Late controversy sees Fiorentina equalise against Inter Milan in a topsy turvy six-goal thriller

Inter Milan was unable to hold off a late charge and sustain 10 minutes (plus seven minutes of extra time) of consistent attack, as a late penalty drew ACF Fiorentina level with the Nerazzurri, 3-3 Sunday in Florence. It was an early second half penalty from Ivan Perisic that could have sealed the match for the Nerazzurri, who would have claimed their fifth straight win in all competitions But the draw keeps Inter Milan in third place in Serie A – two points in front of AC Milan. Goals from Matias Vecino, Matteo Politano and Perisic were nearly enough to see Inter through despite a very early goal from the Viola and a late goal to pull Fiorentina back to within one goal.

Inter Milan put themselves in a hole early after Giovanni Simeone put in a shot toward goal that ricocheted off Stefan de Vrij and into the back of the net 16 seconds into the match. Despite drawing level, it was Fiorentina that continued to be the aggressors on offense. But, in the 40th minute, it was Politano who seemed to wake up the Inter offense. Danilo D’Ambrosio picked out Politano with a nice pass and Politano struck the ball with his left foot, curling it around and finding the back of the net, putting the Nerazzurri up 2-1. 

Just before the 50th minute, a free kick from Marcelo Brozovic seemed to clip the hand of Fiorentina defender Edimilson Fernandes. After an extensive review from the video-assisted referee, a penalty was awarded. Perisic was able to bury its first goal in league place since before the holidays of 2018 to put the Nerazzurri up 3-1. Muriel blasted a shot from outside the area that found the upper corner of the goal, pulling the Viola back to within a goal, 3-2.

In the 96th minute, Fiorentina were controversially awarded a penalty after the ball appeared to strike D’Ambrosio on the arm. The third VAR of the match seemed to show the ball go off D’Ambrosio’s chest. However, the referee didn’t see enough in the review to overturn the decision. Veretout buried the ball past Handanovic to end the match on level terms.