March 23, (THEWILL) — Title race implications narrowed for Inter Milan after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, with Cher Ndour’s 77th-minute equaliser denying Cristian Chivu’s side the chance to restore an eight-point lead at the top of Serie A heading into the international break.
Inter made an electrifying start. Francesco Pio Esposito nodded Nicolo Barella’s cross beyond David de Gea after just 39 seconds, capitalising on Fiorentina’s failure to deal with Denzel Dumfries’ long throw into the penalty area.
The match was not without controversy. A Barella shot that deflected in off Ndour and Marco Brescianini was disallowed for offside, while Moise Kean also had a volley ruled out before the break after a Nicolo Fagioli effort ricocheted off Carlos Augusto and fell into his path.
Fiorentina improved markedly after the restart. Yann Sommer kept out Ndour with a fine stop, but the forward made his mark moments later, tucking home the rebound after the Swiss goalkeeper had parried a shot from Albert Gudmundsson.
Inter pushed hard for a late winner but could not find one. Both Manuel Akanji and Esposito were denied by an inspired De Gea deep into stoppage time, leaving Chivu’s side just five points clear of rivals AC Milan, who had reduced the gap with a win the previous day.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
