AC Milan staged a spirited comeback from a nightmare opening to earn a 2-2 draw with Fiorentina in a pulsating contest, though the result leaves both sides with little progress in their hunt for European qualification.
The game got off to a disastrous start for Milan when a careless pass from Yunus Musah in the final third gifted possession to Albert Gudmundsson.
The Fiorentina forward darted down the left and sent in a low ball across the face of goal for Moise Kean, but in a chaotic attempt to intervene, Malick Thiaw inadvertently turned it into his own net.
Fiorentina didn’t wait long to double their advantage. Rolando Mandragora floated a cross to the far post, where Dodo headed it down, and this time Kean beat Fikayo Tomori to the ball, smashing it home from five yards out.
Rafael Leao had a golden chance to reduce the deficit on 20 minutes after racing onto a long ball over the top, but instead of going for goal, he opted to square it.
The delivery, however, was too powerful for either Tammy Abraham or Musah to latch onto.
Gudmundsson threatened again, forcing Mike Maignan into a save, but Milan finally found a foothold when Abraham muscled past Dodo, exchanged passes with Christian Pulisic, and coolly slotted in from eight yards.
Recognizing the urgency, coach Sergio Conceicao acted quickly, substituting Musah after just 24 minutes following his rough start and sending on former Fiorentina striker Luka Jovic.
Luca Ranieri came up big for Fiorentina, making a vital sliding block to deny Abraham from a Jovic assist.
Moments later, Ranieri thought he had scored a spectacular curler into the top corner, but the goal was disallowed for a previous foul by Parisi on Pulisic.
Maignan kept Milan in it with a smart stop at the near post to deny Kean, while at the other end, David De Gea produced a sharp leg save on Abraham’s header from a Pulisic cross.
The second half exploded into action with a breathtaking triple chance. De Gea blocked Tijjani Reijnders’ effort, then reacted quickly to keep out Pulisic’s close-range attempt, before Santiago Gimenez fired into the side netting.
Maignan was also called into action to stop Lucas Beltran from close range, but Milan drew level when Tomori’s intended through ball for Gimenez rolled past the striker and into the path of Jovic, who fired past De Gea from eight yards.
The game remained wide open. A long ball put Kean through on goal again, only for Maignan to make a stunning one-on-one save. Mandragora then wasted a good opportunity, blasting over, before De Gea was tested by a fierce near-post drive from Theo Hernandez.
De Gea had to charge outside his area moments later to stop Gimenez after a clever ball from Pulisic, but the Mexican forward took a hard fall on his ribs and was forced to leave the pitch.
Chances continued to flow at both ends—Kean’s header was comfortably held by Maignan, and Hernandez skied a shot on the counter. Maignan again came to Milan’s rescue with a sharp one-handed save from a Kean rocket.
Fiorentina thought they had stolen the victory in the 89th minute when Dodo rifled a sensational volley into the roof of the net with the outside of his boot. However, the goal was chalked off, as he was offside on Nicolò Fagioli’s lofted pass.
Despite the drama, the spoils were shared, leaving both clubs needing more as they chase continental competition.
