— (Reuters) In an exciting Serie A match on Saturday, Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez not only scored twice but also assisted on the first goal as his team defeated Fiorentina 4-3.
After two minutes, Nicolo Barella of Inter was given a clear shot at goal by Argentine Martinez, and the midfielder had little trouble sending the ball in the lower left corner.
After the unexpected start, Fiorentina found its footing and began to gain momentum; after ten minutes, Jonathan Ikone’s curled shot just missed the target.
Martinez doubled the lead after 15 minutes with a superb solo effort when he ran into the box, dribbled past defender Lucas Martinez Quarta and calmly sent the ball into the bottom corner.
Arthur Cabral’s penalty kick for Fiorentina cut the lead to one goal in the 33rd minute, and Ikone’s goal for the home team at the hour mark was a brilliantly curled shot into the top corner.
Inter manager Simone Inzaghi reportedly said to Sky Sport Italia, “We were caught twice, but the team never stopped believing.
“Up until the penalty, our first 35 minutes were great. After that, we started to lose our composure, but the players who came off the bench really helped us out.
This was a very important message that we sent tonight since Fiorentina are a tough team.
In the final ten minutes of the first half, tempers rose. When the referee blew for halftime, four yellow cards had been issued, including one for dissent to Inzaghi.
Martinez, who had trouble scoring earlier in the season, restored Inter’s advantage from the penalty spot in minute 73 before Luka Jovic once more tied the game in minute 90.
Lautaro Martinez has gone seven games without scoring, but Inzaghi said he wasn’t concerned because he kept getting opportunities and would ultimately score.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored for the visitors five minutes into extra time to earn the victory after defender Lorenzo Venuti’s clearance attempt was unsuccessful.
In their past 11 Serie A encounters with Fiorentina, Inter are now undefeated.
With one game left to play, Inter, who now sits in seventh place with 21 points, is now five points behind league leaders Napoli. With 10 points, Fiorentina is in 13th place.
Martinez scores twice as Inter defeats Fiorentina in a thriller in stoppage time.
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