Nine goals in Florence as Fiorentina edge out Inter 5-4

Two of Italy’s leading teams, Fiorentina and Inter, played out an incredibly entertaining match in the 33rd round of Serie A. The Purple Ones took the three points with a 5-4 victory at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in a game full of turnarounds and drama, which in the end went the way of Fiorentina.

The hosts were the more active side in the opening minutes, but they did not find the net until the 23rd minute, through Vecino. Ivan Perisic equalised just 5 minutes later after a fine Inter attack.

The Black and Blues turned things around in the 34th minute, when Joao Mario set up Icardi, who scored to give Inter the lead.

Shortly after the break the referee awarded Fiorentina a penalty for a foul on Babacar in the box. Samir Handanovic saved Bernardeschi’s spot kick and kept Inter’s lead intact. The goalkeeper could do nothing, however, about Astori’s header in the 62nd minute. 2-2!

2 minutes later Vecino played a one-two with Borja Valero and scored his second of the match, turning the game around for the second time. Matias Vecino was unstoppable: the Uruguayan midfielder then set up Babacar, who scored Fiorentina’s fourth goal in the 70th minute.

The Senegalese forward scored his second of the game 9 minutes later, and the Violet Ones seemed set for an easy three points, but Icardi had other ideas. The striker produced a masterclass, turning with the ball at his feet and striking a precise shot that went in off the post. Then Mauro Icardi scored his hat-trick in the 1st minute of added time with a powerful header from a corner.

The visitors could not find an equaliser in the remaining 3 minutes of stoppage time, but they deserved credit for fighting until the very last minute.

How the season ended for both clubs

The nine-goal game on 22 April 2017 was watched by 26,195 spectators at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Neither side was able to challenge at the top of the table. Inter finished seventh in Serie A with 62 points and Fiorentina eighth with 60, from 16 wins, 12 draws and 10 defeats. Juventus won the title for the sixth season in a row, their 33rd in all, sealing it with a 3-0 win over Crotone on 21 May 2017. Roma’s Edin Dzeko was the league’s top scorer with 29 goals.

For Icardi, the hat-trick in Florence was part of his most productive season up to that point. He scored 24 league goals in 34 appearances, having been Inter captain since the start of the 2015-16 season. A year later, in 2017-18, he shared the Serie A top-scorer title with Ciro Immobile, as he had done with Luca Toni in 2014-15.

Fiorentina’s season brought a change on the bench. It was Paulo Sousa’s second and last campaign in charge, as his contract was not renewed for 2017-18. The 5-4 win over Inter was one of 16 league victories in that final season under the Portuguese coach.

The Fiorentina scorers afterwards

Matias Vecino, the outstanding player on the night, moved to Inter that summer. The transfer was made official on 2 August 2017, with the fee reported at €24 million. The Uruguayan was named in his country’s squad for the 2018 World Cup and went on to win 70 caps before retiring from international football in 2024.

Davide Astori, who headed in the equaliser at 2-2, was named Fiorentina captain at the start of the 2017-18 season. He died in his sleep on 4 March 2018 at a hotel in Udine the day before a match against Udinese; an autopsy found cardiac arrest as the cause. Both Fiorentina and his former club Cagliari retired his number 13 shirt, and Fiorentina renamed their training ground the Centro Sportivo Davide Astori.