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Commentary
Minute
Description
90' +12
B. Dabo gets yellow.
FULL-TIME: FIORENTINA 3-3 INTER
90' +11
Penalty goal scored by J. Veretout for Fiorentina!
90' +10
GOOOAAAALLLLL!!! FIORENTINA COME BACK FROM THE DEATH!! Veretout calmly dispatches the penalty past Handanovic by sending the Inter captain the wrong way to make it 3-3!! The Artemio Franchi is now rocking, and Inter look shellshocked at conceding a 3-1 lead like this!!
90' +4
Perisic is through on goal only for his cut-back to be intercepted by a sliding Ceccherini for an Inter corner. It’s played short, but the ball trickles out for a goal kick.
90' +2
Biraghi gets easily dispossessed in midfield to the exasperated sighs of the home crowd. The Viola only have over five minutes of injury time to snatch the latest of equalisers.
90'
There will be seven minutes of added time to be played!
89'
Borja Valero enters the game and replaces R. Nainggolan.
M. Brozović gets yellow.
Spalletti looks to add more steel in his midfield in order to preserve this delicate lead, bringing on Valero for Nainggolan as his final change.
Brozovic takes down the substitute Dabo as the latter embarked on a run down the wing, and the Croatia midfielder gets cautioned.
87'
A. Lafont gets yellow.
The Artemio Franchi bring out the jeers as Martinez makes a meal of Hugo’s shoulder tackle. Lafont gets booked for forcibly getting the Inter forward back up on his feet as the Viola seek a late goal in front of their rabid support.
84'
Muriel skips past De Vrij, but hits a weak half-chance that didn’t require any action whatsoever from Handanovic.
82'
Inter’s resilience will be tested in these final moments, as the Serie A stalemate specialists (11 draws in the league so far) go gung-ho in their quest to snatch a late equaliser.
Minute
Description
81'
The ever-threatening Chiesa draws another foul from an Inter player - this time, Brozovic stops the Viola forward from breaking through in midfield. Despite his side’s one-goal deficit, he has been brilliant throughout.
79'
B. Dabo enters the game and replaces V. Laurini.
Laurini comes off for Dabo in Pioli’s last throw of the dice as the Viola chase an equaliser in these final 10 minutes.
77'
A. Candreva enters the game and replaces M. Politano.
That cross was Politano’s last action of the game, as he comes off for Candreva in another like-for-like swap by Spalletti.
74'
L. Muriel has scored a goal for Fiorentina!
GOOOOAAAALLLLL!!! MURIEL GETS ONE BACK FOR FIORENTINA!! The substitute grabs another goal against Inter with a missile of a free-kick that goes over the wall and dips underneath the bar at just the right time! It’s now 3-2 to Inter, but the Viola faithful have turned up the volume at the Artemio Franchi!
72'
Chiesa’s deflected effort from outside the area leaves Handanovic scrambling for the ball, but it trickles away for a Viola corner which is easily dealt with by an increasingly confident Nerazzurri backline.
71'
M. Politano gets yellow.
Biraghi gets his ankles caught from behind by Politano as he galloped down the wing, earning the Inter winger a booking from Abisso.
67'
Brozovic floats in a brilliant cross-field ball towards Politano, who takes a touch before forcing another Inter corner off of Biraghi. The set-piece is eventually caught by Lafont though, who quickly releases the ball upfield only for Chiesa’s deep cross to go well over Handanovic’s bar for a goal kick.
64'
M. Škriniar gets yellow.
Skriniar fouls Chiesa as the latter embarks on another run at the Inter box, and the Inter centre-back becomes the second Nerazzurri player cautioned by Abisso.
62'
K. Asamoah enters the game and replaces Dalbert Henrique.
Spalletti makes his first change of the match, taking off Dalbert and bringing on Asamoah in a like-for-like swap at left-back.
58'
Pioli rolls the dice and makes a double substitution - first, off comes Simeone in order to be replaced by Pjaca.
57'
R. Nainggolan gets yellow.
L. Muriel enters the game and replaces M. Benassi.
M. Pjaca enters the game and replaces G. Simeone.
Nainggolan, who has started the second half like a bull in a china shop, becomes the first player booked after an unnecessarily rash challenge on Benassi.
