak, who only entered the game as a result of Bonaventura’s warming-up injury, turned Pierre Kalulu, and his shot took a deflection off Malick Thiaw to slip under Tatarusanu.
However, Lorenzo Venuti made an incredible goal-line clearance when Brahim Diaz had dinked the ball over Pietro Terracciano and Theo Hernandez was standing by to make sure. Pierre Kalulu performed an important block on Biraghi and Nikola Milenkovic did the exact same on Sandro Tonali.
Since Milan got off to a quick start and the champions quickly took the lead thanks to Leao, Fiorentina has dominated the first half and kept the hosts from settling. The Viola, who controlled the ball and a large portion of the field, carried their recent success into this 2022 championship game, so Barak’s equaliser is no less than they should have received.
Following the restart, Terracciano met the low Kalulu ball from the right and made a last-ditch save on Giroud from point-blank range. Then Leao saw his shot deflect wide.
Tomori almost caught the ball while sprinting back for a decisive sliding tackle on Jonathan Ikone. Kalulu was sold a dummy by Luka Jovic, and only a fingertip save by Tatarusanu stopped him from scoring an own goal. Giroud’s acrobatic volley then flashed wide.
On minute 77, Leao had a clear shot from 14 yards when the ball fell nicely for him, but he was leaning back and his shot went over the crossbar. As Tomori ran back for the goal-line clearance on Jonathan Ikone, it remained wide open at both ends.
Aster Vranckx sent in a cross from the right during stoppage time; Ante Rebic and Terracciano both attempted to head the ball but failed to connect, then it bounced in off Milenkovic for own goal in favor of Milan. Both a possible foul in the buildup and whether Rebic was bothering the goalkeeper drew protests.
Once more, the champions come up with a last-second winner as Milan steals three points from a Fiorentina team that unquestionably deserved to go home with at least one. Despite taking an early lead, the Rossoneri controlled the first half but were much more fluid after the break as the game turned into an end-to-end contest. In their final match of 2022, the Viola had a promising run, but it was cut short by a bitter moment for the unfortunate Milenkovic right at the death, giving Milan the victory.
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