Rome, March 5 () Fiorentina paid tributes to late Davide Astori on his fifth anniversary with a morale-boosting victory as they beat AC Milan 2-1, here.
On March 4, 2018, Astori, the former captain of Fiorentina, was found dead in his room ahead of a Serie A match, reportedly caused by a cardiac arrest. The Viola then announced the retirement of his No. 13 jersey.
The match at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Saturday pitted two Astori’s former clubs as the defender came through the youth academy of AC Milan before moving to Fiorentina in 2015.
The home side were aggressive from the start but Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan provided a string of saves to keep the scoreline down. However, the Rossoneri found themselves on the back foot straight after the break as Jonathan Ikone was tripped down by Fikayo Tomori in the box, and Nico Gonzalez kept his cool to convert the penalty, a Xinhua report said.
Milan then put together a run of plays as Ante Rebic’s low strike was denied by Pietro Terracciano while Theo Hernandez’s solo was also blocked by the goalie.
The Diavoli’s situation went from bad to worse in the 87th minute as Luka Jovic’s header doubled the lead, which made Theo’s stunner in the dying minute only to be a consolation.
The defeat saw AC Milan drop to fourth place with 47 points, while Fiorentina rank 11th with 31.
Elsewhere, Atalanta were held to a goalless draw by Udinese, while Monza edged past Empoli 2-1.
ak/