Arnautovic and plenty of heart: 2 - 1 against Fiorentina

Inter put in a big performance to come back from the defeat in Florence and get their revenge over Fiorentina. A Pongracic own-goal saw Inter take a first-half lead. Fiorentina then drew level through a penalty converted by Mandragora. In the second half, Arnautovic scored the winner for Inzaghi’s men, who held out resolutely in the face of the Viola’s late attempts to equalise.

Time is relative in football. Sometimes, a minute feels like an hour and a few days can feel like an age. Four days later, Inter vs Fiorentina was far from a repeat of the game at the Franchi. The world was put back to rights, from an Inter perspective at least. Inter began with a fire in their bellies, as though they knew their own destiny, as though they had learnt from their errors. The support of the fans began when the team bus arrived and never once wavered. It was a collective effort from the players, the fans in the stands, those on the bench, Inzaghi pacing the touchline. Marko Arnautovic won the day for the Nerazzurri. His roar of passion was loud for all to hear after he headed the hosts back into the lead. He put things right again following Pongracic’s own-goal and Mandragora’s subsequent equalizer from the spot. The stats speak for themselves: Fiorentina only have two shots on target all game, one of which was a penalty. It was an incredibly intense encounter, with some hard-fought duels and the odd flare-up of tempers. In the face of this intensity, Inter found their strength: Acerdi played like a lion on his return; Lautaro and Barella were magnificent throughout. Then, we have Carlos, Zielinski off the bench, and Arnautovic who came on for Thuram in the first half and got the winner. The three points have moved the chains nicely: 54 points in the table overall, just one behind Napoli.

INTER 2-1 FIORENTINA | MATCH FACTS

GOALS: 28' OG. Pongracic (F), 44' pen. Mandragora (F), 52' Arnautovic (I)

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Sommer; 28 Pavard, 15 Acerbi, 95 Bastoni (65' 59 Zalewski); 36 Darmian, 23 Barella, 20 Calhanoglu (46' 7 Zielinski), 22 Mkhitaryan (65' 16 Frattesi), 30 Carlos Augusto; 9 Thuram (27' 8 Arnautovic (77' 99 Taremi)), 10 Lautaro. Subs.: 13 J. Martinez, 40 Calligaris, 6 De Vrij, 11 Correa, 21 Asllani, 31 Bisseck. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

FIORENTINA (4-2-3-1): 43 De Gea; 22 Moreno (66' 44 Fagioli), 5 Pongracic, 6 Ranieri, 21 Gosens; 8 Mandragora (80' 10 Gudmundsson), 24 Richardson (62' 32 Cataldi); 2 Dodô, 9 Beltran (66' 17 Zaniolo), 65 Parisi (62' 90 Folorunsho); 20 Kean. Subs.: 1 Terracciano, 30 Martinelli, 23 Colpani, 27 Ndour, 63 Caprini. Coach: Raffaele Palladino.

Booked: Mkhitaryan (I), RIchardson (F), Calhanoglu (I), Parisi (F), Kean (F), Zalewski (I), Barella (I) Notes: Inzaghi (I) and Palladino (F) booked. Added time: 2' - 4'

Referee: La Penna. Linesmen: Scatragli, Moro. Fourth Official: Ayroldi. VAR: Meraviglia. Assistant VAR: Fabbri.

SUSPENDED Inter: Dumfries (1) Fiorentina: Comuzzo (1)

CAUTIONED Inter: Bastoni Fiorentina: Fagioli, Gosens, Kean, Mandragora, Zaniolo