FIORENTINA DEFEAT MILAN PRIMAVERA
Youth Teams
A disappointing afternoon for the Rossoneri Primavera at Viola Park. Fiorentina vs. AC Milan, a fixture on Matchday 8 of the league season, ended in a 4-2 victory for the hosts and reigning Italian champions. The scoreline was harsh on Giovanni Renna's side in a game decided by key moments and a hat-trick from Croci, born in 2010, who was also sent off with a second yellow card in the 75th minute. Beldenti scored Fiorentina's fourth. Despite falling behind, the Rossoneri showed plenty of character and fought back through headers from Anastasio and Zaramella, who scored their second and first goals of the season, respectively.
AC Milan were unable to build on their impressive victory over Cagliari, allowing Fiorentina to draw level with them on 10 points in the standings. Looking ahead, the team will need to build on the positives from today's performance. These include the goals from Anastasio and Zaramella and the positive impact of substitutes Domniței, Ibrahimović and Dotta. The coming days will offer further opportunities to put their hard work at the PUMA House of Football into practice. Before traveling to face Monza on Matchday 9 (Saturday, October 31, at 1:00 p.m.), the Rossoneri will make their Coppa Italia debut. They host Catanzaro, the current leaders of Primavera 2 Group B, on Wednesday, October 28, at 3:00 p.m.
CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM FIORENTINA vs. AC MILAN
MATCH REPORT
The game began at a slow pace at Viola Park, with little to report in the opening stages apart from speculative efforts from Zaramella and Geroli. However, the deadlock was broken in the tenth minute. Martini delivered a low cross from the right, and Croci fired home first time, leaving Catalano with no chance. The Rossoneri responded with determination, with Zanaga particularly lively. In the 39th minute, Grassini tried his luck from a tight angle, forcing a crucial deflection from the Fiorentina defense. The resulting corner led to a lengthy spell of Rossoneri possession, which ended with Zanaga firing a left-footed effort over the bar. Fiorentina finished the first half strongly, but the score remained unchanged.
Neither side made changes at halftime, and Zaramella threatened with a header in the 49th minute, sending the ball wide. Coach Renna then introduced Domniței and Samb as he looked to push his team further forward. However, the hosts doubled their lead in the 60th minute. After a yellow card for Cissé at the other end, Fiorentina broke quickly, and Croci grabbed his second. The Rossoneri's misfortune continued when Samb suffered an injury shortly after coming on. But AC Milan refused to give up. In the 68th minute, Anastasio made a well-timed run into the box and headed home Ibrahimović's cross to halve the deficit. A dramatic finish followed. Croci completed his hat-trick in the 74th minute but was sent off just two minutes later for a foul on Nolli. With a numerical advantage, the Rossoneri pushed forward and pulled another goal back in the third minute of stoppage time. Zaramella rose to meet a cross and scored with an excellent header to make it 3-2. However, Fiorentina had the final say, with Samuel Beldenti scoring a fourth for the hosts in the closing seconds.
MATCH DETAILS
FIORENTINA 4-2 AC MILAN
FIORENTINA (3-4-3): Fei; Corduneanu, Turnone, Melani; A. Martini (86' Bošković), S. Beldenti, Cianciulli (62' Matarán), Perrotti (62' Pietropaolo); Forte (77' Campaniello), Egharevba (77' Angeloni), Croci. Subs: Zipoli; Barbone, D. Beldenti, Tosti; Bianchini, Chiti. Coach: Andreazzoli.
AC MILAN (4-3-3): Catalano; Nolli, Messaoudi, Cullotta, Tartaglia; Grassini (54' Samb; 62' Ibrahimović), Cissé (68' Dotta), Geroli; Anastasio, Zaramella, Zanaga (54' Domniței). Subs: Pantelin; Calvani, Vechiu; T. Martini, Mazzeo; Colombo, Petrone. Coach: Renna.
Referee: Tierno from Sala Consilina.
Goals: 10', 60' and 74' Croci (F); 68' Anastasio (M); 90'+3 Zaramella (M); 90'+6 S. Beldenti (F).
Booked: 59' Cissè (M), 68' Egharevba (F), 75' Croci (F).
Sent-off: 77' Croci (F) for a second bookable offence.
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