If Inter Milan FC had thought their fixture against Serie A title rivals, Fiorentina, would be a stroll in the park, they had another thing coming.
Their hopes of a second straight Scudetto took yet another hit as they were held 1-1 by Fiorentina in Milan.
The reigning Serie A champions have now won just two of their past nine league matches after their stuttering form continued on Saturday.
Coach Simone Inzaghi had suggested Inter Milan have deserved more from recent performances.
But he may struggle to argue his case following a match in which Fiorentina initially lacked cutting edge but merited their lead through Lucas Torreira.
Although Denzel Dumfries soon responded with a leveller, it was not followed by a winner.
It means Inter Milan have taken just four points from their past four games at San Siro.
The Nerazzurri knew they needed a result after Napoli’s win earlier in the day, yet they were on the back foot until late in the first half.
That was when Pietro Terracciano had to be sharp off his line to block from Edin Dzeko.
Terracciano was grateful for an offside flag against Lautaro Martinez after Dumfries’ deflected shot gave the forward a simple finish.
An incisive move early in the second half saw Fiorentina in front instead.
Gaetano Castrovilli fizzed a pass into the feet of Nico Gonzalez, who skipped past Ivan Perisic and squared for Torreira to score his second goal in as many matches.
Inter Milan were behind for just over five minutes before Perisic floated a cross towards the back post, where Dumfries arrived to nod in.
A penalty kick awarded in Martinez’s favour was overturned following a VAR check as the hosts were frustrated again.
Inter Milan ultimately needed Samir Handanovic to produce a vital stoppage-time save from Jonathan Ikone to preserve a point.(dpa/NAN)
