Inter-Fiorentina: 0-0 - Serie A 2019/2020. Final result and commentary from the game

Where the match is played:
Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza
City: Milano
Capacity for: 80074 people21:13

Hello and welcome to coverage of the Serie A fixture between Inter and Fiorentina.21:13

Despite sitting in 12th position, Fiorentina come to San Siro in good form and will be looking to extend on their five-match unbeaten run (3W, 2D). In contrast, the hosts have stuttered since the restart and have dropped as many as nine points - a tally which could prove to be the difference between Inter winning Serie A or finishing as runners-up to Juventus.21:20

INTER (3-4-1-2): Samir Handanovic; Danilo D’Ambrosio, Stefan De Vrij, Diego Godin; Antonio Candreva, Nicolo Barella, Roberto Gagliardini, Ashley Young; Christian Eriksen; Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez.21:24

SUBS: Daniele Padelli, Andrea Ranocchia, Alessandro Bastoni, Milan Skriniar, Kwadwo Asoamoah, Victor Moses, Cristiano Biraghi, Borja Valero, Lucien Agoume, Marcel Brozovic, Lautaro Martinez, Sebastiano Esposito.21:26

FIORENTINA (3-5-2): Pietro Terracciano; German Pezzella, Nikola Milenkovic, Martin Caceres; Lorenzo Venuti, Milan Badelj, Alfredi Duncan, Gaetano Castrovilli, Dalbert; Franck Ribery, Patrick Cutrone.21:39

SUBS: Kevin Agudelo, Erick Pulgar, Aleksa Terzic, Pol Lirola, Christian Kouame, Federico Chiesa, Igor Julio, Federico Ceccherini, Riccardo Sottil, Dusan Vlahovic, Federico Brancolini, Rachid Ghezzal.21:30

Antonio Conte makes four changes to the side that faced Roma at the weekend. As expected, Lukaku, who grabbed the late equaliser in Rome, replaces Martinez up front. Behind the front two, Eriksen is also preferred over Brozovic. At the back, Bastoni and Skriniar drop out with Godin and D’Ambrosio the men to replace them.21:35

Giuseppe Iachini also makes a handful of changes to the eleven that defeated Torino. Most surprisingly, Chiesa starts on the bench and is replaced by Venuti, presumably to give Fiorentina a bit more cover defensively. On the opposite wing, Inter loanee Dalbert returns to face his parent club, while another loanee Cutrone is preferred to partner Ribery.21:39

While the visitors may be in good form, It is hard to not favour Conte’s team in this one. After losing five games out of six against Fiorentina, Inter are now unbeaten in their last five meetings against the Viola (W2 D3).21:44

The players are making their way out on to the pitch and the game will shortly be underway.21:44

Referee Piero Giacomelli blows his whistle and gets the game underway!21:47

Dalbert whips in an early cross from wide on the left and Badelj does well to get in front of his man, deflecting the ball in to the path of Cutrone, who is in an offside position.21:50

Lukaku and Eriksen link up well early on, before the latter rolls a pass into Candreva and his cross is deflected behind for a corner to Inter.21:51

The resulting corner comes to nothing, however, possession is recycled until Ribery needlessly fouls on the edge of the area. Inter have a free-kick in a good position.21:52

DOUBLE SAVE!! Eriksen swings in a right-footed outswinging free-kick towards the front post and a Fiorentina shirt flicks the ball straight in to the face of Caceres, who is lucky not to score an own goal. Terracciano manages to parry away the first chance, however, the rebound falls to Lukaku's feet but the Belgian cannot swivel and shoot past the goalkeeper from six yards out.22:11

It does not look like a draw is on the cards in this fixture. These two sides haven’t shared a single draw in their last 20 meetings at San Siro (17 Inter wins, 3 Fiorentina wins).21:55

A win here for Inter would see them once again leapfrog Atalanta to move in to second place. It has been a fairly slow start by Conte's men, but with Lukaku back up front, they will feel that the chances are bound to come eventually.21:58

SAVE! Candreva is released down the right wing and sends a low cross towards the front post, which Terracciano pushes away. Barella then picks up the loose ball 20 yards out and unleashes a right-footed volley, but yet again, Terracciano gets down well to turn the ball around the post.22:00

