Soccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v Fiorentina - San Siro, Milan, Italy - April 1, 2023 Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku in action with Fiorentina's Igor REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
MILAN (Reuters) - Inter Milan lost more ground in the race to finish second in Serie A after they slumped to their third successive defeat when they were beaten 1-0 by Fiorentina on Saturday.
With runaway leaders Napoli holding a 19-point advantage over second placed Lazio, Inter could have pulled level with Maurizio Sarri's side on 52 points had they beaten Fiorentina.
Instead, Inter are third with 50 points, with fourth-placed AC Milan only two points behind and with a game in hand.
Romelu Lukaku could have sent Inter ahead four minutes into the second half but the Belgian failed to tap in a cross from six yards.
Giacomo Bonaventura was in the right place after a rebound from a corner and headed the ball into the net from close range to give Fiorentina the lead after 53 minutes.
Inter squandered a chance to draw level six minutes later, with Nicolo Barella's powerful half-volley from the edge of the box hitting the crossbar.
Fiorentina are eighth with 40 points.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
