“Not Pretty But Got The Job Done” – Inter Milan “Survive” Away Trip To Fiorentina To Overtake Juventus In Serie A Table

Inter Milan did not put in a pretty performance against Fiorentina, but they got the jobe done to go ahead of Juventus in the Serie A table.

Today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, give a postmortem assessment of the Nerazzurri’s 1-0 victory at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

For Inter, nothing was more important yesterday than taking three points.

The Nerazzurri were travelling to Tuscany for an away fixture that has never exactly been kind to them.

And they were doing so without two of their key midfielders – Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu both absent through suspension.

Moreover, in a broader context, Inter are preparing for next weekend’s Serie A showdown with Juventus.

After the Bianconeri dropped points to Tuscan opposition themselves on Saturday, drawing at home to Empoli, yesterday’s match was a big opportunity for Inter to go back ahead in the table.

Inter “Survive” Vs Fiorentina To Overtake Juventus

Inter have put in some dominant performances in Serie A this season. But yesterday’s was not one of them.

The Nerazzurri allowed Fiorentina to have most of the ball.

And La Viola knocked on the door for the whole match.

FIorentina pressed to play at a high tempo, and were physically combative around Inter’s penalty area.

So the Nerazzurri had to really battle it out to keep their clean sheet intact.

There were some last-ditch challenges from Inter’s defense. Benjamin Pavard in particular put his body on the line.

And in the second half, Yann Sommer had to make a penalty save to keep the clean sheet – and with it Inter’s slender 1-0 lead – intact.

Meanwhile at the other end, the Nerazzurri were far from producing their most eye-catching football.

There were some promising situations on the counterattack.

But the lack of a final ball meant that these rarely came to anything.

It was a set piece situation which did the job for Inter on this occasion.

A good delivery from a corner by Kristjan Asllani was met by Nerazzurri captain Lautaro Martinez.

And Martinez has come to seem inevitable this season. The Argentine’s header was perfect to deflect the ball into Pietro Terracciano’s goal.

On the night, this was enough to give Inter all three points.

It wasn’t pretty. But it will have to suffice as the Nerazzurri shift their full attention to Juventus nnext weekend.