Pre-match

Cesare Prandelli sent out a 4-4-2 (hey, what do you know) with Lucas Martínez Quarta at rightback, Martín Cáceres at leftback, and Gaetano Castrovilli on the left side of midfield. Stefano Pioli had Zlatan Ibrahimović back and and so fielded the exact XI we predicted.

First half

It didn’t take long for AC Milan to open the scoring, as LMQ was slow stepping up and allowed Ibrahimović to meet a Simon Kjær clip over the top and somewhat scruffily volley home. The big Swede’s obvious shove on Germán Pezzella to make space for himself, though, probably should’ve annulled the goal.

Fiorentina equalized through Erick Pulgar, who completely fooled Antonio Donnarumma with a free kick so naughty that I’ll have to check your age before you’re allowed to see it.

Don’t sleep on the opposing reactions from Prandelli and Pioli, either, with the former fist pumping and the latter spiking a water bottle.

Second half

A quick break down the right let Eysseric center it for Dušan Vlahović. The large young man neatly turned, committed the defense, and unselfishly laid the ball off for Franck Ribery to tuck home with his first touch. It was good striker play and a good finish, which feels all too rare for this Fiorentina.

The lead didn’t last long as Simon Kjær beat a lackadaisical Pezzella to a corner and Eysseric completely switched off, letting Brahim Díaz easily poke home at the back post.

The woodwork got its third pasting of the day when Ibrahimović spun in a cross that substitute goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano casually watched doink off the post.

The Fiorentina defense wasn’t done conceding out of rather nothingburger situations. This time, it was Hakan Çalhanoğlu who struck a ball as perfectly as you possibly can from what wasn’t really even a dangerous situation, although a terrible giveaway from Cáceres put Fiorentina in a bad situation to start with.

Full time

Goals: Pulgar 17’, Ribery 51’ (ass. Vlahović); Ibrahimović 9’ (ass. Kjær), Díaz 57’ (ass. Kjær), Çalhanoğlu 72’ (ass. Kessié)

Cards: Kouamé 89’; Çalhanoğlu 41’, Dalot 48’, Meïté 90’+2

What’s next

The loss leaves Fiorentina in 14th with 29 points, even with Spezia and Benevento (who beat Juventus in Turin earlier today) and 7 points ahead of Cagliari in the final relegation spot. The Rossoneri cut Inter Milan’s lead to 6 points, although the Nerazzurri have a game in hand due to a coronavirus-enforced stop.