Inter now looking to see injury time off by slowing play down, much to the annoyance of the away team. This is evident by their increased foul count as we head towards the match’s conclusion.
90' +1
The teenager Vlahovic has a great chance to level the scoreline and earn his name in the headlines, but his header goes far and high to the left of Handanovic’s goal.
90'
According to the fourth official, we will have five minutes of added time.
88'
R. Gagliardini enters the game and replaces I. Perišić.
Gagliardini comes on for Perisic as Spalletti looks to shore up the midfield to preserve their fragile lead.
86'
Pjaca, who started brightly since coming on, has slowly been fading away as he is seeing less of the ball than he used to. He remains Fiorentina’s best chance of an equaliser.
84'
Kevin Mirallas gets yellow.
D. Vlahović enters the game and replaces M. Benassi.
Benassi, who has run his socks off in the Viola engine room all game, comes on for 18-year old forward Vlahovic for their last substitution of the match.
Frustration creeping into the Fiorentina players who know that they’ve thrown a good chance away, as Mirallas is booked for pulling down Brozovic.
81'
Keita unleashes a dipping shot from well outside the box, but his powerful strike goes just over the bar!
79'
Despite being the lesser side since half-time, Inter are on course for their first home win in the league, stopping a run that had began towards the end of last season. Barely deserved, but they will take it.
77'
D. D'Ambrosio has scored a goal for Inter Milan! Assist by M. Icardi.
INTER TAKE THE LEAD AGAINST THE RUN OF PLAY!! A quick throw-in leads to an intricate one-two between Icardi and the on-rushing D’Ambrosio, whose forward ventures finally pay off with a neat finish past Lafont. 2-1 to the Nerazzurri!
The goal-scorer has now turned provider, with Icardi possessing the wherewithal to sense D’Ambrosio in an onside position and unleashing him with a quick one-two for the full-back to do the rest.
Minute
Description
75'
The Viola players surround the referee once again after Chiesa tumbles under another Asamoah challenge, aware that he is already on a booking. However, the referee only gives a free-kick.
73'
Veretout loops in the resulting free-kick, and Milenkovic attempts to back-heel the ball over his head. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t hit the target and goes high over the ball.
72'
K. Asamoah gets yellow.
Chiesa goes down after being hit with Asamoah’s flailing arm. The Inter full-back gets a booking for his troubles.
70'
Great movement by Icardi as he ghosts into the box for a header which ends up high and wide, having connected with Asamoah’s telling cross.
68'
K. Baldé enters the game and replaces M. Vecino.
Another offensive change for Inter as they seek a first home win in five league matches, with Balde replacing Vecino on the left.
67'
Chiesa breaks with pace and purpose, flying into the opposition’s half, and lifts the ball just over the bar and well out of Handanovic’s reach. Goal-kick to the home side.
66'
Perisic takes a couple of corners which ultimately lead to nowhere, as Fiorentina clear the ball all the way into the Inter half.
64'
Gerson enters the game and replaces E. Fernandes.
A midfield change for the guests, as Edimilson makes way for Gerson.
63'
The substitute Pjaca is proving to be a nuisance for the Nerazzurri, letting fly another shot on target which Handanovic is once again alert to.
60'
Pjaca nearly gives Fiorentina the lead! He ghosts past his marker and unleashes a shot from distance which Handanovic nearly spills onto the oncoming Benassi, who almost connects with it but the ball is smothered at the last moment.
58'
M. Politano enters the game and replaces A. Candreva.
Inter’s first personnel change of the game is a straight swap on the wing, as Politano comes on in place of the impressive Candreva.
57'
The mood has shifted at the San Siro, as the home fans have started to turn on the Nerazzurri after being outplayed again by an away side on their turf.
55'
M. Pjaca enters the game and replaces G. Simeone.
A slightly surprising change here, as Simeone comes off for Pjaca in Fiorentina's first substitution of the game.
53'
M. Škriniar is unfortunate, scores an own goal!
FIORENTINA DRAW LEVEL! Chiesa lashes a shot from distance which hits Skriniar on its way to the back of the net! It's credited to the Inter centre-back because of his intervention, and it is now 1-1 at the San Siro! A deserved equaliser for the Viola!
Assist Vitor Hugo Franchescoli de Souza
50'
Candreva, who has been the game’s best player so far, drives at Beraghi, and forces a corner. The subsequent set-play connects with Candreva’s head, but goes wide of the left.
47'
Fiorentina start the second half with a corner conceded by Skriniar, but Mirallas’ outswinging set-piece is cleared away until it falls to Benassi. Handanovic is alert to his low shot though, making a comfortable save.
