Inter Milan struck twice in stoppage time to complete a remarkable 2-1 comeback win over Fiorentina and return to the summit of Serie A on Sunday. The Inter Fiorentina 2-1 result lifted Inter to first place, level with surprise fellow pace-setters Lazio on 22 points, while Juventus and AC Milan both bounced back with victories.
Alex Jimenez’s rocket strike had struggling Fiorentina heading for a shock win at San Siro, but Marcus Thuram levelled in the 91st minute before winning a penalty that Piotr Zielinski converted in the 98th minute.
Inter’s fifth comeback win of the season saw them concede for the 10th time, but head coach Cristian Chivu was unconcerned by his side’s defensive issues.
How Inter Fiorentina 2-1 was decided late
Chivu’s side had the better of the first half but could not find a way past David de Gea, and it was the visitors who struck first against the run of play after 65 minutes. Former AC Milan player Jimenez took debutant Inter goalkeeper Ivan Provedel by surprise with an audacious angled strike from distance that flew into the top corner.
De Gea had produced a fingertip save to deny Pio Esposito’s header before reacting sharply to parry Thuram’s angled effort. The Fiorentina goalkeeper was called into action again early in the second half, tipping a powerful Thuram strike over the crossbar.
Inter piled forward in search of an equaliser and eventually found it in added time when Thuram guided a shot into the bottom corner. The France international then won a penalty in the dying seconds, which Zielinski converted to complete a pulsating victory.
“That is football: sometimes you concede,” Chivu told DAZN. “The important thing is not to let your heads drop and to maintain the same mentality. Ever since I arrived here, I have always said that games last 90 minutes. I do not want to see people feel sorry for themselves. I want to see players respond to setbacks.”
Milan and Juve return to form
Milan continued their unbeaten start to the league season and responded to their midweek drubbing in Bournemouth by claiming a confident win away to Udinese. Christian Pulisic put the Rossoneri in front by plucking a long Luka Modric pass out of the air and finishing calmly after six minutes, and Omari Hutchinson doubled their lead with his first Milan goal from close range in the second half.
“We need time to work on several things, but we do not have time sometimes even to address the problems we had in the last game,” Milan coach Ruben Amorim told DAZN. “We are learning in the games, with videos, in team meetings, because for three weeks we have barely had any training. I am proud of these lads, because they are paying attention to everything.”
Milan moved level with third-placed AS Roma on 18 points after claiming their first away league win. It continued a desperate run of form for Udinese, whose losing run was extended to six games to leave them in 17th place.
Juventus claimed a much-needed win away to Lecce to relieve some pressure on head coach Luciano Spalletti. Last weekend’s humbling 3-0 defeat at home to Lazio left Juve in mid-table with one win in five league games, and a 2-2 midweek Europa League draw with Rennes did little to improve the mood in Turin.
But they bounced back as Weston McKennie steered home a Douglas Luiz free-kick before the Brazilian midfielder scored one of his own by whipping a shot into the bottom corner before the break. Lecce threatened in the second half but their evening ended on a sour note when Kialonda Gasper was sent off in the final minute.
Spalletti told Sky Sport: “We had a very good game in terms of playing quick, heads-up football. We dropped off a bit with our management of the second half, and then everything became more difficult because we had less courage. We needed to do the same things we did in the first half.”
Atalanta and Frosinone drew 4-4 in Bergamo, while Genoa beat bottom side Venezia 1-0.
European football context was covered in our report on the Clasico win for Real Madrid. Milan’s European setback was covered in our report on Bournemouth thrashing AC Milan.
