AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli hailed Olivier Giroud after victory over Spezia.

Giroud grabbed an acrobatic winner as Milan defeated Spezia 2-1.

“It's a great (Sandro) Tonali ball, an even greater goal from Oli. It did remind me of the Francesco Totti one, which Roma scored against my Lazio. We were 2-0 up and it ended 2-2, that's what came to mind," Pioli told Sky Italia.

“I knew that Maldini was going to play and I had the sensation he was going to score too. You can just feel these things. I think it was ultimately the perfect night for Paolo Maldini, because his son scored and Milan still won.

“We should've finished the game in the first half, it is possible to concede a goal, but what we must not do is stop playing and lose our heads like that. We got the win eventually, it's an important result and a hard-fought one."

Giroud was already on a yellow card when he scored the winner and whipped off his shirt to celebrate, so was sent off.

Pioli added, “My first video call with Giroud was a very positive sensation, and all those were confirmed in working with him. He's very happy with us too. Considering his age, it was a naïve mistake!"