A first-half penalty from Theo Hernandez helped AC Milan return to winning ways in Serie A with a 1-0 victory over Fiorentina.
Stefano Pioli’s champions had not won in the division since October after home defeats to Juventus and Udinese were sandwiched between 2-2 draws on the road at Napoli and Lecce before the international break.
While it was far from vintage Milan, France defender Hernandez made the difference with his second goal of the season after he won and converted a spot-kick at the end of the first half to earn a much-needed three points.
History was made late in the victory when Pioli introduced 15-year-old Francesco Camarda for his debut, making him the youngest ever player to appear in Serie A.
Milan’s hopes of a first league win since October 7 were dented by the absence of the suspended Olivier Giroud and injured attacker Rafael Leao.
Christian Pulisic was back after a hamstring injury though and he forced Pietro Terracciano into action midway through a tense first half at the San Siro.
After chances had been few and far between, Milan started to take a stranglehold of the contest with Davide Calabria denied, but Fiorentina remained a threat.
Eight-goal hitman Nicolas Gonzalez fired wide before the break and the half looked destined to end goalless until Hernandez took matters into his own hand in stoppage-time.
Full-back Hernandez was fouled inside the area by Fabiano Parisi and was able to dust himself down to slot home from 12 yards and make it 1-0 to Milan.
Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano had seen enough and introduced Maxime Lopez for Arthur at half-time.
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It had the desired effort with a string of opportunities created for Gonzalez, but a combination of Mike Maignan and the woodwork kept the hosts ahead.
Milan head coach Pioli brought off Pulisic on the hour mark after his prolonged absence, with ex-Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek brought on after his own recent return from injury.
And the chance to clinch the points arrived for the home side with 15 minutes left when Hernandez sent Luka Jovic clear, but Terracciano was equal to his effort.
Pioli sent on Camarda for Jovic in the 83rd minute and in the process made the 15-year-old the league’s youngest ever player, but Milan were indebted to a fine late save from Maignan to keep out Rolando Mandragora’s close-range effort and help his team end their four-match winless run in Serie A.
Roma part ways with De Rossi following winless Serie A start
Roma have confirmed the sacking of head coach Daniele De Rossi after the Italian failed to win any of his first four Serie A games this season.
De Rossi replaced Jose Mourinho as interim boss back in January, and had only signed a contract extension with the club in June until 2027.
But a run of three draws and one defeat to start the new campaign has seen the 41-year-old part ways with the club he made 616 appearances for as a player.
Roma's draw with Genoa last Sunday marked only the fourth time in their history after 1974-75, 1984-85 and 2010-11 that the Giallorossi had failed to win any of their first four Serie A games.
Koni De Winter's late leveller for Genoa also extended Roma's barren run to just one win from their last 11 games in all competitions (drawn six and lost four).
"AS Roma announces that Daniele De Rossi has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the first team," a club statement said.
"The club's decision is made in the best interests of the team, to get back on the desired path as soon as possible at a time when the season is still in its early stages.
"A heartfelt thank you to Daniele, who will always be at home at the Giallorossi club, for the work he has done in recent months with passion and dedication.
"Communication regarding the team's technical guidance will follow."
The Italian oversaw 30 games in charge of Roma in all competitions, winning 14 of those (drawn nine and lost seven), while scoring 46 goals.
His time at the Stadio Olimpico came to an end having averaged 1.70 points per match, accumulating a total win percentage of 46.67%.
Kane believes Bayern can improve further after nine-goal Zagreb rout
Harry Kane insisted Bayern Munich have further room for improvement after scoring four goals in their record-breaking 9-2 Champions League rout of Dinamo Zagreb.
Kane netted four times – including three from the penalty spot – as records tumbled in the Bavarian giants' first European outing under new boss Vincent Kompany.
Tuesday's four-goal haul took Kane to 33 Champions League goals, surpassing Wayne Rooney (30) as the top-scoring Englishman in the history of the competition.
It was the 24th hat-trick of Kane's professional career for club and country, while he became the first player to ever score three penalties in a single European Cup/Champions League game.
Bayern, meanwhile, are the first team to ever score nine times in a Champions League match, with Real Madrid being the last side to do so in the old European Cup in 1990 (9-1 versus Wacker Innsbruck).
Kane, however, told DAZN there are areas in which Bayern must improve, having been joined on the scoresheet by Michael Olise (twice), Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka.
"It was an amazing game. The first half was really good, we took our chances," the England captain said.
"We didn't start the second half well and got caught from a couple of second balls. We'll have to learn from that.
"Today we got away with that bad start in the second half, but against top opposition we could get punished for that.
"But the reaction afterwards was really good. It's great to score all these goals."
The only blot on Bayern's victory – which took them to the top of the Champions League's new 36-team league table – came as Manuel Neuer was substituted at half-time.
The goalkeeper had earlier appeared to be in discomfort after colliding with Zagreb striker Bruno Petkovic, but he played down concerns over his condition after the match.
Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone, Neuer said: "I collied there and I was a bit gone.
"Then I hit a few balls and the pain stabbed me in the thigh. But it's nothing serious, a small matter."
Inzaghi focused on revamped Champions League, not 2023 final 'rematch' with Man City
Simone Inzaghi is not treating Inter's Champions League opener at Manchester City on Wednesday as a rematch of last year's final.
The Scudetto winners were beaten 1-0 by Pep Guardiola's side in the 2023 final, as Rodri's finish in Istanbul proved the difference.
Inzaghi is adamant that changes to the Champions League format and the fact that there is much less riding on the result make it very different to their previous encounter.
"Tomorrow starts a new Champions League, that will be very different," the Inter head coach told a press conference on Tuesday.
"I re-watched [the final] a month ago when we were in training camp. I don't think it's a rematch because it's not a final, it's a group game in the new Champions League format."
Inzaghi was enthusiastic about the changes to the format, with clubs playing eight matches in a 36-team league phase instead of the previous group stage.
But he said he was also aware of the burden on players from the amount of games they will now play after Man City midfielder Rodri said players were on the verge of going on strike.
"We know that you play a lot and we coaches are aware of that. I can say that preparing these games for a coach is beautiful and exciting," Inzaghi added.
"I know there are problems, but we are counting on getting through. I will have to alternate as many players as possible, we are without [Federico] Dimarco and [Marko] Arnautovic, but we have been used to having a sometimes limited rotation for two years now."
Inzaghi added that he was pushing his team to be aggressive and determined despite City having not lost at home in the competition since 2018.
"We will need a lot of components to make a great match," he concluded.
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