Soccer Football – Serie A – AC Milan v Fiorentina – San Siro, Milan, Italy – November 25, 2023 AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez applauds the fans after the match REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo Obtain licensing rights
MILAN, Nov 25 – France defender Theo Hernandez’s first-half penalty helped AC Milan beat Fiorentina 1-0 for their first win in five Serie A matches.
Hernandez broke the deadlock from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time after a late challenge from Fabiano Parisi.
Milan’s Francesco Camarta came on as a substitute for Luka Jovic in the final minutes, becoming the youngest debutant in the Serie A competition at 15 years, eight months and 16 days.
„Francesco is a good boy; he is working well and needs his rejuvenation. He is very young but very mature. We were all very happy for him. I could be his grandfather,” Milan’s 58-year-old manager Stefano Pioli told Sky Sports Italia.
Milan are third in the table with 26 points, five behind Inter Milan. Fiorentina is sixth with 20 points.
Pioli said his team has improved after some sluggish matches.
„We had a good first half and then mentally it couldn’t have been our best performance but we got there by struggling and taking the points and bringing them home,” he said.
„I’m sure we’ll play our beautiful style of football again when we get a bit more consistent results. There are moments when you have to do things this way.”
Christian Pulisic earned Milan a chance with a strike from the edge of the area that forced Fiorentina keeper Pietro Terraciano into a flying save.
Tommaso Pobega put Milan ahead late in the first half with a header towards the near post but Terraziano managed to get his hands on it.
Fiorentina almost equalized on the hour when Nico Gonzalez’s cross deflected off a Milan defender.
Jovic tried to double Milan’s lead but his effort to beat Terraziano ended up hitting the outstretched boot of the Fiorentina keeper.
Milan keeper Mike Mignon saved a close-range shot from Rolando Mandragora with his face in stoppage time.
Milan’s next game is a domestic UEFA Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, followed by a host of Frosinone in Serie A next Saturday.
Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Clare Fallon
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