Defeated Fiorentina 2-0, Inter Milan Seize Capolista from AC Milan

DBasia.news – Inter Milan won the Serie A capolista after beating Fiorentina with a score of 2-0 in the match played at the Artemio Franchi Stadium, Florence, Saturday (6/2/2021) in the morning of Wita.

The Nerazzurri are now one point ahead of city rivals AC Milan with 47 points, while Fiorentina are stuck in 11th place with 22 points. Inter can then focus on the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final against Juventus at Allianz Stadium, Wednesday (10/2/2021) in the morning of Wita. At the first meeting, Antonio Conte’s team lost 1-2. “We went to the top, that’s the most important thing. Now, we go to Turin to win,” said Ivan Perisic, Inter Milan striker.

Inter’s opening goal against Fiorentina was scored by Nicolo Barella in the 30th minute, before Ivan Perisic’s goal doubled their lead in the 51st minute. “I think we played a good match. We had a lot of chances, even though we could have closed the game earlier, but we took three important points,” said Perisic.

Inter, who were not accompanied by coach Antonio Conte because they had to undergo suspension, pressed from the start. The first good chance came from Barella and goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski was able to hold it with one hand. Fiorentina struggled to keep up with Inter’s pace, and were less dangerous on the counterattack.

After Barella’s chances, Inter didn’t create many chances but they controlled most of the game. Fiorentina took advantage of it to steal a chance through Dusan Vlahovic, whose shot was kept by goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.

Inter continued to press and they needed a magical moment from Barella, who found space to shoot from outside the area. His curling kick then sank into the top corner of the host’s goal beyond Dragowski to reach. Handanovic was then again threatened, when Giacomo Bonaventura entered the penalty box and fired a shot. The ball can still be deflected by Handanovic over the crossbar.

Inter doubled their lead at the start of the second half. Achraf Hakimi lurched down the right to send a pass which was completed perfectly by Perisic who was not guarded in front of goal. Moments later it was Romelu Lukaku’s turn to break into Fiorentina’s goal using Perisic’s ball, but the referee considered an offside and did not authorize the goal. Hakimi continues to be a threat on the right side. He sends the ball to Lukaku in the middle, the Belgian takes one touch before throwing a shot wide.

A struggling Fiorentina put up a fight for Inter to bring in Kevin Malcuit and Aleksandr Kokorin in the final stages of the second half, hoping to turn things around. But Inter are still in control of the game. They still had their last good chance when substitute Lautaro Martinez teamed up with Lukaku to force goalkeeper Dragowski into another save.

Regardless of the results Milan will get against Crotone on Sunday (7/2/2021), Inter will hope to pocket their third consecutive win against Lazio on Sunday (14/2/2021). On the other hand, Fiorentina will try to get back to winning ways when they visit Sampdoria headquarters on the same day.

In this match, Inter is still not Antonio Conte’s figure on the sidelines. The former coach of the Italian national team is still serving a suspended sentence from accompanying his team in two matches. This sanction was obtained by Conte after a conflict with the referee in the match against Udinese in the 19th Giornata.

Conte seemed to witness the struggles of his team against Fiorentina in the stadium stands. His job was again taken over by Inter’s assistant coach, Crstian Stellini. Previously, Stellini was also able to replace Conte’s role well in the match against Benevento. In that match, he led La Beneamata to win 4-0. * Ant