AC Milan lose at Fiorentina with Rodrigo Ely sent off

Updated: May 17, 2023, 06:14 am

Paulo Sousa enjoyed a dream Serie A coaching debut by guiding Fiorentina to a 2-0 win over 10-man AC Milan on Sunday evening in Florence.

A late challenge from Nikola Kalinic earned Milan's new signing Rodrigo Ely a second yellow card in the 36th minute and Fiorentina made the most of the resulting free-kick, with Marcos Alonso's left-footed attempt proving unstoppable for goalkeeper Diego Lopez.

Fiorentina then doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half after Josip Ilicic earned and converted a penalty to hand the hosts a deserved win.

Milan failed to test Fiorentina goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu throughout in the encounter at the Artemio Franchi stadium.

Brazilian defender Ely was one of five players to receive a first league start under new Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, along with summer signings Alessio Romagnoli, Andrea Bertolacci, Adriano and Luis Carlos Bacca.

Marcos Alonso celebrates after scoring the opening goal.
AP Photo/Fabrizio Giovannozzi

Looking to bounce back from a disappointing 10th-place finish last season under Mihajlovic, who replaced Filippo Inzaghi earlier this summer, Milan struggled from the off.

Fiorentina had the first opportunity of the game in the sixth minute with a fast counter-attack that saw Ilicic surge towards the area and strike a right-footed shot from 30 yards that was kept out by Lopez.

At the other end, Bacca stole the ball from Alonso but saw his right-footed attempt go off target.

In the 20th minute, Kalinic fed Ilicic in the box and his central goal attempt was saved by Lopez.

Ely's sending-off proved a turning point as seconds later the hosts broke the deadlock. Lopez could do nothing with Alonso's free-kick finding the top left corner of goal.

Early in the second half, Mattia De Sciglio tried his luck from long range but saw his attempt go off target.

In the 52nd minute, Ilicic's right-footed shot from the heart of the area was kept out by Lopez.

Lopez was called on again to make a save to clear Gilberto's right-footed shot that was headed towards the near post.

The referee pointed to the spot shortly after when Ilicic fell in the area following a contact with Romagnoli.

Ilicic stepped up to take the spot-kick and hit a diagonal shot to beat the goalkeeper.

With 12 minutes remaining, Mihajlovic was looking for a spark and inserted Alessio Cerci in place of Bacca, but Milan failed to pose any more danger as Fiorentina held on for a first home victory.