A Nigel de Jong goal midway through the first half has given AC Milan a 1-0 half-time lead against Fiorentina in this evening's Serie A clash at the San Siro.

The hosts had the best of the early exchanges as Ignazio Abate's cross in the third minute connected with Jeremy Menez, whose shot cleared the crossbar.

Abate and Sulley Muntari had more chances to break the deadlock in the eighth minute, but both had shots blocked before they could reach the goal.

Aside from an Alberto Aquilani shot that was blocked on the quarter-hour mark, Fiorentina were largely toothless in the early stages of the first half.

In the 25th minute, Milan took the lead when Cristian Zapata's headed flick-on following a corner fell to De Jong, who made no mistake with a close-range header into the bottom corner.

Juan Cuadrado and Jasmin Kurtic pushed forward in a bid to find an equaliser, but the hosts were able to hold their advantage into the break.