AC Milan and Fiorentina both came into this game needed a win,but for completely opposite reasons. Milan would have been looking to keep pace with Atalanta, who won earlier in the day against Genoa, while Fiorentina would have just been looking for any kind of positive result after having not won in five matches, and having only drawn once since former Milan manager Vincenzo Montella made his return to Florence. Milan was the dominant team in the first half, enjoying the the majority of possession, chances, shots, and corner kicks. Fiorentina seemed second-best to every ball and weren’t able to really put very much pressure on Gigio Donnarumma. Even when Fiorentina were able to put pressure on the Milan keeper, Donnarumma did well to snuff out any real chances that came his way. Milan were rewarded in the first half for their attacking intent, with Hakan Calhanoglu getting a goal from a pretty good assist from Suso. Calhanoglu rose above the crowd to get a header on Suso’s cross/shot and his effort did well to get past the hands of the Viola keeper, Alban Lafont. Not much else from either team in the first half, at least attacking-wise, and Milan went into half-time up a goal, and perhaps could have been by more had Franck Kessie made a poor decision to shoot instead of pick out a pass. Fiorentina looked better in the second half, as they attempted to claw their way back into the match while Milan looked a tad worse for wear. Kevin Mirallas tried to insist he’d won a penalty in the second half, but the referee and VAR weren’t interested and play was waved on. Fiorentina continued to threaten, and came close a few other times. Donnarumma was well-tested in the second half, with the Italy national team keeper having to bail out his team on a number of occasions. Patrick Cutrone was brought on for Krzysztoff Piatek in the 74th minute, and he came close to doubling Milan’s lead in the 80th minute, but his shot drifted just past the post and rolled harmlessly out of touch. Replays confirmed that Cutrone probably should have put the ball in the back of the net, but such is the life of a Milan fan right now. Fabio Borini was taken off for Diego Laxalt in the 88th minute after getting bloodied defending in the Milan box through a clash of heads. Milan saw out the rest of the match and kept the clean sheet, while Fiorentina has now only scored one goal in their past five matches and were condemned to yet another defeat. Milan did their best to get a win despite missing a few pieces and while they still sit in fifth place, they are only a point behind Inter Milan for fourth place and will go into Sunday ahead of AS Roma by three points.<doc-sep>Fiorentina won the reverse match against AC Milan; the last time they won both league games against the Rossoneri in a Serie A campaign was back in 2000/01. AC Milan have won just one of their last seven away Serie A matches against Fiorentina (D4 L2). The last time Fiorentina went 11 consecutive games without a win in a single Serie A campaign was back in 1989/90 (12 games) – they have played out five draws and six defeats in the current streak. AC Milan have picked up only one point in their last four away league games and have conceded at least once in each of their last seven matches on the road. Two of AC Milan’s last three goals in Serie A have been scored by substitutes; the Rossoneri had seen just one of their previous 46 goals in top-flight netted by a substitute before this. The Rossoneri line-up for this evening's clash in Florence #FiorentinaMilan: la formazione ufficiale ⚫@BioscalinITA pic.twitter.com/93FnXxb8ev — AC Milan (@acmilan) May 11, 2019 Across both Fiorentina and AC Milan, Vincenzo Montella has picked up just two points in his last six Serie A matches as a manager and his teams have only scored two goals in this period. Fiorentina are yet to win at home in Serie A in 2019 (D6 L2); indeed, the Viola haven’t scored a goal in their last three league matches at Franchi. Federico Chiesa has been directly involved in three of Fiorentina's last four goals against AC Milan in Serie A (one goal and two assists). AC Milan striker Krzysztof Piatek, has attempted just two shots on target in his last 292 minutes of play in Serie A (four games and zero goals); he had fired in six (scoring two goals) in his previous 270 before this. Since April, Muriel, Simeone and Chiesa have attempted 44 shots combined for Fiorentina in Serie A without scoring a single goal.<doc-sep>Betting Preview: Fiorentina vs AC Milan: Can Gennaro Gattuso’s men avoid defeat in Florence? Previous outings between these teams have been tight and intense, and punters should expect more of the same this time around AC Milan visits Fiorentina at Stadio Artemio Franchi in a crucial Serie A clash on Saturday evening. The 18-time Serie A champions would be determined to cart away with all three points from this game, on a ground they are undefeated in five of their last seven league visits (W1 D4 L2). They will be looking to strengthen their league position in a bid to secure European qualification as they have lost four of their last eight Serie A outings (W2 D2). A victory for the Rossoneri is valued at (2.37) odds with Bet365. Their last two outings between Milan and Fiorentina at the Artemio Franchi have ended in a stalemate. Hence, a draw is offered at (3.30). Moreover, new La Viola manager Vicenzo Montella has lost four of his first five matches and the men in purple are without a win in their last 13 matches in all competitions (D6 L7). They were victorious over the San Siro giants in the reverse match and are unbeaten in their last four games against them on home soil (W2 D2). They are priced at odds of (2.90) with the same bet firm to come out victorious. AC Milan and Fiorentina have been very poor defensively but can be trusted to score goals as they have both failed to keep a clean sheet in eight and nine games of their 10 previous league games respectively. Gattuso’s men should prove too strong for the Purples and should avoid defeat with both teams finding the back of the net. This is offered at (2.37) odds with Bet365. Odds correct at the time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>
AC Milan moved to within a point of Serie A's top four with a 1-0 victory over Fiorentina at the Artemio Franchi on Saturday. A first-half header from Hakan Calhanoglu was enough to give Gennaro Gattuso's side maximum points against the struggling Viola. The result puts pressure back on Atalanta in third and Inter in fourth in the race for a place in next season's Champions League. Alban Lafont made two smart saves in the space of three minutes to deny Suso and Calhanoglu, as Milan made all the early running in Florence against a team with only one win in all competitions since the start of February. They got the breakthrough 10 minutes before the interval, with Calhanoglu glancing Suso's curling cross from the right into the bottom-left corner. Fiorentina showed far more endeavour in the early minutes of the second half and Gianluigi Donnarumma reacted well to keep out Kevin Mirallas' strike after the Belgian forward's strong run. Donnarumma then had to claw the ball away from the right-hand corner of his net after Franck Kessie sent it goalwards, and only a combination of goalkeeper and Alessio Romagnoli stopped Federico Chiesa as Fiorentina pushed. They could not find a way through Donnarumma or a resilient Milan defence, though, and it could have been worse had substitute Patrick Cutrone not wasted a clear chance on the counter-attack with 10 minutes left. What does it mean? Milan's top-four chase still alive Atalanta's victory over Genoa earlier meant Milan realistically had to win to keep the pressure on in the race for the top four. They are now only three points adrift of Gian Piero Gasperini's side and one behind Inter, who face relegated Chievo on Monday. As for Fiorentina, a fifth loss in a row and 14 games without a win means the end of the season cannot come soon enough. Donnarumma dominant A first clean sheet in nine Milan appearances in all competitions will have been welcome for Donnarumma, who showed excellent reactions to keep Vincenzo Montella's side at bay. Piatek continues to misfire It is now five games without a goal in Serie A for Krzysztof Piatek, who looked off the pace throughout his 74 minutes on the pitch. What's next? Milan host Frosinone next Sunday, while Fiorentina head to Parma.