AC Milan grab dramatic late equaliser against Fiorentina as Inter gear up for Napoli showdown
AC Milan squandered the opportunity to draw level with Inter Milan atop Serie A on Sunday following a thrilling 1-1 deadlock with Fiorentina, prior to their derby adversaries confronting Scudetto contenders Napoli.
Christopher Nkunku unleashed a fierce shot to equalise for Milan in the 90th minute at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, thwarting Fiorentina from securing only their third triumph in a challenging campaign.
Fiorentina seemed poised to claim the victory after Pietro Comuzzo nodded in the first goal during the 66th minute, however Nkunku's timely intervention stranded the Tuscan side on 14 points in 18th position.
The home team nearly snatched full points on two occasions in added time, as fresh recruit Marco Brescianini rattled the crossbar from close proximity and Milan custodian Mike Maignan lunged to deny Moise Kean at his feet, preventing the Italian forward from scoring a decisive goal.
"We performed strongly in the opening half and generated plenty of openings that we could not finish," Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri remarked to DAZN.
"We hold second place in the table and must sustain it, yet we also require sharper finishing when we control the match."
Milan face the prospect of trailing the leaders by five points later Sunday, with Inter set to battle defending title holders Napoli who chase a seventh successive league win.
Napoli led by Antonio Conte are two points behind Milan and would ascend to second with a success at the San Siro.
Fiorentina trail Genoa by two points, with the latter perched just above the relegation spots, and they entertain Cagliari on Monday night.
Paolo Vanoli's outfit appears to be rounding into form with just one loss across their previous five fixtures, and the followers have warmed back up after prolonged demonstrations against subpar outcomes and disorganisation off the pitch.
The crowd cheered Fiorentina as they exited the field following the second straight contest where they were hauled back late, a Pedro stoppage-time penalty robbing them of points versus Lazio on Wednesday.