Fiorentina are struggling to get a foothold of the game so far, with Barella and Gagliardini dictating proceedings through the middle while Eriksen continues to find pockets of space.22:01

Perhaps a slow start from the visitors should be expected. Nine of Fiorentina’s last 10 goals against Inter have been scored in the second half – the only exception was Stefan de Vrij’s own goal after 16 seconds of their game in February 2019.22:02

Fiorentina are granted some form of respite as they enjoy a couple of minutes of possession, that is until Milenkovic sends an aimless pass forward for Godin to intercept.22:03

Eriksen dances round a few Fiorentina shirts before poking a short pass to Sanchez, who plays wide for Candreva in a crossing position. The Italian's subsequent cross is turned away for another Inter corner by Pezzella.22:05

OFF THE POST! Lukaku should score from there. Great work by Eriksen on the left wing sees the Danish midfielder play a pinpoint cross to Lukaku ten yards out. The Belgian is unmarked and his glancing header leaves Terracciano standing still but does not find the back of the net as Fiorentina are saved by the left-hand post.22:07

Twenty minutes in and Iachini will be wondering how to stop Eriksen from running this game. Inter have had three good chances in the opening stages, two of which were purely down to the Dane.22:08

The physios are on to give treatment as De Vrij pulls up injured. It is hard to tell what has happened to the defender but it looks like he injured himself when going up for a free header.22:12

Ranocchia replaces the injured De Vrij at the back.22:10

Young is brought down from behind by Milenkovic and the hosts have a free-kick wide on Fiorentina's right, which they choose to play backwards and recycle possession.22:12

Sanchez comes deep to get involved with the game, we have not seen much of the Chilean so far. However, he has has been involved in nine goals post-lockdown, scoring two and making seven assists; only Cristiano Ronaldo has been involved in more since the June restart (11).22:14

D'Ambrosio sends a looping cross in to the area, which is dealt with by Venuti. For his defensive efforts, the winger takes a bang to the back of the head and, once again, the physios rush on to give treatment. After a quick check by the medical team, Venuti returns to the pitch.22:16

Lukaku curls a lovely chipped pass looking for Sanchez in the Viola's area. Caceres looks under some pressure but does well to scuff a left-footed clearance away from danger.22:17

Duncan shrugs off the challenge of Gagliardini and then plays a big switch across to the right of the pitch. Venuti has acres of room but opts to play backwards, wasting the opportunity to attack the space in front of him.22:18

Despite a strong start by Inter, Fiorentina have grown in to the game in the last 10 minutes or so. They, like the hosts, are playing three at the back and seem to enjoy working the ball around the back methodically instead of rushing forward needlessly.22:20

CHANCE! Young outjumps two Fiorentina heads in the area and Lukaku finds himself inside the six-yard box unmarked again. The Belgian striker snatches at his shot, under the pressure of Terracciano, and cannot sneak his right-footed effort under the goalkeeper's outstretched leg from close range.22:23

Down the other end, Ribery has a free-kick 30 yards out after a poor aerial challenge by Barella. The resulting free-kick is crossed towards the back post and Pezzella heads well over the bar from a decent angle.22:26

Candreva whips a right-footed pass down the right wing, which bounces over Caceres but Pezzella is there to sweep up any danger before Lukaku can pounce on the loose ball.22:26

Venuti feels he is nudged in the back by Young but the referee is having none of it and plays on. Inter's full-back reaches the byline and sends a left-footed cross across the face of goal, earning Inter a corner via a chested clearance by Dalbert.22:30

Loanee Cutrone holds off the challenge of Ranocchia and earns his side a free-kick near the halfway line. The Inter centre-back was a bit overenthusiastic there and did not need to lunge in on Cutrone.22:30

Ribery chops down Barella with a late sliding challenge and is rightfully booked for his efforts.22:31

Milenkovic jumps the highest and turns away a Candrea cross for another Inter corner, which is then far too deep and cleared away by the Viola.22:33

There will be two minutes of added time at San Siro as the game remains goalless.22:34

