Leao double fires Milan past Fiorentina and top of Serie A

Rafael Leao shot AC Milan to the top of Serie A on Sunday with a brace, including a late penalty, in a 2-1 win over Fiorentina and former coach Stefano Pioli.

Portugal winger Leao gave Milan the points at the San Siro with a coolly-taken spot-kick with four minutes remaining, pushing his team one point ahead of local rivals Inter Milan, Napoli and Roma.

That goal capped Leao’s first league start of the season, and came after he drew the hosts level in the 63rd minute with a brilliantly struck effort from distance.

Milan took advantage of both Napoli and Roma losing in a low-scoring weekend in Italy’s top flight, which has featured seven goals and four goalless draws in the nine matches played so far.

Cremonese and Udinese complete the seventh round of matches on Monday night.

Leao’s goal was a relief for Milan coach Massmiliano Allegri, who has had to deal with a spate of injuries, including to key players Adrien Rabiot and Christian Pulisic who were hurt on international duty and will not be back for weeks.

The 26-year-old’s brace cancelled out Robin Gosens’s opener in the 55th minute for Fiorentina, who are still seeking their first league win of the season under former Milan coach Pioli and sit in the relegation zone.

Pioli won Serie A with Milan in 2022 but is struggling to get a tune out of Fiorentina, although Sunday night’s display was an improvement on others in the early weeks of the campaign.