Inter Milan survive late scare against Fiorentina for vital win
Palacio and Icardi help end poor away form moving Milan up to fifth on Serie A table
Inter Milan's Rodrigo Palacio and Mauro Icardi struck in a 2-1 win at Fiorentina to secure their struggling side's first away victory in Serie A since early November.
Inter's second win in a row moved Walter Mazzarri's fifth-placed side to 39 points, within five of their hosts and eight adrift of Napoli who were third ahead of their visit to Sassuolo overnight.
Palacio poked home his 11th goal of the season in the 34th minute and fellow Argentine Icardi came off the bench to sweep home Yuti Nagatomo's cross with a deft finish after 65 minutes.
Inter deserved to lead in the first half. They played better than us
Icardi's winner came after the lively Juan Cuadrado levelled for Fiorentina with a deflected shot seconds after the break, the 20-year-old Inter striker deemed just onside to score three minutes after replacing compatriot Diego Milito.
Fiore substitute Alessandro Matri almost grabbed an equaliser at the death from close range but Inter held on to pick up all three points.
"I think Inter deserved to lead in the first half. They played better than us," said Fiore coach Vincenzo Montella.
"But that changed in the second half when we had the match in our hands after equalising, and we objectively suffered some bad luck," he added referring to Icardi's controversial goal.