HALF-TIME: INTER 0-0 FIORENTINA22:35

Conte's men will surely feel they should be leading at half-time. Lukaku, who earned a recall after proving his fitness against Roma, has had three wonderful chances from close range, only to be denied twice by Terracciano and once by the post. At the other end, Fiorentina have created next to nothing but nevertheless, it remains 0-0 going in at the break.22:38

If Inter carry on in this manner, it is only a matter of time before they take the lead. Eriksen and Lukaku continue to link up excellently, while Candreva is finding acres of space to swing in crosses down the right. Iachini has to figure out a way to stem the flow of Inter chances, or perhaps better, find a way to create some chances down the other end. With Chiesa left on the bench, could we see the winger introduced soon or will Fiorentina settle for the draw and persist to play defensively?22:41

The players are back out and referee Giacomelli blows his whistle to signal the start of the second half!22:51

Will there be a change of fortunes in the second half for the visitors? Fiorentina have won their last two away games – they haven’t won three in a row on the road in Serie A since April 2018.22:53

An assured start to the half by the away team sees Castrovlli and Duncan combine well before the latter is fouled near the halfway line.22:54

D'Ambrosio drags Castrovilli to the ground 40 yards away from Inter's goal and the centre-back is perhaps lucky to escape a booking.22:54

Inter look to counter-attack, however, Dalbert races back to block Eriksen's cross with a sliding challenge. The full-back looks to be in some pain though and that may be the last we see of him in this fixture as the physios rush on to treat him.22:56

Fiorentina are down to 10 temporarily and Candreva has the ball in the net! The winger turns in a left-sided cross from inside the six-yard box but the Italian had strayed well offside and rightly the assistant rules the goal out.22:58

Dalbert hobbles off injured and will be replaced by Lirola.22:58

OFF THE POST AGAIN! Lukaku spins 30 yards out from goal and then slides a right-footed pass in to Sanchez outside the area. The Chilean shifts the ball on to his right foot before placing a shot towards the bottom left corner, which Terracciano gets a hand to and luckily for Fiorentina, the post saves them once again.23:00

Replays show that Sanchez's shot was fairly straightforward for Terracciano and he would have been disappointed to concede from that chance, given the saves he has already made in this game.23:01

Barella is fouled just outside the area and Eriksen will have the chance to shoot from 25 yards out. The Dane steps up and sends his free-kick straight in to the jumping Fiorentina wall.23:02

SAVE! Finally there has been a chance for the Viola! Cutrone does well to stall and wait for support, passing to the incoming Ribery, who plays in Duncan. Ribery then finds himself with possession on the edge of the area before sliding in Castrovilli, who sends a curling right-footed shot in to the midriff of Handanovic.23:28

Castrovilli is booked for a bad challenge in the middle of the park.23:06

Loanee Cutrone is swapped for Kouamé up front.23:05

Duncan, who has worked tirelessly in midfield, is replaced by the fresh legs of Ghezzal.23:06

Candreva again has space on the right wing and whips an inviting ball towards the front post. Terracciano comes to punch away a clearance but Pezzalla gets there in front of him and heads away for a corner.23:07

Kouame looks to have been fouled in the middle of the pitch by Godin, however, referee Giacomelli sees it differently and insists for the game to play on. That looked harsh there as Fiorentina looked to be on the break.23:08

Badelj fouls D'Ambrosio on the right-hand side of Fiorentina's area and Eriksen will be able to cross from a dangerous position.23:09

Eriksen sends a wonderful cross towards the front post and four Inter players line up to head the ball in. Gagliardini ends up being the one to flick his header at goal, however, he can only head wide from eight yards out. Yet, the chance would not have counted anyway as the assistant again has his flag up on the far side.23:10

Kouame looks to make an instant impact, as he attempts to sneak Venuti's right-sided cross in at the front post. Godin is alert to the danger though and steps in before the chance can test Handanovic.23:12

There is another head injury as two players challenge for the same ball inside Inter's area. D'Ambrosio has come off the worst of the two with Ribery and the hosts' medical team come on to bandage the centre-back's head up. Once treated, play resumes as the medics stroll off of the field23:14

After the short stoppage in play, Handanovic gets the game back underway with a long hoof towards Lukaku's head.23:18

Conte has had three substitutes waiting on the touchline for a couple of minutes but has not made the changes as of yet. It looks like Inter will make a triple change when they get the chance.23:19