Benassi also heads for the bench, and on comes star striker Muriel as the Viola look to push forward for goals.
55'
Inter now look the more composed side, knocking the ball around with extreme confidence. Fiorentina will need to heavily up the ante in order to get anything out of this match.
52'
Penalty goal scored by I. Perišić for Inter Milan!
GOOOAAALLLL!! PERISIC MAKES IT 3-1! The Inter winger calmly sends Lafont the wrong way, sidefooting the ball into the back of the net with aplomb for his first Serie A goal since before Christmas!
48'
Perisic manages to draw a foul from Benassi and Inter gain a set-piece opportunity out on the left wing. However, Brozovic’s delivery is poor once more and the Viola clear the danger away.
47'
Another electric start to a half at the Artemio Franchi, as Nainggolan tries to score an early goal only for his shot to be blocked! At the other end, Chiesa and Benassi combine only for the latter to get dispossessed at the last second by Skriniar!
46'
No changes to either side at the interval, as both managers retain the formations their players began the match with.
Inter get play restarted as the second half gets underway!
45' +3
Skriniar fouls Simeone out on the wing, granting the Viola one last opportunity before half-time. The free-kick is played short to Chiesa outside the box, who beats a man in white before unleashing a curler that goes wide to Handanovic’s left.
HALF-TIME: FIORENTINA 1-2 INTER
45'
There will be three minutes of added time to be played.
42'
Veretout is unable to control the shot to his desired height following Chiesa’s lofted pass into the Nerazzurri area, his effort likely to end up in row Z following his wild volley.
41'
And almost immediately, Chiesa nearly breaks through on goal only for a timely intervention by De Vrij! Inter hold on with only four minutes left before the break!
40'
M. Politano has scored a goal for Inter Milan! Assist by D. D'Ambrosio.
It was D’Ambrosio who managed to find Politano, with the Inter full-back having switched play out to the other wing to find the Italy winger.
GOOOOAAALLLL!!! INTER TAKE THE LEAD!! An extended spell of Nerazzurri play around the Fiorentina area ends with Politano receiving the ball and jinking past Biraghi to cut inside and curl in a brilliant effort that the diving Lafont had no chance with! 2-1 to the visitors, who have come back from behind to lead on the stroke of half-time!
38'
Politano tries to get past Biraghi, but instead cuts in and lets fly with a wild drive that ends up closer to the corner flag than Lafont’s goal.
35'
To the anger of the home faithful, Ceccherini is penalised for a tackle on Martinez. The resulting free-kick is taken by Brozovic, who manages to eke out a save from Lafont for a corner which just about evades every Inter player around the six-yard area!
33'
Hugo fouls De Vrij in the box following another Veretout corner, ending the Viola spell in the Inter half for the time being.
24'
Chiesa once again impressing up front for the Viola as he casually traps the ball following a throw-in and almost gets past three players only to run into a wall of white shirts. Inter get the goal kick.
23'
Fiorentina looking more dangerous as the half wears on, with Fernandes nearly bustling his way through on goal only for Vecino to stop him in his tracks.
21'
Skriniar is pursued by Simeone, who forces another Viola corner off of the defender. The corner is efficiently dealt with by the away defence, despite protests by the home side for a penalty to be awarded to them for a Perisic handball.
18'
After the briefest of dominant spells, it is now Fiorentina who are passing around their opposition, with Chiesa at the heart of all of the Viola’s attacking play. It’s been an excellent start to this contest so far!
15'
Chiesa and Simeone combine well, and the latter manages to release the former with a flicked ball into the box only for Skriniar to make a rough but excellent challenge to deny the Viola forward. Despite the home side’s protests, a penalty isn’t awarded and Inter get the goal kick.
12'
However, Perisic’s delivery doesn’t even reach the box and the Viola head the ball away.
11'
Since their equaliser, Inter have been seeing more of the ball in the Fiorentina half, and Dalbert is felled by Benassi, stopping an extended passage of possession by the away side.
9'
Chiesa manages to force a corner off Dalbert, but Hugo is unable to get any clean contact with his header and the Nerazzurri defence clear the danger.
