Champions Inter Milan missed the opportunity to reclaim the top spot in Serie A after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Fiorentina in a rescheduled fixture on Thursday.
Moise Kean was the star of the show, scoring twice to help the hosts secure a comfortable victory.
The loss kept Inter in second place with 51 points, trailing leaders Napoli by three, while Fiorentina climbed to fourth with 42 points, edging Lazio on goal difference.
The match was initially abandoned on December 1 after Fiorentina’s Edoardo Bove collapsed on the pitch and was rushed to the hospital.
The game resumed from the 17th minute with a Fiorentina throw-in at 0-0.
Fiorentina survived early pressure, with goalkeeper David de Gea saving a powerful shot from Lautaro Martinez and Carlos Augusto having a goal disallowed for offside. However, the home side created the best chances of the first half.
Kean almost broke the deadlock when he met Fabiano Parisi’s cross with a downward header from close range, only for Inter keeper Yann Sommer to make an instinctive save with his foot.
Moments later, Kean set up Dodo with a sweeping pass, but the Fiorentina full-back drove into the area and dragged his shot wide of the far post.
Inter struggled to break through Fiorentina’s defense in the second half, and the hosts capitalized in the 59th minute.
Ranieri latched onto a loose ball from outside the box and fired a first-time shot past Sommer into the bottom corner to give Fiorentina a deserved lead.
Fiorentina doubled their advantage nine minutes later. Dodo whipped in a cross from the right, and Kean peeled away from his marker before powering a header into the bottom corner, leaving Sommer helpless.
Inter made three substitutions in response, bringing on Nicolo Barella, Federico Dimarco, and Marko Arnautovic, but they failed to change the game’s momentum.
Their best chance was a speculative long-range lob from Dimarco that De Gea handled with ease.
Any hopes of an Inter comeback were dashed in the 89th minute when Dimarco gifted Fiorentina a third goal. His blind backpass was intercepted by Kean, who took full advantage, calmly slotting the ball into an empty net for his 15th league goal of the season.
That goal sealed the end of Inter’s 17-game unbeaten run in Serie A.
Inter will have a shot at redemption when they host Fiorentina at the San Siro on Monday.
