The 20-year-old, who has suffered a number of injuries and gone away on loan twice since signing from Caen, struck twice in a 4-1 win over Sampdoria on Saturday.
Niang had made 35 Serie A appearances for Milan withoutfinding the net before Saturday, and his only previous goal for the club came in the Italian Cup almost three years ago.
He began to make up for lost time in eye-catching fashion against Sampdoria, first setting up Giacomo Bonaventura for Milan’s opener in the 16th minute and then scoring from the penalty spot in the 38th after being brought down by Lorenzo De Silvestri.
The attacker added a third four minutes after the break,before being substituted to a standing ovation in the 74th minute.
"I am very happy, as I’d been waiting a long time for a night like this," Niang said to Mediaset Premium after the match. “All the hard work paid off and I hope to continue like this.
"I like to play as a centre-forward. I prefer to play in attack, as I can keep the ball up in front of goal, but I can also help on the wings as I already have done.
"I want to thank (Milan team mate) Mario Balotelli, as he sent me a text after the game. I feel great, I work hard every day in training."
The win -- Milan’s seventh of the season -- was the perfect response to last weekend’s 1-0 defeat by rivals Juventus and takes Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side up to fifth in the table on 23 points ahead of Sunday’s fixtures.
"Niang picked up an injury in pre-season when he was one of the best performers," the coach said in his post-match news conference.
"He is now getting back to full fitness, but his performances are not a surprise. Rather, he is simply showing once more what he is capable of."
(Reporting by Eddy Dove. Editing by Patrick Johnston)
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