- Inter’s fifth comeback win of the season came after they conceded for the 10th time, but head coach Cristian Chivu was unconcerned by his side’s defensive issues
- Juventus won 2-0 against Lecce, with goals from Weston McKennie and Douglas Luiz helping the team rise to seventh place in the standings
ROME: Inter Milan struck twice in stoppage time to complete a remarkable 2-1 comeback win over Fiorentina on Sunday and return to the summit of Serie A, while Juventus returned to form with a routine victory at Lecce.
Alex Jimenez’s rocket strike had struggling Fiorentina heading for a shock win at San Siro, but Marcus Thuram levelled in the 91st minute before winning a penalty that Piotr Zielinski converted in the 98th minute.
The result meant the Nerazzurri returned to first place, level with surprise fellow pace-setters Lazio on 22 points, while the Florence club’s winless run stretched to four games to keep them in 18th spot.
In Lecce, goals from Weston McKennie and Douglas Luiz earned Juventus a 2-0 win that lifted them into seventh on 14 points after a poor recent run of form.
Inter’s fifth comeback win of the season came after they conceded for the 10th time, but head coach Cristian Chivu was unconcerned by his side’s defensive issues.
“That’s football: sometimes you concede,” Chivu told DAZN. “The important thing is not to let your heads drop and to maintain the same mentality. Ever since I arrived here, I’ve always said that games last 90 minutes.”
“I don’t want to see people feel sorry for themselves,” Chivu added. “I want to see players respond to setbacks.”
Chivu’s side had the better of the first half but could not find a way past David de Gea, who made a fingertip stop on a Pio Esposito header before showing quick reactions to parry Thuram’s angled drive.
De Gea was alert again to parry a fierce Thuram strike over the bar early in the second half, but it was the visitors who struck first against the run of play after 65 minutes.
Former AC Milan player Alex Jimenez took debutant Inter goalkeeper Ivan Provedel by surprise with an audacious angled strike from distance that flew into the top corner.
Inter piled forward in search of an equalizer, with Carlos Augusto’s glancing header coming off the top of the bar and De Gea denying substitute Petar Sucic, but they could not find a way through until the game was into added time.
Thuram guided a shot into the bottom corner to level the scores before winning a penalty when he was dragged down by Victor Valdepenas in the box, which Zielinski converted to complete a pulsating victory.
Juventus return to form
Juventus claimed a much-needed win away at Lecce to relieve some pressure on head coach Luciano Spalletti and his underperforming players after a run of one win in five league games.
Last weekend’s humbling 3-0 defeat at home to Lazio left Juve in mid-table and a 2-2 midweek Europa League draw with Rennes did little to improve the mood in Turin.
But Juventus bounced back as McKennie steered home a Luiz free-kick after half an hour before the Brazilian midfielder scored one of his own by whipping a shot into the bottom corner before the break.
Lecce responded in the second half as Youssef Maleh and substitute Paco Esteban threatened, but their evening ended on a sour note when Kialonda Gasper was sent off in the final minute.
There was an eight-goal thriller in Bergamo as Atalanta and Frosinone played out a 4-4 draw in which both sides came from behind twice, extending La Dea’s winless run to three games in all competitions and keeping the visitors in sixth place.
Genoa claimed a 1-0 win at home to Venezia thanks to a goal from Mikael Ellertsson to climb up to 16th place as Davide Nicola’s side stayed bottom.
AC Milan face Udinese away in the final game on Sunday.




