D’Ambrosio elevates Inter Milan to 2-1 win over Fiorentina

A first half penalty by Mauro Icardi put Inter up, but it took a 77^th-minute winner by Danilio D’Ambrosio to push Inter Milan past Fiorentina, 2-1 Tuesday night at the San Siro.

It is the third consecutive win for the Nerazzurri after starting the season with a pair of losses — each to Sassuolo and Parma. It was also the 16^th win in 18 matches for Inter over Fiorentina at home.

”Everything has improved a bit, also thanks to the physical condition. We played well apart from a few mistakes when playing out from the back,” said Inter manager Luciano Spalletti, on the team’s website. “Fiorentina caused some issues but we had lots of chances and did different things well. Perhaps we didn’t convert some of them because we got the final ball wrong, but we claimed the points that we needed.”

Inter seemed to come out with a fire in the first half, dominating possession and peppering the Viola defense early and often.

Despite that, it was Kevin Mirallas who nearly struck first, but his shot went off the post.

Finally, in the 45^th minute, an Inter cross yielded a penalty after the video assisted referee found Vitor Hugo guilty of a handball in the area.

Icardi stepped up and notched his first Serie A goal of the season with a strike in the bottom right corner, just past Alban Lafont.

It was Icardi’s 11th career goal against Fiorentina.

But, coming out in the second half, the Viola controlled possession and kept play in Inter’s half of the field.

In the 53^rd minute, Federico Chiesa drilled a shot from just outside the area that ricocheted off the body of Milan Skriniar and past a flat-footed Samir Handanovic to level the match 1-1.

Even as Fiorentina continued to build momentum throughout the rest of the half, it was the 77^th minute when Inter would claim the winner.

A nice give-and-go between Icardi and D’Ambrosio left the latter with a nice side-footed shot that rolled past Lafont, giving the Nerazzurri the win.

“Tonight’s goal was key and one that I really wanted. We had to win and maintain consistency. We knew that Fiorentina would try to attack us,” D’Ambrosio said, according to the club’s website. “They threatened us but we did well to remain calm right until the very end.”

Inter will play its fourth match in 11 days when they face Cagliari on Sept. 29. Match time is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. in Milan (2:30 p.m. Eastern Time).

“We must now make careful evaluations because we have a lot of matches close together. Therefore, my reasoning must be based on a number of different things, whether that be playing time or injuries,” Spalletti said. “We know what our path must be this year. We must always head out onto the pitch with the aim of winning matches. We want to play a big role this season.”

What do you think? Post your comments below!

Grid View

• FC Internazionale coach Luciano Spalletti looks on during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 25, 2018 in Milan, Italy. Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images
• Danilo D’Ambrosio (R) of FC Internazionale celebrates his goal with his team-mates Mauro Emanuel Icardi and Matteo Politano (C) during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 25, 2018 in Milan, Italy. Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images
• Matteo Politano (R) of FC Internazionale is challenged by Jordan Veretout of ACF Fiorentina during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 25, 2018 in Milan, Italy. Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images
• Federico Chiesa (R) of ACF Fiorentina celebrates his goal with his team-mate Marco Benassi during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 25, 2018 in Milan, Italy. Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images
• Milan Skriniar (R) of FC Internazionale is challenged by Giovanni Simeone of ACF Fiorentina during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 25, 2018 in Milan, Italy. Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images
• Radja Nainggolan of FC Internazionale in action during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 25, 2018 in Milan, Italy. Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images
• Marcelo Brozovic (L) of FC Internazionale is challenged by Jordan Veretout of ACF Fiorentina during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 25, 2018 in Milan, Italy. Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images
• Mauro Icardi of FC Internazionale takes a penalty to score the opening goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 25, 2018 in Milan, Italy. Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images