6'
M. Vecino has scored a goal for Inter Milan! Assist by R. Nainggolan.
Nainggolan does ever so well to find Vecino in the box with a lovely dinked ball that managed to evade the Viola defence, leaving them stranded before Vecino can poke it home.
GOOOAAALLLL!! VECINO GETS INTER BACK ON LEVEL TERMS! Fiorentina will be livid at failing to properly deal with a poor Inter corner, and Nainggolan takes advantage of the chaos by floating in a teasing ball for the ex-Viola midfielder to sidefoot past Lafont! Despite the lengthy wait for VAR confirmation, Vecino’s goal stands and it is now 1-1 at the Artemio Franchi!
3'
Gerson is fouled by D’Ambrosio, the Inter defender evidently sharing the frustration of his team-mates having conceded so early on in the match.
1'
S. de Vrij is unfortunate, scores an own goal!
The hosts are decked out in their iconic all-purple kits, while the visitors are sporting their away number in all-white.
Referee Rosario Abisso blows his whistle, and Fiorentina get us underway at the Artemio Franchi!
GOOOOAAAALLLL!!! FIORENTINA SCORE STRAIGHT FROM KICK-OFF!! Ceccherini punts a long ball upfield towards the path of Chiesa, who uses his pace to get on the end of it and release a cut-back towards Simeone only for the latter’s shot to bounce off De Vrij and past Handanovic! 1-0 to the Viola, and the match has barely begun!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of this Serie A clash between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi!
Fiorentina head into this fixture on the back of an impressive run that hasn’t seen them experience defeat since Parma won 2-1 at the Artemio Franchi just before the winter break. That streak has seen the Viola creep up the table into 10th - only three points behind the final Europa League spot - but head coach Stefano Pioli and his charges will have to retain their focus and remain wary of their visitors who have won three of their last five league head-to-head encounters.
Despite the controversy surrounding Mauro Icardi’s exile from the Inter starting XI in recent weeks, Inter have gone on a four-match unbeaten run in all competitions which has seen them qualify for the Europa League round-of-16 stages and climb up to third in the league. While Luciano Spalletti will aim for a win to keep his side in the Champions League places, the Nerazzurri will have to be at their best to overcome a side they haven’t beaten on their turf since February 2014.
FIORENTINA XI (4-3-3): Alban Lafont; Vincent Laurini, Federico Ceccherini, Vitor Hugo, Cristiano Biraghi; Jordan Veretout, Marco Benassi, Edimilson Fernandes; Federico Chiesa (c), Giovanni Simeone, Gerson.
And without further ado, let’s take a look at how both sides line up, starting with the hosts.
INTER XI (4-2-3-1): Samir Handanovic (c); Danilo D'Ambrosio, Stefan de Vrij, Milan Skriniar, Dalbert; Matias Vecino, Marcelo Brozovic; Matteo Politano, Radja Nainggolan, Ivan Perisic; Lautaro Martínez.
SUBSTITUTES: Federico Brancolini, Pietro Terracciano, Bryan Dabo, Martin Graiciar, David Hancko, Nikola Milenkovic, Luis Muriel, Christian Norgaard, Marko Pjaca.
SUBSTITUTES: Daniele Padelli, Borja Valero, Antonio Candreva, Roberto Gagliardini, Joao Mario, Miranda, Kwadwo Asamoah, Andrea Ranocchia, Cedric Soares.
The players are out and kick-off is drawing near.
With an important Coppa Italia semi-final first-leg to play in midweek, Pioli will want to minimise any fresh injury worries in the run-up to that match. However, he will still see this as a winnable fixture as Inter look far from comfortable with their one-goal lead. As for Spalletti, one would feel that another Nerazzurri goal would lessen his worries given the attacking threat the Viola possess. An interesting 45 minutes awaits for both teams.
And that wraps up our coverage. We hope you enjoyed our commentary, and until next time, goodbye!
Both sides return to Serie A action next weekend, as Fiorentina travel to Atalanta on Sunday only four days after hosting them for a Coppa Italia semi-final first-leg clash this Wednesday. Inter, meanwhile, will aim to bounce back with a win when Cagliari host them on Friday.
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