Inter Milan Wins 2-0, Fiorentina Loses 1-2, Serie A Standings in Chaos: Third Place Only 3 Points Behind the Top
On the morning of December 24, 2024, Beijing time, a focus match of the 17th round of Serie A was held, with defending champion Inter Milan hosting newly promoted team Como.
Before the game, Inter Milan had 10 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss, accumulating 34 points, playing two fewer games, lagging 6 points behind the leader, and temporarily ranking third. Como had three wins, six draws, and seven losses, accumulating 15 points, ranking 16th, and two points more than the relegation zone. In the last three encounters between the two sides, Inter Milan won all three games, showing that Como had no advantage against Inter Milan.
In the last 10 games, Inter Milan won 8, drew 1, and lost 1, losing 0:1 to Leverkusen away in the Champions League and drawing 1:1 with Napoli at home in Serie A. Como surprisingly defeated Roma 2:0 at home in the previous round.
In this game, Inter Milan lined up in a 3142 formation at home, with Sommer as the goalkeeper, and the three defenders from left to right were Carlos, Augusto, Bastoni, and Bisek. The single defensive midfielder was Calhanoglu, and the four midfielders from left to right were Dimarco, Mkhitaryan, Barella, and Dumfries. The two forwards were Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram, with a starting lineup worth 511 million euros. Como's strength is quite limited, with a starting value of only 54.8 million euros. Belotti led the team, and Spanish veteran goalkeeper Reina also started. Como's head coach is former Arsenal midfielder core Fabregas.
In the first half, Inter Milan had 67% possession, seven shots, but only one on target, while Como had 33% possession, three shots, and two on target, more than Inter Milan's shots, but neither side scored, ending the first half 0:0. Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez had only one shot in the first half, which was not on target. To be honest, Lautaro Martinez's form for Inter Milan this season is not particularly good, but he has performed quite well for the Argentine national team.
Before the start of the game, Maltta and Ausilio presented Lautaro with a commemorative jersey for his 300th milestone. However, after the game, Lautaro Martinez still did not score.
After the start of the game, the situation was not particularly beautiful. In the 5th minute, Inter Milan made a backcourt passing error, and Van der Breukert headed wide, fortunately it was wide. In the 19th minute, Inter Milan attacked in the frontcourt, Barella cleverly leaked the ball, very alert and appropriate, but Lautaro Martinez's shot was blocked out. After that, both sides had opportunities. In the 31st minute, Fatdali took the ball and cut inside before taking a low shot, fortunately Sommer was focused and timely grabbed the ball. In the 32nd minute, Mkhitaryan passed back from the right side of the penalty area, and Dumfries shot high, wasting Mkhitaryan's good intentions. In the 36th minute, Argentine youngster Nico Pas took a curling shot outside the penalty area, slightly lacking threat, and the ball was timely caught by Sommer. In the 42nd minute, Dimarco turned around in the penalty area and took a low shot, Spanish veteran goalkeeper Reina was focused and timely grabbed the ball. Judging from the first half of the game, neither side had particularly threatening shots, and the game was lukewarm. Let's see if there will be any improvement in the second half?
In the 48th minute, Turkish midfielder Calhanoglu took a corner kick from the right side, and Carlos Augusto leapt high at the back post, scoring a powerful header that was fast and powerful, heading straight for the net, leaving the goalkeeper helpless, and Inter Milan finally broke the deadlock, leading Como 1:0 at home.
According to statistics, including the goal in this game, the 25-year-old Carlos Augusto has scored in the last two rounds of Serie A, while before this, the Brazilian star had never scored in 44 Serie A appearances since joining Inter Milan a year and a half ago. Moreover, scoring against Como at the Meazza Stadium in this game was also Carlos Augusto's first goal in a home game in Serie A for Inter Milan.
In the 61st minute, Como's lone striker Belotti passed a low ball towards the far post, and Carlos Augusto made a crucial and timely clearance. This player is excellent in both attack and defense, capable of scoring and defending. In the 68th minute, Dimarco scored with a low shot, but it was ruled invalid because the ball hit Lautaro Martinez, who was in an offside position, and the score remained 1:0.
Near the end of the game, Fadella crossed, and Cutrone headed wide, missing Como's chance to equalize.
In the 90+2nd minute, Inter Milan made a wonderful combination in the frontcourt, with substitute Zielinski assisting, and Marcus Thuram burst into the penalty area and blasted a shot to help Inter Milan secure the victory.
Finally, the game ended with Inter Milan defeating Como 2:0 at home, accumulating 37 points, ranking third, one game less than the league leader Atalanta, lagging 3 points behind, and 1 point behind the second place.
In another game that ended before this one, Fiorentina lost 1:2 at home to Udinese, which was quite regrettable for La Viola, as they missed the chance to return to the top four.
Moise Kean broke the deadlock with a penalty in the 8th minute.
Lorenzo Luca scored with a push in the 49th minute to level the score.
Lorenzo Luca hit the post with a bicycle kick in the 51st minute, which was quite a pity, as the attack was quite spectacular. The bicycle kick was even more imaginative.
Towan cut inside in the 57th minute, shook off the defense, created space, and scored a long-range shot from near the top of the penalty arc to help Udinese secure the key three points.
In the remaining time, Fiorentina failed to equalize the score, and the game ended with Fiorentina losing 1:2 at home to Udinese.