Inter Milan's Ivan Perisic, left, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal of the game during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter Milan, at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
The Associated Press
FLORENCE, Italy (AP) - Inter Milan moved to the top of Serie A after winning at Fiorentina 2-0 on Friday.
Nicolò Barella scored a great first-half opener and Ivan Perišić doubled the lead shortly after the break to hand the Nerazzurri their first win in Florence since 2014.
Inter moved a point above AC Milan, which hosts bottom-placed Crotone on Sunday.
Inter was looking to bounce back from Tuesday's loss to Juventus in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals. The second leg is in Turin next week.
Barella curled a brilliant strike into the right side of the net in the 31st minute.
That appeared to spark Fiorentina into life, and shortly after Samir Handanović pulled off a double save to deny, first, Giacomo Bonaventura, and then Cristiano Biraghi.
Romelu Lukaku could have made it 2-0 on the stroke of halftime but headed Alexis Sánchez's cross badly.
Inter doubled its advantage seven minutes after the interval when Achraf Hakimi cut in from the right and rolled the ball across the area for Perišić to slot in at the far post.
Inter missed a chance to extend its lead when Lukaku had a goal ruled out for offside.
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Inter Milan's Nicolo Barella celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter Milan, at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
The Associated Press
Inter Milan's Alessandro Bastoni, left, competes for the ball with Fiorentina's Giacomo Bonaventura during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter Milan, at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
The Associated Press
Inter Milan's Romelo Lukaku and Fiorentina's Igor, left, vie for the ball during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter Milan, at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
The Associated Press
Inter Milan's Alexis Sanchez, right, takes on Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat, during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter Milan, at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
The Associated Press
Inter Milan's Romelo Lukaku walks on the pitch prior to the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter Milan, at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
The Associated Press