At home at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence, Fiorentina won 2–1. Argentine Nicolás González led the way with his penalty goal four minutes into the second half.
Milan coach Stefano Pioli opted for a triple substitution in the 66th minute and in came Ibrahimovic, Tiémoué Bakayoko and Divock Origi.
There were two reasons:
Healthy legs were needed to reverse the 0–1 deficit in Florence.
Healthy legs are needed in the trio who stepped down – Ismael Bennacer, Ante Rebic and Olivier Giroud – in next week’s return meeting with Tottenham in the last 16 of the Champions League.
The changes did not have any major effect. Ibrahimovic was involved in a few duels and came to an end in pursuit of an equalizer and the personal goal of becoming Serie A’s all-time top goalscorer.
But the shot, a wide side in stoppage time, was lame and did not trouble goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano
Shortly before that, Serbian Luka Jovic had sent in 2–0 for the home team.
The reduction and the most beautiful goal of the evening was provided by Theo Hernandez, a sharp shot into the roof of the net in the fifth additional minute.
Milan went into the match with three straight wins behind them, but with the loss lost ground to runners-up Lazio, who surprisingly beat league leaders Napoli away 1-0 on Friday.
The match was played on the anniversary of Davide Astori’s death on 4 March 2018. Astori played for both Fiorentina and Milan and was applauded by both clubs’ supporters before and during the match.
Astori turned 31 years old.