Late Lukaku, D’Ambrosio goals lift Inter in seven-goal Fiorentina show

Milan: Danilo D’Ambrosio and Romelu Lukaku scored two late goals as Inter Milan grabbed a thrilling season-opening 4-3 win over a Franck Ribery-inspired Fiorentina on Saturday.

Title rivals Atalanta and Lazio also got their campaigns off to winning starts as they bid to deny Juventus a 10th consecutive Serie A title this season.

Antonio Conte’s Inter had been trailing Fiorentina with three minutes to go in the San Siro but broke through after Ribery was substituted.

Lukaku equalised on 87 minutes with defender D’Ambrosio nodding in two minutes later.

“The three points are important, but obviously you have to make the right assessment,” said Conte.

Inter finished second in Serie A last season just one point behind Juventus.

But it was a far from confident display from Inter who were a goal down after three minutes to Ivorian Christian Kouame.

Lautaro Martinez levelled just before the break and Inter went ahead when Fiorentina defender Federico Ceccherini turned into his own net seven minutes after the break.

But Ribery was omnipresent for Fiorentina setting up their next two goals for Gaetano Castrovilli on 57 minutes and a Federico Chiesa lob in six minutes later.

The 37-year-old French midfielder was substituted with the game seemingly in hand after 83 minutes, but the Tuscany side were to be denied a first win over Inter in over three years.

Inter could also thank their substitutes with Achraf Hakimi, Arturo Vidal, and Radja Nainggolan getting their first starts, with the bench one of the team’s weak points last season compared to Juventus.

Ciro Immobile picked up where he left off as Lazio won 2-0 at Cagliari while Atalanta earned a 4-2 comeback against Torino.

Italy forward Immobile -- top Serie A scorer last season with 36 goals -- grabbed Lazio’s second goal in the last quarter of an hour in Sardinia.

Lazio had Adam Marusic to thank for their two goals. After setting up Manuel Lazzari for the opener after four minutes, the Montenegrin again broke down the left flank to serve up the pass for Immobile after 74 minutes.

Agencies