Fiorentina 0-1 Inter – Lautaro Martinez header fires Nerazzurri back to top of Serie A as Viola miss second half penalty

Lautaro Martinez scored his 124th Inter Milan goal as Simone Inzaghi’s side returned to the top of the Serie A table following a 1-0 victory at Fiorentina.

The Argentine struck in the early stages with a clever header from a corner to net his fifth goal in as many games.

Both sides had clear-cut chances in the game and Fiorentina threatened Inter regularly, but Yann Sommer made some important stops which included a save from the penalty spot.

The Swiss goalkeeper clattered into M’Bala Nzola, but Nico Gonzalez – who made his return off the bench after a six-week absence – missed with a tame effort.

Inter held on for a crucial three points which takes them above Juventus and into first.

Fiorentina made a fast start and almost took the lead in the first minute when Sommer misplaced a pass which Giacomo Bonaventura and Nzola took advantage of, but the latter – who was later ruled offside – missed the target.

Then Fiorentina had the ball in the net after Nzola broke through again and slipped the ball under Sommer, but the offside flag came to Inter’s rescue once more.

Minutes later, Inter took the lead when Martinez met a corner at the near post which he cleverly flicked across goal and into the far corner for his 124th Inter goal. His latest strike moved him up to seventh in the club’s all-time goalscoring charts.

Both teams threatened towards the end of the first half and both goalkeepers pulled off excellent stops. Terracciano reacted well to palm away Davide Frattesi’s low effort before Sommer tipped Bonaventura’s effort over the bar down the other end.

The second half went by with little incident until Sommer clattered into Nzola as the pair contested for a corner in the air. Sommer punched a cross clear but caught Nzola with the follow-up and after a VAR check, the penalty was awarded.

Fresh off the bench and thrust into his first game in almost two months, Gonzalez stepped up and struck an underwhelming effort straight at Sommer.

Fiorentina responded by throwing everything at Inter in the closing stages, but the visitors held firm for a vital three points.

They recapture their position at the top of the table, moving above Juvnus ahead of next weekend’s decisive Derby d’Italia, live on TNT Sports.

Having participated in the Italian Super Cup and won it earlier this week, Inter were left with some catching up to do in the league after falling behind Juventus in the pecking order.

Juventus played on Saturday and were held to a draw at home by Empoli, leaving the path clear for Inter to instantly move back into first place with their first of two games in hand.

They did just that while protecting their unbeaten record on the road this season with another clean sheet.

The win was extra special because it has given them the mental advantage over Juve ahead of their meeting next Sunday, a match that could have a huge say in where the title ends up this season.

If Inter do manage to claim their first Serie A title since 2021, it would be largely down to their star man Martinez who popped up with another crucial strike. It’s 22 goals this season for the skipper now, who has bagged 19 of those in 19 league games.

After clinching the win at the death for Inter in the Super Cup final against Napoli, normal service resumed back on Italian turf as he picked up where he left off, scoring his fifth goal in as many games.

FIORENTINA: Terracciano 6, Faraoni 6, Ranieri 7, Martinez-Quarta 7, Parisi 7, Arthur 6, Duncan 7, Ikone 5, Bonaventura 6, Nzola 6, Nzola 6

Subs: Lopez 6, Gonzalez 4, Mandragora N/A, Barak N/A, Milenkovic N/A

INTER: Sommer 8, Pavard 7, De Vrij 7, Bastoni 7, Darmian 6, Frattesi 6, Asllani 7, Mkhitaryan 6, Augusto 7, Thuram 6, Martinez 8

Subs: Dumfries 6, Arnautovic 6, Acerbi 6, Bisseck N/A, Sanchez 6

1’ – HUGE CHANCE FOR FIORENTINA IN THE FIRST MINUTE! Yann Sommer plays an awful pass to Benjamin Pavard and Giacomo Bonaventura reads the mistake well before looking for M’Bala Nzola in the middle, but the forward slams his effort into the side setting. Luckily for Inter, he was offside anyway.

11’ – THE BALL IS IN THE INTER NET! Nzola races through and slips the ball under Sommer, but the flag is raised! It won’t count and the game remains goalless. A let off for Inter.

14’ – GOAL!! FIORENTINA 0-1 INTER (MARTINEZ): Kristjan Asllani drops the corner in at the near post where Martinez latches on to it and flicks the ball across the face and beyond Pietro Terracciano to put Inter ahead!

34’ – BIG SAVE TERRACCIANO! Thuram lays the ball off to Davide Frattesi but Terracciano reacts well to palm the midfielder’s low effort away.

45’+1 – WHAT A CHANCE! Bonaventura sends his free-kick into the wall but in the aftermath, Fiorentina get the ball back in the box and work a great chance as possession drops to Nzola in front of goal but Bastoni comes across rapidly to block his effort.

72’ – SOMMER CLATTERS INTO NZOLA! The pair battle for the ball in the air and Sommer punches the ball clear but catches Nzola in the face. There are huge shouts for a penalty, which the referee initially waved away. VAR are having a look…

75’ – PENALTY TO FIORENTINA! The referee only needs a few seconds and decides almost instantly that it will be a spot kick! Gonzalez stands over the ball…

76’ – PENALTY MISSED! What a terrible penalty from Gonzalez! He practically just rolls it to Sommer. A huge chance wasted and Inter are let off the hook.

• Inter have won 17+ games and picked up at least 54 points after 21 matches of the season for only the second time in their history in Serie A, the first in 2006/07 (18 games won and 57 points under Roberto Mancini in that case).