HT: Fiorentina 0-1 Inter

Nicolò Barella’s stunning curler gave Inter a 1-0 lead at half-time, as Samir Handanovic did well to keep out Fiorentina at the other end.

Inter were looking to put pressure on Milan and go top ahead of the weekend’s fixtures and without Antonio Conte on the bench, but in the stands, the Viola were pushed back in the start.

The first big chance came from Nicolò Barella and Bartlomiej Dragowski did very well to stop a great effort with one hand, as Inter combined nicely before they found the Italy international at seven yards.

Fiorentina struggled to keep up with the pace and were not very dangerous on the break early on, lacking pace and determination going forward.

After Barella’s big chance early on, Inter didn’t create much but controlled much of the possession.

Vlahovic had a chance after 15 minutes, as he went up and forced a save from Samir Handanovic.

Inter continued to push and needed a moment of magic from Nicolò Barella, who found space to shoot outside the area and he managed to curl it into the right corner, out of reach for Dragowski.

A great and crucial goal from Barella, who executed the finish brilliantly and thus forced Fiorentina to push up for the remaining 15 minutes of the first half.

Samir Handanovic did very well to keep Inter in the lead, as Giacomo Bonaventura arrived inside the box and smashed it towards the target. The goalkeeper got a glove on it and pushed it onto the bar and out.

But it wasn’t over, as Handanovic was called into action seconds later for a double save.

Fiorentina continued to push for an equaliser, but gave Inter space on the break and right before half-time, Alexis Sanchez found Romelu Lukaku with a cross and the Belgian arose in the area, but he couldn’t keep the header down.

Barella’s goal separates the sides at half-time, but Handanovic did well to keep Fiorentina out at the other end.

Fiorentina 0-1 Inter

Barella 30 (I)

Fiorentina (3-5-2):Dragowski; Quarta, Pezzella, Igor; Venuti, Bonaventura, Amrabat, Borja Valero, Biraghi; Eysseric, Vlahovic

Inter (3-5-2):Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Hakimi, Barella, Brozovic, Vidal, Perisic; Sanchez, Lukaku

Referee: La Penna

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