Fiorentina 4-2 Milan Primavera: Comeback attemps fail in another defeat
It was back to losing ways for Milan’s Primavera side earlier today as Fiorentina prevailed by four goals to two, never really in doubt.
After three consecutive defeats, Giovanni Renna and his youngsters managed to bounce back with a crucial win against Cagliari last week. A red card helped them on the way, but the feeling was that they were the better side anyway.
Therefore, heading into today’s game against an in-form Fiorentina side, the Rossoneri had a bit more confidence. It wasn’t enough to build on the momentum, though, as La Viola clinched a big win in front of their home fans.
Match report
Anyone who made their way to Viola Park certainly got to see an entertaining game, at least from a Fiorentina and neutral point of view. The first half, however, was fairly even and an early goal for the home side (courtesy of Federico Croci) allowed them to sit back and prevent conceding chances.
Milan thus headed into the break one goal down, and things didn’t get better at the start of the second as Croci secured his brace. It’s a goal that resulted in some controversy as Fiorentina took a free-kick, catching the Rossoneri off guard as they were waiting for a whistle from the referee.
The goal stood, though, and Renna’s men had to get back to work. They managed to add some life to the game in the 67th minute, as Max Anastasio got on the end of a nice cross from Vincent Ibrahimovic, firing a shot past the goalkeeper.
However, instead of a comeback, Fiorentina needed just six minutes to restore their two-goal cushion and it was Croci once again, bagging his hat-trick. The striker was sent off minutes later for a second yellow, but not even that was enough to get Milan back.
Okay, in the 93rd minute, they did pull one back through Mattia Zaramella but the home side countered that with another goal one minute later. Samuele Beldenti was the goalscorer and thus sealed the deal, allowing Fiorentina to leapfrog Milan in the standings (8th vs. 10th).