Piotr Zielinski scored a 97th-minute penalty to complete a brilliant late turnaround from Inter and secure a 2-1 win over Fiorentina to go top of Serie A.
Inter 2-1 Fiorentina: Zielinski completes stunning late turnaround
Inter looked set to suffer a shock loss to Fiorentina, but turned things around late on to win and leapfrog Lazio to the Serie A summit.
It looked like Fiorentina were set to earn a shock victory after Alex Jimenez's goal, with David de Gea frustrating the hosts at the other end, but Marcus Thuram found the equaliser before winning the penalty that ultimately secured all three points.
Inter struggled to make inroads early on, but turned up the heat after the half-hour mark, with De Gea keeping out Thuram with an outstretched leg before clawing a Francesco Pio Esposito header off the line a minute later.
Thuram kept pushing for a breakthrough before half-time, but was again thwarted by De Gea, who got down sharply to push his low strike away.
Marin Pongracic made an impressive block to deny Thuram early in the second half, while De Gea was well-placed to reflexively parry the Frenchman's volley shortly after.
However, Fiorentina broke the deadlock against the run of play in the 65th minute as Nicolo Fagioli intercepted a clearance and teed up Jimenez, who arrowed a stunning long-range effort into the top-right corner.
Carlos Augusto struck the crossbar twice in just over a minute; his glancing header skimmed the top before he got in front of his marker on a corner to flick it behind him and off the frame again.
De Gea once again leapt into action to deny Petar Sucic, but Thuram's persistence finally paid off in the 91st minute as his low shot trickled past the Spaniard and into the bottom-right corner.
Thuram continued to be a nuisance and was dragged down by Valde, with the referee pointing straight to the spot. Zielinski made no mistake when he stepped up, emphatically firing into the roof of the net, giving De Gea no chance.
Thuram spares Inter's blushes
It would have been a huge win – and confidence boost – for struggling Fiorentina against the reigning champions, but Cristian Chivu's side showed their determination to make sure they did not walk away empty-handed.
Despite a slow start, Inter kept the pressure on Fiorentina throughout, and for the most part, the visitors were indebted to their goalkeeper, as De Gea made eight saves.
But Inter showed off exactly what makes them champions and did not give up until the final whistle, with Thuram getting his reward for an electric performance that had looked fruitless until stoppage time.
The Frenchman had nine of Inter's 33 shots, and also topped the charts for attempts on target (four) and touches in the opposition box (13), eventually using the crowded penalty area to his advantage to unsight De Gea.
He is now the third Inter player to score in at least seven consecutive Serie A home matches in the three-points-per-win era, after Romelu Lukaku in 2021 and Christian Vieri in 2003 (11 straight).
Inter were deserving of the victory, racking up 3.4 expected goals (xG) to Fiorentina's 0.24 from seven attempts, but Paolo Vanoli will feel hard done by, especially after his side had the chance to double their lead, only for Ivan Provedel to keep out Wilfried Gnonto's curler.
