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Fiorentina top Serie A for first time in 16yrs

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A Nikola Kalinic hat-trick gave Fiorentina a 4-1 win over Inter at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Sunday, with La Viola replacing the Nerazzurri in first place in Serie A, the first time they have found themselves there since February 1999.
The Nerazzurri entered the match having conceded just once in five games, but an early Josip Ilicic penalty and a brace from the Croatian striker inside the opening 23 minutes turned that statistic on its head in a hurry.
Miranda’s red card soon after ended hopes of an unlikely Inter fight back, and though Mauro Icardi did net in the second half, Kalinic completed his hat-trick with 15 minutes left to play, to send the Gigliati to the summit of the Serie A standings.
Fiorentina’s dream evening began just two minutes in as Samir Handanovic’s poor first touch allowed Kalinic to take the ball from him, before the Inter goalkeeper took him down in the penalty area.
Ilicic stepped up and made no mistake, firing past his fellow Slovenian to become the first player to net before half-time against the Nerazzurri this season.
He wouldn’t be the last either as La Viola inflicted even further misery on the home side and Handanovic in the 18th minute.
Ilicic fired a stinging drive from distance that the goalkeeper failed to properly parry, and Kalinic slid in to tap home the rebound and make it 2-0.
A third came soon after as Marcos Alonso made his way past Ivan Perisic down the left, firing a low cross into the penalty area that the Croatian easily fired home.

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With Fiorentina’s dominance well established, chances of an Inter fight back were dealt a killer blow just after the half hour mark when Miranda was shown a red card after hauling down the vibrant Croatian striker as the last man.
The Nerazzurri’s struggles were so pronounced that their best chance of the half came via La Viola goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu, who nearly directed a Facundo Roncaglia back pass into his own goal only to see it trickle just wide of the post.
Inter pegged one back on the hour thanks to captain Icardi, who headed Alex Telles’ freekick off the post before firing home from close range to restore some pride for the home side.
Kalinic completed his hat-trick 15 minutes later, becoming the second Gigliati player, after Vinicio Viani in 1933, to fire three past the Nerazzurri, slotting home into an empty goal after a great one-two with Ilicic to round out a famous victory for the away side.
Inter now prepare for an away fixture with Sampdoria next Sunday, while Fiorentina welcome Atalanta to the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

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