Inter's volume of chances finally pays off against stubborn Fiorentina
Marcus Thuram and Piotr Zielinski struck late to complete another Inter comeback, overturning Alex Jimenez's wonder goal after a first half in which Fiorentina's goalkeeper kept the hosts at bay.
Inter needed two goals in the final half-hour to beat Fiorentina 2-1 at San Siro, with Marcus Thuram's equaliser and a Piotr Zielinski penalty cancelling out Alex Jimenez's long-range opener, according to Football Italia.
The result pulled Cristian Chivu's side level with Lazio at the top of Serie A on 22 points, while Fiorentina stay in the relegation zone on four, the outlet reported.
Chivu's team arrived light on numbers, missing John Stones, Curtis Jones, Lautaro Martinez, Benjamin Pavard and Luis Henrique through injury, per Football Italia. Fiorentina were similarly depleted, without Fabiano Parisi, Arthur Atta and Luca Ranieri.
Chances piled up, conversion did not
The underlying pattern of the match was straightforward: Inter held the ball for long periods and generated the clearer openings, yet struggled for over an hour to turn that control into goals.
Football Italia's account notes three big chances arrived in the final ten minutes of the first half alone, with David De Gea saving Thuram's close-range effort, then denying Francesco Pio Esposito's header a minute later, before stopping Thuram again as he tried to beat the goalkeeper to the far corner.
That sequence illustrates a familiar problem for a possession-heavy side facing a well-organised defensive block: territorial dominance without the right moment of incision in the box produces shots, not goals. Esposito's recall to the starting line-up alongside Thuram was meant to add a second reference point in attack, but it was De Gea's saves, not Inter's finishing, that defined the opening 45 minutes.
The second half followed the same shape before Fiorentina changed the complexion of the game entirely. Football Italia describes the overall intensity as low across both periods, which makes Inter's late-game surge more notable: the goals came once the match opened up, not from sustained pressing intensity.
Jimenez's strike exposed Provedel on debut
Ivan Provedel made his Nerazzurri debut in goal, and his first involvement of note was picking the ball out of the net. Jimenez, a former Milan defender, scored in the 64th minute with what Football Italia calls a goal-of-the-season contender, a strike from distance that caught both Provedel and the Inter back line off guard.
The specific detail matters here: the Inter defence was set for a cross from a wide position rather than a direct shot, and that misread of the situation is exactly the kind of structural gap a counterattacking side like Fiorentina, built around direct threats from Franco Mastantuono and Alieu Njie, is organised to exploit. A low block that cedes territory can still punish a mistimed defensive shape in transition, and Jimenez's goal was a reminder that Inter's control of possession did not equate to control of risk.
A late surge decided by composure
Inter responded by pushing numbers forward. Thuram appealed for a penalty after a challenge from Viery inside the box, Carlos Augusto struck the crossbar twice within two minutes, and Provedel was called upon at the other end to deny a curling effort from Gnonto that would have put Fiorentina two goals clear, per Football Italia.
The equaliser, when it came, was built through a direct combination rather than sustained build-up: Thuram linked with Andy Diouf at the edge of the box before finishing as the ball crossed the line, Football Italia reported. It was a transition move inside the final third rather than a product of patient possession, which fits the broader picture of a game where chances arrived in bursts rather than through control.
The winner followed from a set-piece-adjacent moment rather than open play. Victor Valdepenas pulled Thuram's shirt and brought him down, and the referee awarded a penalty without a VAR review, which Zielinski converted to complete the turnaround, according to the outlet.
Taken together, the two late goals say less about a tactical breakthrough than about Inter's capacity to keep generating moments of danger even after conceding against the run of general play. The crossbar strikes from Carlos Augusto and the saves from both goalkeepers suggest the match could easily have finished differently, and Fiorentina's resistance for over an hour shows their low block, even without three first-choice defenders, remains difficult to break down through conventional buildup alone.
For Inter, the result keeps them level at the top with Lazio and extends a run of matches settled in the closing stages. For Fiorentina, the quality of Jimenez's goal will be of little consolation while they remain inside the bottom three with four points from the opening rounds.