'The boys gave absolutely everything' – Chivu hails Inter's thrilling comeback

Cristian Chivu could not help but praise his Inter side after they scored twice in stoppage time to seal a superb comeback win over Fiorentina on Sunday. 

Inter looked set for a shock defeat after Alex Jimenez arrowed a brilliant 30-yard strike into the top corner in the 65th minute.

But Inter fought back late on and secured victory through Marcus Thuram and Piotr Zielinski. 

After being frustrated by David De Gea for much of the match, Thuram finally slid one past the Spaniard, bundling home a low shot in the 91st minute.

Thuram was felled by Valde deep in stoppage time, and Zielinski made no mistake from the spot, drilling into the roof of the net to lift Inter back to the Serie A summit. 

"We'd played a really good, disciplined game and found ourselves behind to a shot from 30 yards out," Chivu reflected.  

"We got our reward for the quality we'd shown. We stayed calm, kept our heads and did what we needed to do in a game like this.  

"The boys gave absolutely everything right until the end to achieve what we'd set out to do, which was to win.  

"These games are never easy. I was hoping Zielinski would score, but it's never straightforward.  

"Even if the result had gone the other way, I'd have said exactly the same things. The boys deserve nothing but praise for their performance today." 

Indeed, the Nerazzurri were relentless at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, firing off 33 shots – their highest total in a Serie A match this season – while extending their run of scoring in all eight of their league matches this season. 

It marks the third time in club history that Inter have fought from a goal down to win a Serie A match with two stoppage time goals, after defeating Cesena 2-1 in April 2011 and Sampdoria 3-2 in January 2005. 

That resilience has become something of a signature of Chivu's side this season, as they have gained a remarkable 13 points from losing positions – the most of any side across Europe's big-five leagues and almost twice as many as they managed last season (seven). 

"We believed right until the end. Performances like that will bring rewards, even if you don't always get the result," Chivu continued.

"And we kept going despite incidents and injustices that could easily have knocked us down. That's football. You have to keep the same mentality and sometimes find that little bit extra.  

"Having to come from behind isn't a problem, even if it's sometimes made out to be one. There will be different kinds of games too. That's football, but the important thing is not to let setbacks get you down.  

"You have to keep believing in what you're doing and stay determined. So far, I think we've done that pretty well."