A match that seemed destined for disappointment turns into a comeback within a few minutes. At San Siro, Inter closes the match against Fiorentina at 2-1, with goals from Thuram and Zielinski, after trailing for much of the second half.

Yet, looking at the first half, things seemed to be heading in a different direction. The Nerazzurri dominated possession and created the clearest chances: Barella forced De Gea into his first save after fifteen minutes, then the Spanish goalkeeper denied a diagonal shot from Thuram with his foot and a precise header from Esposito in quick succession. Thuram again, De Gea again: the script repeated itself until halftime, with a tap-in from Barella drifting just wide as the half was about to end.

In the second half, Inter kept attacking, but at the most unexpected moment, the visitors took the lead. Jimenez, from the edge of the box, surprised Provedel with a long-range shot: Fiorentina’s 1-0 suddenly changed the course of the match. Shortly after, Thuram entered the area and was tripped by Viery, but the referee did not award a penalty. Inter did not stop: Carlos Augusto hit the crossbar twice with De Gea already beaten, while Bonny — who had come on for Esposito — nearly made it 1-1 by lobbing De Gea with a sombrero before being intercepted by a defender’s recovery.

Chivu brought on Dimarco, Sucic, and Zielinski for the final assault, then in the 85th minute threw Lavelli, one of the available Under 23 players, into the fray. It was just as the announcer declared 6 minutes of added time that Thuram pulled off a billiard shot on an assist from Diouf, slotting the ball into the corner for 1-1. It didn’t end there: in stoppage time, Tikus was manhandled by Valdepenas. From the penalty spot, Zielinski made no mistake and sealed the final 2-1.

Fiorentina had come close to 2-0 with Gnonto around the 80th minute, forcing Provedel into his only difficult save of the evening. Earlier, Pongracic had to leave the field due to injury, making way for Lopes Viery. In the Mastantuono-Jimenez link-up, the Viola had shown from the opening minutes that they could be dangerous, creating an interesting free kick from the edge of the box early on. The message was clear: the standings don’t tell the whole story.

In the end, however, the team that had created more over the ninety minutes won.

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