Serie A: Fiorentina Stunt Milan's Rise With 2-1 Defeat

AC Milan suffered a setback in their quest to climb the Serie A table after a 2-1 defeat to Fiorentina on Saturday.

The reigning champions, who had won four consecutive matches, missed the opportunity to move into second place.

Fiorentina, who are 12th in the table, earned the win through Nicolas Gonzalez's penalty early in the second half and a late Luka Jovic header. Milan managed to grab a consolation goal through Theo Hernandez.

The result leaves Milan fourth in the standings, level on points with Inter Milan, with Lazio a point ahead in second place.

The defeat for Milan will come as a relief to Atalanta, who remain in the hunt for Champions League qualification despite a goalless draw with Udinese.

Atalanta, who are currently in sixth place and five points off the top four, struggled to create chances against their out-of-form opponents. Rafael Toloi came closest to scoring for Atalanta in the final minute, but his dipping strike was expertly saved by Marco Silvestri. Udinese, who have only won one match since October, sit ninth in the table, level on points with Monza.

The match was played on the fifth anniversary of the death of former Fiorentina captain Davide Astori. The 31-year-old died in his sleep in a hotel room in 2018.

Astori had come through the youth ranks at Milan and was applauded by the crowd at the Stadio Artemio Franchi when play was stopped in the 13th minute in tribute to his old shirt number. Milan coach Stefano Pioli was in charge at Fiorentina at the time of Astori's death.

Milan will now turn their attention to Wednesday's Champions League match against Tottenham. They will hope to bounce back from their defeat to Fiorentina and secure a place in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, Inter Milan will look to close the gap on league leaders Napoli when they host Lecce on Sunday. Roma will also have the chance to move level on points with Milan when they face Juventus on Sunday evening.