Inter Milan on the up

Inter Milan moved up to third in Serie A thanks to a hard-fought 2-1 win over 10-man Fiorentina at the San Siro.

Inter Milan moved up to third in Serie A thanks to a hard-fought 2-1 win over 10-man Fiorentina at the San Siro. Diego Milito put the Nerazzurri ahead from the penalty spot in the 17th minute and Antonio Cassano made it two 11 minutes before the interval. But a goal from Romulo only six minutes later gave the Viola hope and they continued to pile the pressure on their hosts. A red card for Gonzalo Rodriguez in the 62nd minute diminished Fiorentina's chances of getting an equaliser, but Inter still had to work hard for the three points, which take them above Sampdoria and into a share of third place with Lazio, four points behind league leaders Juventus. Inter started at a canter and were rewarded with the opening goal in the 17th minute. Rodriguez handled Javier Zanetti's cross and a penalty was awarded with Milito stepping up to beat Emiliano Viviano from the spot. Two minutes later, Milito almost added a second from open play, but his right-foot volley hit the underside of the crossbar, bouncing down to Coutinho, who was unable to react quickly enough to beat Viviano. Milito's third opportunity of the game arrived after 30 minutes of play, but this time Viviano stood up to him and denied the Argentinian in a one-on-one situation. But Inter doubled their lead just a few minutes later when Cassano beat Viviano inside his near post after receiving a dummied pass from Esteban Cambiasso. Many sides would give up at two goals down at the San Siro, but Fiorentina seemed to get a lift from the second goal. They pulled one back five minutes before half time when David Pizarro's cross was met by the head of Romulo, who beat Samir Handanovic. Adam Ljajic could even have levelled just before the interval, but he shot straight at Handanovic with only the Inter goalkeeper to beat. Fiorentina started the second half equally brightly, but a red card for Rodriguez, who received a second booking for a foul on Yuto Nagatomo, left them with 10 men for the last half-an-hour. Viviano made two saves from Milito as Inter tried to wrap up the win but the 10 men of Fiorentina kept the game alive right to the very end.