“Inter Beats Fiorentina 2-1 to Win 2023 Italian Cup: Ninth Coppa Italia Victory for the Nerazzurri”

Inter won the 2023 Italian Cup. In the final, the Nerazzurri beat Fiorentina 2-1. Viola ahead in the 3rd minute of the first half with Nico Gonzalez, then a brace from Lautaro, who scored in the 29th minute and overturned the result in the 37th minute. It is the ninth time that Inter have won the Coppa Italia.

Under the sign of the Argentine bull, Inter won their ninth Coppa Italia, the second in a row, beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final at the Olimpico. In Rome as in Riyadh, Simone Inzaghi’s gang confirms their skills in one-off matches and after pocketing the Super Cup in January, they successfully defended the trophy snatched from Juventus last year. A victory that is a formidable boost of confidence in view of the match against Manchester City in the Champions League final, when however it will be necessary to raise the level of performance quite a bit to hope to hit a fantastic treble. As Italiano had said, the Viola had a high mountain to climb, but until the end they did everything possible to bring the Cup back to Florence after 22 years, now postponing the appointment to the Conference final. Inzaghi was able to deploy the typical formation, with Handanovic in place of Onana and Dzeko preferred to Lukaku alongside Lautaro. While always positive, the Bosnian remained in the shadow of his team-mate, while the three-man defense suffered a bit and even Barella’s uncertain start weighed on the Nerazzurri’s game at the start. But thanks also to the viola, with a very active Bonaventura in the trident with Ikonè and Gonzalez who jousted behind the Cabral point. “For us” the purple curve asked in its spectacular choreography and the team immediately satisfied it, finding the advantage already in the 3′ with Nico Gonzalez, left free on the right by the distracted Nerazzurri defenders on a cross from Ikonè.

Fiorentina were beautiful, aggressive and concentrated and Inter suffered it, risking being doubled on shots from Bonaventura and Amrabat and combining a little forward, with uncertain phrasing and various measurement errors. The silence of Inter’s ‘North’ protest against the ticket policy for Istanbul lasted less than announced and gave the team a boost, which raised the center of gravity and increased the pace. In the 23rd minute Dzeko found himself alone in front of Terracciano but missed the goal, a mistake that Lautaro did not make in the 29th minute, primed by Brozovic on the offside edge. It was the hundredth Nerazzurri goal for Toro who, looming over every ball, made life difficult for the Viola, guilty of having often left inviting openings. Too many for the Nerazzurri striker’s talents, punctual in picking up an invitation from Barella to double in the 37th minute, which left the Nerazzurri masters of the pitch until the break. Fiorentina restarted with the desire to start first, but the only danger for Handanovic was a header from Cabral following a cross from Biraghi. Inzaghè was the first to change something, inserting Lukaku and De Vrij in place of Bastoni, while Italiano brought in Sottil and Mandragora for Ikonè and a not brilliant Castrovilli, then Jovic in place of Amrabat to have more weight forward in the search for the even. Handanovic rejected a dangerous shot by Gonzalez, while Inter leaned on Lukaku to create dangerous chances. The best, however, were for the Viola, with Jovic who headed an impossible-to-miss ball wide, effectively handing over the cup to the Nerazzurri. Marotta confirmed Inzaghi on the bench regardless of the results, which continue to arrive. The former striker, at the helm of Lazio and Inter has so far played in eight finals between the Italian Cup and the Super Cup, collecting seven victories. And now he will go to Istanbul.

The main actions of the final at the Olimpico
93′ Opportunity for Inter to counterattack, Lukaku’s shot deflected for a corner
92′ Yet another header by Jovic, ball on the back
5 minute recovery
88′ Pressing by Fiorentina, Inter defends themselves
82′ Jovic again but can’t find the goal
80′ Jovic nearly scores, the Inter goalkeeper is unbeatable
74′ Another great save by Handanovic on a very insidious shot by Gonzalez
67′ Powerful but central shot by Lukaku, Terracciano saves
57′ Great intervention by Handanovic on a close-range header by Cabral
55′ Conclusion by Dimarco that ends away from the posts
53′ Viola pressing earns three corners in a row
51′ Castrovilli’s insidious shot ends up deflected for a corner kick
The second 45′ starts
Inter went into the locker room with a 2-1 lead after starting the match uphill, then thanks to a super Lautaro they overturned the result.
The first half ends after one minute added time
37′ Another great goal from Lautaro who makes the most of a cross from Barella
35′ Cross by Cabral no teammate can take advantage of it
34′ Calhanoglu shoots from distance but the shot goes wide
31′ Terracciano manages to intercept a tricky pass from Dzeko
Important goal for Lautaro Martinez: the 1-1 goal, scored in the 29th minute by the Inter forward in the Coppa Italia final against Fiorentina, is the Argentinian’s hundredth in the Nerazzurri shirt. Lautaro has been at Inter since the summer of 2018 and in the 37th minute he also scored the 101st goal.
29′ Lautaro equalizes after a great assist from Brozovic
24′ Occasional for Dzeko who shoots high in front of goal, after an assist from Lautaro
23′ Gonzalez shoots high
20′ The Viola put the Inter defense under pressure
18′ Chance for Bonaventura, big risk for the Nerazzurri
13′ Inter fail to impose their game, Fiorentina starts again on the counterattack
12′ Amrabat shoots badly from deep end
7′ Inter struck cold tries to rearrange their ideas: an opportunity for Dzeko to reject the Viola goalkeeper
3′ In goal Gonzalez, his assist from Ikoné

“Inzaghi is staying 100%? There’s no reason not to continue the relationship. What reasons would the second victory in the Italian Cup give you? Inter has an obligation to participate as a protagonist in every competition. This goal makes everyone, management and staff proud. We care, we want to lift the Cup against a respectable opponent who is doing very well”. This was what Inter’s managing director, Giuseppe Marotta, told Mediaset in the pre-match of the Italian Cup final between the Nerazzurri and Fiorentina. “Inzaghi is better when things go well or not? Let’s say in both situations, in one season it’s impossible to think that everything always goes in the best way. There are difficulties and it’s up to the coach, who has to be the leader in the dressing room, and the club to be as one to resolve critical moments. Ours are always constructive contradictions”. Against the Viola “we need to find determination and “not think about the commitment of the Champions League”, adds Marotta. “We have to bring this first goal home, after that we will try to close the championship well and then we are left with the dream come true”. The CEO later dwells on Darmian and Handanovic: “Mattia is Milanese and an Inter fan, born and raised 10 km from the Pinetina. He represents that figure of a footballer who arrives for free but always responds present. He is a great professional and a very good boy, I hope stay with us as long as there is a competitive response. As for Samir, I think starting today is the right culmination of a season in which he allowed his colleague to be the starter with great professionalism”.