46'
The Viola get the second half underway!
45' +2
E. Fernandes gets yellow.
Fernandes gets his name into the referee’s book for a blunt tackle on Nainggolan.
HALF-TIME: INTER 1-0 FIORENTINA
45'
Penalty goal scored by M. Icardi for Inter Milan!
ICARDI BREAKS HIS DROUGHT! He calmly steps forward and sidefoots it expertly to his bottom right corner despite Lafont’s outstretched dive going the correct way. 1-0 Inter!!
42'
VAR is now required, as Candreva’s cross brushes Hugo's outstretched arm before it gets to the box. The referee stops play and looks at the footage, and has given the penalty after further review! Drama at the San Siro as the Fiorentina players are furiously surrounding Mazzoleni, as further replays have shown that the decision looks to be a harsh one on the away side.
40'
Despite the Nerazzurri looking the likelier to score given the threat that their wingers and Icardi carry, it’s their guests who have had the more clear-cut chances, hitting the post early on and Simeone’s shot which called Handanovic into action.
37'
Candreva blasts one well over the bar from distance, having been released by Brozovic in the midfield area.
35'
Inter momentarily slip up at the back once again, gifting the ball away to Fernandes just outside of their box. He fails to make anything of the opportunity though, and Inter once again deal with the danger.
33'
And as quick as a flash, Inter break away again, with Perisic managing to find space in the tightest of areas before having his shot blocked. The loose ball falls to Asamoah, whose wild shot from outside the box goes well wide to the right.
32'
SIMEONE WITH A GREAT CHANCE! Chiesa finds space in the Inter box before releasing a brilliant through-ball to Simeone, who was just onside, before rifling a low drive which forced a good save from Handanovic. The home side subsequently clear the ball away.
28'
Mirallas loops in a testing ball which Simeone and Handanovic both jump for, but the young Argentine comes off worse in the aerial clash despite fouling the goalkeeper. He’s clutching his hip slightly, but no obvious concerns.
26'
Brozovic takes Inter’s third corner, but it’s another poor delivery as Lafont makes the easy catch.
23'
Candreva once again gets past Biraghi and whips in a low ball but ends up going nowhere, as Nainggolan couldn’t get in the box in time.
22'
Inter are looking more dominant as the half wears on, with Perisic and Candreva looking like real threats out on both wings.
20'
No VAR in play, as the referee waves away Inter’s protests for a penalty after D’Ambrosio was brought down after a slight touch. Correct decision by the official there.
19'
F. Chiesa gets yellow.
Chiesa gets booked for pulling Asamoah back as the full-back attempts to create another Nerazzurri breakaway.
17'
The lofty set-play is cleared away, but Inter still have the ball. D’Ambrosio releases a great pass to Candreva, who cuts it back to Perisic and bends one just wide of the goal.
16'
Icardi gets into the box again, this time trying to get on the end of a Candreva cross which gets blocked for a corner. The quick set-piece is swiftly dealt with by the Fiorentina backline, but they give away a dangerous free-kick on the right wing.
14'
Brozovic clips Mirallas from behind, giving away a foul on the wing. The resulting set-play comes to nothing for the away side, and they concede the ball for a quick Inter break, with Nainggolan playing a perfect pass to Icardi who shoots straight at Lafont.
12'
Candevra hits a half-volley just inside the Viola box, but his shot goes just over the bar.
11'
Icardi nearly gets a head on D’Ambrosio’s looping cross, but is inches away from making pure contact before going wide.
9'
Veretout takes down Nainggolan in full view of the referee, and gets away without a booking. I'm expecting a midfield battle between these two.
8'
De Vrij helps to deal with another brief spell of Fiorentina pressure, calmly taking the ball off of Simeone before letting Handanovic clear it away.
6'
The ever-dangerous Perisic makes a driving run on the wing, but both of his deliveries have failed to reach their targets.
4'
MIRALLAS HITS THE POST! The Everton loanee finds space on the left after a short pass by Benassi before hitting a low strike which hits the woodwork before Inter clear it away.
3'
A tentative start by the home side, who are letting the Viola see more of the ball in these brief, opening exchanges.
1'
Referee Paolo Mazzoleni blows his whistle, and we’re now underway at the San Siro!
Fiorentina pressing at the Inter defence early, as Chiesa pounces on a misplaced pass by Skriniar before it gets cleared away by Handanovic.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Serie A clash between Inter and Fiorentina at the San Siro!
