AC MILAN v FIORENTINA: A PREVIOUS MEETING

Matchday 35 in Serie A and the fourth from last fixture of the season. AC Milan v Fiorentina is coming up and an extraordinary home crowd will be in attendance. The campaign is coming to an end and the Rossoneri fans will be lending their support in huge numbers at an exciting but critical moment. The Diavolo are very much in the title race and will be up against a really good side that won the reverse fixture, condemning AC Milan to their first defeat of the season in the process. It’s a showdown with plenty of history, and we’re taking you back to the clash that took place in front of a 55,000-strong crowd on matchday two in 2001.

SETTING THE SCENE
It was the 2001/02 campaign. Fatih Terim was in charge of the Rossoneri, while a certain Roberto Mancini was in his first coaching role after replacing Terim in the Viola dugout in January 2001. An interesting match was always on the cards, then, with the Rossoneri looking to pick up three points after their 2-2 draw with Brescia at the Rigamonti in their opening fixture (Brocchi and Sheva with the goals). Terim sent the team out in a 4-4-2 formation: Abbiati was selected between the sticks, while the back four consisted of Helveg, Laursen, Kaladze and Maldini. Serginho and Contra were chosen on the wings, with Gattuso and Albertini playing in central midfield. Inzaghi and Shevchenko were the two strikers.

FOUR GOALS IN THE FIRST HALF
The first goal was scored after 26 minutes, with Andriy Shevchenko beating Taglialatela to the ball to finish off a lovely team move. However, Fiorentina responded immediately as Enrico Chiesa fired past Abbiati with a powerful free kick. The game remained in the balance until the 40-minute mark, when Martin Laursen volleyed home from a corner to restore AC Milan’s advantage. Now riding a wave of enthusiasm, the Diavolo scored their third shortly afterwards, and it was a highly significant one, too: Pippo Inzaghi made the most of Pierini’s mistake at the back to net his first AC Milan goal.

IN CONTROL
The second half kicked off and the Rossoneri added their fourth: Sheva got on the end of Serginho’s corner to bag his second of the game. That wasn’t the only brace that day: Enrico Chiesa reduced the arrears in the 58th minute with another excellent finish. However, 20 minutes later, the Rossoneri put the game to bed once and for all: Shevchenko went from scorer to provider, setting up Serginho to score with a powerful left-footed strike at the near post. The first win of the season was in the bag.

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