Fiorentina beat Inter Milan 1-0 on Saturday evening in La Viola’s first victory over the Milan club in years. That the match was away from home made it even more special, and Fiorentina are going through a good period.
It was a blow for Inter Milan, for whom Champions League football is in the balance next season. Should they not qualify then the club’s finances would take a big hit and that would inevitably impact the transfer market.
One of the big highlights, or lowlights if you prefer, from Saturday’s match was Romelu Lukaku somehow managing to miss when scoring looked easier. On loan from Chelsea, the Belgium international may have had a great international break but he was woeful against the Tuscany club.
In the past week it’s been made clear that Lukaku wants to stay at Inter Milan beyond his loan from Chelsea. Blues manager Graham Potter had suggested he’d like to have the player back, but it’s not thought to be what he wants.
Saturday’s Italian media was full of articles about how Inter could keep Lukaku, but a big takeaway was that he needs to produce, and that simply isn’t happening.
Prior to the match, TMW quoted Inter chief Giuseppe Marotta as saying: “As regards his attachment to the shirt, it’s 10/10, at the end of the loan he will return to Chelsea and today it is premature to talk about it. I hope that his performances are comforting and that they give a contribution to the team’s objectives.”
Lukaku has scored three Serie A goals so far this season, two in two games against Spezia Calcio, with the third coming against Udinese.
Unless his performances drastically get better then it’s hard to see Inter making a great effort to keep him, especially if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.
Then it’s down to Chelsea to decide whether they want to give him another go or get rid at any cost.