Sánchez, who has had a fairly quiet game, is replaced by striker Martinez.23:16

Moses comes on for Candreva at right wing-back.23:16

D'Ambrosio is replaced by Bastoni, which is perhaps sensible after the bang to the former's head.23:17

Moses is involved straight away as he opts to ignore the crossing options, cutting in on his left foot before attempting a weak left-footed effort from outside the area, which Terracciano saves comfortably.23:18

Milenkovic and Venuti exchange a few passes and then send the ball long for Pirola to chase. Is it nearly time for Chiesa to come on and give Iachini a more attacking option on the right?23:24

Badelj, who had Fiorentina's only real chance so far, comes off for Pulgar.23:22

Ribery is replaced by Chiesa.23:42

Conte brings on Brozovic for Gagliardini as he chases a winner.23:22

Barella is booked for a nasty challenge on Ghezzal. The Viola's players are furious as they felt Barella had gone over the top of the ball there and should have been sent off. In fairness, the referee was right in line with it and had a perfect view of the tackle.23:24

Vlahovic has just come on to give Iachini fresh legs up top. The Fiorentina striker made his Serie A debut in September 2018 in a game against Inter.23:25

Caceres is the latest to go into the book for a late challenge, followed by some needless dissent.23:27

CHANCE! Fiorentina counter-attack and they are four against one as the white shirts swarm towards the Inter defence. Somehow Chiesa's cross is deflected in to the path of Lirola but he can only poke his shot at the feet of Handanovic. What a let-off for Inter as they chase a goal down the other end.23:30

A long pass from Fiorentina's left nearly causes confusion between Ranocchia and Handanovic, however, the goalkeeper takes charge and sweeps up the danger, under the pressure of the Kouame.23:29

Chiesa, who has just come on recently, looks to play a pass down the line but that is blocked and Fiorentina will have the chance to cross from a corner. The corner goes deep towards the penalty spot before the referee spots an infringement and gives Inter a free-kick.23:31

Moses clips a 20 yard pass in to Martinez, running in from the right in to the Viola's area. The striker fails to get Moses' pass under control and Pezzalla stabs it away for an Inter throw-in.23:33

Fiorentina's players are audibly furious as a decision goes against Milenkovic in their own half. Inter, again, will have another great chance to cross from wide on the left.23:35

Eriksen's free-kick flies over the head of every one in the area. Terracciano is largely unsighted and decides the best option is to parry the cross around the post and away from danger.23:54

Barella attempts to play an optimistic long pass to Eriksen on the left of the visitors' area, Pezzala and Caceres combine well to cut out the pass and regain possession.23:37

There will be five minutes of added time as Inter search for a much-needed goal to take them back up above Atalanta and in to second place.23:37

Kouame and Chiesa break and are two versus two against the Inter defence. Kouame receives a throughball from Chiesa and then looks to return the favour but Ranocchia steps in and the chance to counter is wasted.23:39

Young is offside as Inter press for a late winner, much to the frustration of Conte and the full-back's Inter colleagues.23:40

Ghezzal floats a great pass out towards the left wing, yet unfortunately for Fiorentina, Moses is too quick and races back to shield the danger.23:51

Martinez gets on the end of Brozovic's deep cross, however, the Argentinian can only head in to the hands of Terracciano from close range.23:41

FULL-TIME: INTER 0-0 FIORENTINA23:42

Inter will rue their missed chances in the first-half as the game finishes goalless. It has to be said that Terracciano did excellently to keep the Viola in the game early on, however, Lukaku will feel he should have beaten the Viola's goalkeeper from close range on at least one occasion. In the second half, Inter did not really replicate their first-half creativity and if anything, Fiorentina may feel they should have grabbed a late winner through Pirola on the counter.23:46

Inter move to within a point of Atalanta in second but the fact of the matter is that, if it was not already confirmed, their title challenge is over as they fall seven points behind leaders Juventus. The hosts next go to Genoa, while Fiorentina face the tough challenge of an away fixture at Roma. The visitors' draw in this game, inspired by Terracciano's first-half antics, means they make it six unbeaten as they look to further improve and push in to Serie A's top 10.23:50

That is all from me, see you next time!23:53