AC Milan 1-0 Fiorentina: Rafael Leao nets late winner to keep their two-point lead over Inter at the top of Serie A as the race for the Scudetto between the city rivals goes down to the wire
- AC Milan capitalised on Inter Milan’s surprise defeat during the week
- Rafael Leao took advantage of a late goalkeeping error to seal the three points
- The victory leaves Milan two points clear after Inter beat Udinese later in the day
AC Milan’s Rafael Leao took advantage of a late goalkeeping howler as the Serie A leaders kept their two-point lead at the top with a 1-0 win against Fiorentina at San Siro on Sunday.
With eight minutes left on the clock, Leao latched on to a misplaced pass from Fiorentina goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano and strode towards the goal before firing in a low effort to keep Milan in the hunt for their first league title in more than a decade.
Stefano Pioli’s side have 77 points from 35 games, two more than Inter Milan who kept pace with their city rivals after beating Udinese later on Sunday.
Rafael Leao celebrates after scoring against Fiorentina in Serie A on Sunday afternoon
After a goalless first half during which Milan failed to hit the target, the hosts missed a gilt-edged chance to go ahead when Leao skied his shot from close range two minutes into the restart before Theo Hernandez’s half-volley also sailed over.
Milan found themselves in promising positions down the left side but failed to force Terracciano into any notable saves and were lucky to not have Hernandez sent off after the Frenchman swung an elbow at Lucas Martinez Quarta.
Fiorentina almost grabbed a shock lead in the 75th minute but Arthur Cabral’s header was brilliantly kept out by Mike Maignan before Leao made up for his earlier miss by calmly slotting past Terracciano.
Leao took advantage of a late goalkeeping howler as the Serie A leaders kept two-point lead