Inter Milan go top of Serie A win at Fiorentina

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:09 am

Internazionale moved top of the Serie A standings with a comfortable 2-0 win at Fiorentina thanks to goals from Nicolo Barella and Ivan Perisic on Friday.

Inter got themselves in front in the 31st minute, with Barella curling a stunning strike into the net.

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A brilliant double save from Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic kept his side in front at the end of the first half, and those stops proved crucial as the visitors doubled their advantage seven minutes after the interval through Perisic.

"We had a good match, but we should have scored more goals and closed the game out earlier," Perisic told Sky Sport Italia.

"But we are there, in first place, and that's all that counts. We must always now play each game as if it were our last. We can no longer make mistakes."

Inter could have added to their tally but saw out the win with ease to reach 47 points, one ahead of rivals AC Milan who host Crotone on Sunday. Fiorentina stay 12th on 22 points.

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Antonio Conte was forced to watch from the stands as the Inter coach served the final game of a touchline ban, but he will have been impressed by his side's start to the match

Barella was denied by a super save from Bartlomiej Dragowski early on before he scored, with the strike meaning he has been involved in eight league goals this season -- three goals and five assists -- a record for him in a Serie A campaign.

The 36-year-old Handanovic's intervention to deny the hosts an equaliser was the only big chance Fiore created, with the game put to bed by Croatia international Perisic.

Romelu Lukaku and substitute Lautaro Martinez should have added a third, but their profligacy mattered little as Inter secured a third win in their last four league games along with their fourth successive Serie A clean sheet.