Ninth place isn’t where the Nerazzurri would’ve expected to be towards the end of September after a summer of savvy recruitment, but they head into this fixture with just two wins from their opening five matches - including shock losses to Sassuolo and newly promoted Parma. Their mixed start also hasn’t been helped by the usual suspects occupying the top, with rivals Juventus on maximum points and Napoli already five points ahead in second.
Inter will also seek to avoid a fifth straight winless league match at the San Siro, but should take some inspiration from their 2-1 Champions League comeback against Tottenham last week in front of their home support. They will also have Luciano Spalletti available on the touchline after a one-match ban for ‘excessively celebrating’ Marcelo Brozovic’s 94th minute winner against Sampdoria on Saturday was successfully overturned.
In contrast, the Artemio Franchi has become a fortress for Fiorentina since the start of their campaign. They've enjoyed a 100% record on home turf so far, scoring 10 goals and only conceding once. It’s that form which has helped propel them to third in the league on 10 points, two points shy of their best start to Serie A in 17 seasons (12 points in 2015/16 at this stage).
However, the Viola will want to prove that they can also replicate those displays away from home, having managed only a single point in their two away matches against Napoli and Sampdoria. History isn’t on their side either as their opponents have a formidable record against them at the San Siro, winning 16 of the past 19 meetings. Despite the lopsided head-to-head, Stefano Pioli’s charges should be motivated by the knowledge that a win would be another boost to their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League and possibly an unlikely title challenge.
And without further ado, let’s take a look at how the teams line up, starting with the home side!
INTER XI: Samir Handanovic; Danilo D'Ambrosio, Stefan de Vrij, Milan Skriniar, Kwadwo Asamoah; Matias Vecino, Marcelo Brozovic; Antonio Candreva, Radja Nainggolan, Ivan Perisic; Mauro Icardi (c)
Having started the pair on the bench in their late, late victory against Sampdoria on Saturday, Spalletti brings both De Vrij and Perisic back into the starting eleven in place of Miranda and Politano in this must-win clash for the Nerazzurri.
The players are out and kick-off is drawing near as the home crowd ramps up the noise.
FIORENTINA XI: Alban Lafont; Cristiano Biraghi, Vitor Hugo, German Pezzella (c), Nikola Milenkovic; Edimilson Fernandes, Jordan Veretout, Marco Benassi; Kevin Mirallas, Giovanni Simeone, Federico Chiesa
Pioli also makes two changes to his starting eleven after their 3-0 victory against a Spal, with Fernandes replacing Gerson in their midfield three and Pjaca, who opened the scoring on Saturday, benched in favour of Mirallas.
SUBSTITUTES: Bartlomiej Dragowski, Federico Ceccherini, Kevin Diks, David Hancko, Vincent Laurini, Bryan Dabo, Christian Norgaard, Marko Pjaca, Gerson, Valentin Eysseric, Cyril Thereau
Icardi’s first league goal of the campaign - and his 11th domestic strike against Fiorentina - puts Inter ahead in an encounter not without chances for both sides. Despite early away pressure, the Nerazzurri grew into the contest the longer the half went on, with their widemen Perisic and Candreva in particular giving the opposition full-backs something to worry about. A lead just before the interval is what they needed, however controversial the circumstances may be, and Spalletti’s half-time team talk should be slightly easier than his opposite number’s.
As for Fiorentina, they will have to dust themselves off and regroup after that controversial penalty decision undoubtedly knocked the wind off their sales. They’ve had the clearer chances, hitting the woodwork and making Handanovic work in between the sticks, but they will be fuming at Mazzoleni’s choice to award a spot-kick that, in theory, wouldn’t have been given on most occasions. Despite the 1-0 deficit, their front three have had their moments in the Inter box, and remain a dangerous presence for the home backline.
Inter continue their trend of winning matches without performing to their lofty standards, as they barely escaped the San Siro with three points despite their opponents outplaying them for many spells of the match. A disputed penalty decision which led to a converted spot-kick helped pave the way for the Nerazzurri just before the half-time break, and even though Fiorentina showed their pluckiness by taking the game to their hosts in the second half, they were undone by a goal completely against the run of play. This win now takes them up to fifth in the table, and level on points with the Viola with both having played an extra match compared to the rest of the top six.
Fiorentina will feel extremely hard done by, picking themselves up after a dodgy penalty decision went against them prior to the interval and dominating their hosts afterwards with quick, incisive play. Unfortunately for them, the efforts of Chiesa and company were all for nought, as their level dropped once D’Ambrosio snatched his late winner, and they miss out on a chance to put pressure on Juventus and Napoli at the summit of Serie A heading into tomorrow’s round of fixtures.
And that wraps up our coverage of an exciting contest at the San Siro. We hope you enjoyed our commentary, and until next time, goodbye!
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