Inter left on Saturday night for Florence in an effort to defeat Fiorentina and continue their winning streak. At the end of the day, they were able to win the game, but it wasn’t an easy task for them to do so because their opponents hung on to the game all the way to the final whistle.
The usual 4-3-3 formation was used by Vincenzo Italiano, with Christian Kouamé and Nicolas Gonzalez flanking Arthur Cabral at the front of the line. Giacomo Bonaventura, Alfred Duncan, and Sofyan Amrabat met in the centre of the park.
André Onana remained in the opposite corner of Simone Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 formation, which also included Stefan de Vrij, Francesco Acerbi, and Milan Skriniar as the back three. Federico Dimarco and Matteo Darmian were pushed to the wings.
Hakan Calhanoglu continued to play an unusual Regista role alongside Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Nicolo Barella because Marcelo Brozovic was still injured, while the Argentine forward pairing of Lautaro Martinez and Joaquin Correa were given free reign.
Quickly taking the lead in the second minute, the visitors wasted no time. The Fiorentina defenders were forced to move out of position by some deft Inter forward movement, creating room for Barella’s run.
Although it wasn’t the most skillful of finishes, Barella still was able to beat Terraciano from close distance and extend his current goal-scoring streak after receiving an exquisite assist from Lautaro.
Gonzalez had to leave the field early due to an injury, which made things worse for the Viola. Jonathan Ikoné was used by Italiano as a stand-in.
As the home team pushed for an equaliser, Lautaro ended their hopes of a quick turnaround by brilliantly doubling the Nerazzurri’s lead with a solo effort, capitalising on some shoddy defending from the Tuscans.
The Argentine star outran Terraciano with a storming run before launching a low drive that gave Terraciano absolutely no chance.
It’s to their credit that Fiorentina didn’t give up; instead, they continued to charge forward and eventually were awarded a penalty kick. Despite Bonaventura’s poor connection with the cross inside the box, Dimarco’s late challenge still caught him, and after a VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot. Before halftime, Arthur successfully converted the penalty kick, giving the hosts new hope.
Italiano went all-out after the break, adding Luka Jovic as a second striker. To the delight of the Franchi crowds, the Florentines snatched an equaliser at the hour mark with a magnificent counter.
Ikoné was picked up by Kouamé with an exquisite pass across the field, and after the latter fought off Acerbi, he sent a beautiful curling shot to the far post.
The Fiorentina comeback, however, was only temporary as Lautaro’s unstoppable penalty kick for Inter quickly gave them the lead again.
As soon as he entered the game, Edin Dzeko made an impact by deftly sending Martinez through on goal with a pass, and the latter was tripped by Terraciano’s frantic hand. The spot kick’s legality was confirmed by VAR, and the Argentine’s execution of it was simply flawless.
Fiorentina managed to score another equaliser in the first minute of extra time, however, just as Inter thought they had secured all three points. Nikola Milenkovic skillfully guided an excellent corner kick from Aleksa Terzic, and his compatriot Jovic stunned the guests with a spectacular volley that flew past a sea of players.
However, there was still one more surprise in store for the audience as a quick counterattack won the match for the Beneatama. Lorenzo Venuti aimed the ball directly at Mkhitaryan while attempting to clear it. Crazy celebrations broke out in the opposing team’s dugout after the ball bounced off the fortunate Armenian’s leg and into the goal.
Inter managed to maintain their reemergence while trying to keep up with Napoli’s chasing pack by outlasting Fiorentina in a thrilling 4-3 victory.
The Nerazzurri will now focus on Europe because they will have the chance to clinch their place in the Champions League knockout rounds on Wednesday when they host Viktoria Plzen.
So where do we begin? A match for the ages comes to a spellbinding conclusion when Mkhitaryan’s winning goal in extra time gives Inter a 4-3 victory by breaking hearts in purple. The game was on a knife-edge after Ikone’s exquisite equaliser on the hour, with chances for both teams to win it and three more goals flying in before the final horn.
When Martinez’s penalty attempt appeared to have given Inter the victory, Jovic popped up to score a late equaliser. The stadium was in raptures as the extra five minutes wore on, but Mkhitaryan’s breakaway goal sealed the victory for Inter and whipped up the opposing supporters instead! You won’t find many games this season in Serie A or even Europe that were better than that half and game!
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