Inter went into the match against Fiorentina on the back of 5 consecutive victories. The Viola were in fine form as well, and trailed the Nerazzurri by only 3 points. Mancini’s side were yet to put in a good performance this season, while Sousa’s side have played some fantastic football. This match had all of the ingredients to be a tight affair.
Inter were without Jeison Murillo, and Stevan Jovetic got injured in the warm-up. Fiorentina were without Khouma Babacar and new signing Mario Suarez. Inter lined up with a 4-3-3 formation with Perisic and Palacio on the wings.
Inter started the match out in the worst possible way. Fiorentina played Inter off the pitch, and kept possession with fantastic passing and control. The first goal came from the spot. Handanovic’s terrible control of the ball led to a heavy touch, and the Slovenian took down Kalinic to give away the penalty in only the 3rd minute. After the first, Inter opened up and began to take more risks. Inter’s strategy was kick and run, as 41 long balls up the pitch were played in the first 45 minutes. The midfield did not support the defense, while the attack was isolated up top. It was ugly. Fiorentina’s second came off of Ilicic’s rebounded shot. Kalinic followed it up to put Inter down a pair. The third goal came from a fantastic run from Marcos Alonso. The full-back’s inch perfect cross was met by Kalinic to make it 3-0 in the 23rd minute. When things could not get even worse, Miranda took down Kalinic, who was through on goal, in the 30th minute and saw a straight red. The rest of the half ended with Fiorentina knocking the ball around, with Inter chasing hopelessly. This was the worst half of football Inter have played since Roberto Mancini took over back in November last year. The movement was lacking, and the team attempted to play a kick and run style, which only works in the lowest of amateur leagues. However, credit must be given to Paulo Sousa’s Fiorentina, who were fantastic. Every touch, pass, and shot was inch perfect, and the Viola all looked in sync with each other.
Inter went into the second half looking distraught. It seemed impossible to come back against such a strong Fiorentina side. However, Inter looked a lot better than they did in the first. Icardi really stood out, and his work-rate was exemplary. Inter finally got on the board in the 60th minute, as Icardi met Telles’s fantastic freekick. The initial header struck the post, but the Argentine followed up and made it 3-1. Inter never really looked like getting the second goal, and Fiorentina came back at the Nerazzurri again, as the fantastic Ilicic squared the ball to Kalinic who easily stroked the ball into an empty net. Inter’s perfect and unbeaten run ended at the hands of Fiorentina. The Viola played Inter off of the pitch, and deserved the victory.
Inter are yet to put in a good performance this season, and this unsustainable style of football has finally proven ineffective. Mancini must recover his players. This match must not destroy the team’s confidence, and the whole squad must pull up their socks and work hard to bounce back again. Hopefully this was just an off day, and the team can get back on their feet.