Fiorentina traveled to Giuseppe Meazza to take on Inter in high spirits on Sunday after securing a group-stage berth in the Europa Conference League. However, Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez brought Vincenzo Italiano’s side down to their knees, thrashing them 4-0 in their final Serie A outing before the international break.
Days after Nicolas Gonzalez’s match-winning brace saw Fiorentina overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit against Rapid Wien, Fiorentina collapsed against a mighty Inter. Simone Inzaghi’s rampant side left La Viola without a chance, picking them apart in arguably the most dominant performance any Serie A side put on this season.
Despite lagging narrowly behind at halftime, Fiorentina never gained a foothold in the game. Reduced to a spectator’s role, Italiano’s men stood stunned and watched as Martinez bagged his second double of the season after the break to maintain Inter’s 100% start.
A disheartening defeat at Meazza added insult to injury as Fiorentina wasted a two-goal lead in a dreadful 2-2 home draw against Lecce only last weekend. Italiano broke his silence after the game, delivering a damning verdict on his side’s wasteful display in Lombardy.
“We expected the game to go differently and we came out of it with 50 minutes of bad play. When we are at 100%, we will show more. We take responsibility. We will work hard so that we never see a Viola performance like this again,” the Fiorentina coach told DAZN, as relayed by Fiorentina.it.
Despite putting the blame on tired legs, Italiano admitted Inter were miles ahead of Fiorentina tonight.
“In Serie A, if you’re not 100% against the top teams, you struggle. There are no hierarchies, it depends on how you play on the day and how you recover.”
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