Match ends, Milan 2, Fiorentina 0.
Milan 2-0 Fiorentina
- From the section European Football
Mario Balotelli made his return from injury as AC Milan beat title-chasers Fiorentina.
Sinisa Mihajlovic's side took an early lead when Carlos Bacca held off his marker to fire home.
Balotelli, on loan from Liverpool, replaced the scorer with three minutes to go, his first appearance since September following groin surgery.
And seconds later Kevin-Prince Boateng wrapped it up with his first goal since 2014.
The Ghana forward rejoined Milan on loan this month, having been frozen out by Schalke after falling out with management.
Milan are up to sixth, while fourth-placed Fiorentina are now six points off leaders Napoli.
Earlier in the day, Juventus beat Udinese 4-0 to make it 10 Serie A wins in a row.
Line-ups
AC Milan
- 99Donnarumma
- 20Abate
- 33Dias da Costa
- 13Romagnoli
- 31Antonelli
- 10Honda
- 18MontolivoSubstituted forKuckaat 70'minutes
- 91BertolacciBooked at 73mins
- 28Bonaventura
- 70BaccaBooked at 68minsSubstituted forBalotelliat 87'minutes
- 19NiangSubstituted forBoatengat 79'minutes
Substitutes
- 2De Sciglio
- 4Mauri
- 16Poli
- 17Zapata
- 25Simic
- 27Kucka
- 32Abbiati
- 34de Jong
- 45Balotelli
- 72Boateng
- 96Calabria
- 97Livieri
Fiorentina
- 12Tatarusanu
- 32Roncaglia
- 4TomovicBooked at 67mins
- 13Astori
- 10Bernardeschi
- 8VecinoBooked at 59mins
- 18SuárezBooked at 31minsSubstituted forRossiat 66'minutes
- 28AlonsoSubstituted forPasqualat 76'minutes
- 72IlicicSubstituted forBabacarat 83'minutes
- 20Valero Iglesias
- 9N KalinicBooked at 45mins
Substitutes
- 3Junior
- 14Fernández
- 16Blaszczykowski
- 21Verdú
- 22Rossi
- 23Pasqual
- 24Lezzerini
- 30Babacar
- 33Sepe
- 90Báez
- Referee:
- Daniele Doveri
- Attendance:
- 28,374
Match Stats
Home TeamAC MilanAway TeamFiorentina
- Possession
- Home31%
- Away69%
- Shots
- Home4
- Away14
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away1
- Corners
- Home4
- Away10
- Fouls
- Home20
- Away19
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Milan 2, Fiorentina 0.
Foul by Khouma Babacar (Fiorentina).
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Nikola Kalinic (Fiorentina).
Alex (Milan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, Milan. Ignazio Abate tries a through ball, but Mario Balotelli is caught offside.
Nikola Kalinic (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ignazio Abate (Milan).
Attempt blocked. Giuseppe Rossi (Fiorentina) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Facundo Roncaglia.
Borja Valero (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan).
Goal!
Goal! Milan 2, Fiorentina 0. Kevin-Prince Boateng (Milan) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Juraj Kucka.
Substitution
Substitution, Milan. Mario Balotelli replaces Carlos Bacca.
Offside, Milan. Juraj Kucka tries a through ball, but Carlos Bacca is caught offside.
Nenad Tomovic (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Kevin-Prince Boateng (Milan).
Foul by Nikola Kalinic (Fiorentina).
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Khouma Babacar (Fiorentina) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Manuel Pasqual with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Fiorentina. Conceded by Juraj Kucka.
Corner, Fiorentina. Conceded by Giacomo Bonaventura.
Attempt blocked. Facundo Roncaglia (Fiorentina) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Matias Vecino.
Offside, Fiorentina. Manuel Pasqual tries a through ball, but Nikola Kalinic is caught offside.
Substitution
Substitution, Fiorentina. Khouma Babacar replaces Josip Ilicic.
Davide Astori (Fiorentina) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Juraj Kucka (Milan).
Substitution
Substitution, Milan. Kevin-Prince Boateng replaces M'Baye Niang.
Borja Valero (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan).
Foul by Borja Valero (Fiorentina).
Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution
Substitution, Fiorentina. Manuel Pasqual replaces Marcos Alonso because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Keisuke Honda (Milan) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Andrea Bertolacci.
Corner, Fiorentina. Conceded by Juraj Kucka.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Marcos Alonso (Fiorentina) because of an injury.
Booking
Andrea Bertolacci (Milan) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Marcos Alonso (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Andrea Bertolacci (Milan).