Inter Ignites Serie A with a Revenge Win Over Fiorentina
Inter Milan, the reigning champion, intensified the race for the Serie A title by closing the gap to just one point behind leaders Napoli after securing a hard-fought revenge victory over Fiorentina (2-1) at the end of Matchday 24.
Inter’s goals came from a Marin Pongracic own goal (28′) and Austrian substitute Marko Arnautović (52′), while Fiorentina’s only goal was scored by Rolando Mandragora (44′ – penalty).
Inter had a golden opportunity to catch Napoli at the top when they faced Fiorentina last Thursday in a rescheduled Matchday 14 fixture, which had been postponed for two months following Fiorentina player Edoardo Bove’s cardiac arrest. However, Simone Inzaghi’s side suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat in Florence, allowing Napoli to maintain their three-point lead. This gap later widened to four points after Napoli’s 1-1 draw with Udinese on Sunday.
With this win, Inter now sits on 54 points from 16 league victories, while Fiorentina remains in sixth place with 42 points, missing the chance to overtake Lazio for fourth place on goal difference.
Inter now faces a crucial showdown against fierce rivals Juventus in Turin in the next matchday.
Match Events
Inter’s first real threat came from Brazilian Carlos Augusto, who fired a shot just wide of the left post after receiving a pass from a corner (21’). Argentine striker Lautaro Martínez nearly broke the deadlock with a powerful header from another corner, but it rattled off the crossbar (24’).
Shortly after, Simone Inzaghi was forced to make an early substitution, bringing on Marko Arnautović (28’) after French forward Marcus Thuram appeared to suffer a minor injury. From a controversial corner that Fiorentina players claimed had gone out of play, the delivery into the box saw Marin Pongracic attempt to clear the ball away from Martínez, only to deflect it into his own net (28’).
Arnautović almost doubled Inter’s lead with a right-footed strike, but Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea produced a fine save (31’).
Fiorentina was awarded a penalty after a VAR review confirmed that the ball had struck Matteo Darmian’s hand inside the box. Rolando Mandragora stepped up and calmly converted from the spot, scoring his first league goal of the season (44’).
Arnautović redeemed himself early in the second half, restoring Inter’s lead with a precise header from a Carlos Augusto cross (52’).
Nicolo Barella nearly put the game to bed with a curling free kick that narrowly missed the right post (57’), while Martínez had another headed effort from a corner but failed to find the net (63’).
Despite multiple attacking substitutions from Inzaghi, Inter’s attack lacked its usual sharpness. However, Fiorentina failed to capitalize, as they did not register a single shot on target in the second half.
