After the game, Pascual's goal became the focus of media analysis. From the slow-motion replay, Gilardino seemed not to have touched his teammate's pass, but from Gilardino's celebration posture, the goal should belong to him. Because Fiorentina ultimately lost the match, neither Pascual nor Gilardino appeared to explain whose goal it was. The 18-year-old Campolese, if he wants to become a player like his idol (Nesta), must learn from similar games. In this match, it was precisely Campolese's two mistakes that led to Inter Milan's victory. His own-goal, according to Bergomi, "had more to do with clumsiness than misfortune," and this young defender also bore significant responsibility for his team's second conceded goal. Eto'o had easily bypassed Campolese in a one-on-one situation before passing. After the game, Mihajlovic was the first to step forward to console his young defender, "We created many chances, especially in the first half, perhaps a draw would have been a fairer result. We are very clear, when facing an opponent like Inter Milan, any mistake will be severely punished. Campolese? He is still very young, and his opponent was Eto'o, I think Eto'o is a player no defender would want to face." The home fans also quietly accepted the loss, several Fiorentina fans interviewed by Sky TV said, "The team and players have already tried their best, and Fiorentina's performance was not inferior to the opponent. Such a defeat will only make us regretful, this is different from the previous loose performances of the team, only when the team doesn't fight hard will the fans really get angry."
In Mazola's view, attack-defense balance might be Inter Milan's only problem, but Leonardo actually said clearly, "I am like this, either concede goals or win." Now, with a record of 8 wins and 2 losses, everything stands firmly on Leonardo's side. However, Sky TV also pointed out another "small problem" of Inter Milan. After being placed on the right wing, Eto'o's range of movement seemed further away from the goal, and it slightly restricted Maicon's assists. After the game, Leonardo's assistant Baresi indicated that this is an issue that needs to be faced and resolved in the future.
Both teams attached great importance to this game. Mihajlovic, Mancini's deputy at Inter Milan, sent out the same lineup that reversed to beat Palermo, while Leonardo made some changes to his Inter Milan team. Due to Motta and Chivu's suspension, the Brazilian decided to give Yuto Nagatomo a chance, and considering the midfield organization issue, he let the already recovered Stankovic start, ensuring the quality of midfield organization together with Sneijder. At the beginning of the game, Inter Milan quickly took the lead through a own-goal by Italian defensive new talent Campolese, but Fiorentina did not give up under the encouragement of the home fans. After Gilardino and Santana both missed scoring opportunities, it was finally Pascual's ambiguous cross-shot that misled goalkeeper Julio Cesar. Two minutes later, Montolivo even had a chance to reverse the game for the host, but his shot hit Gilardino. Just before halftime, Gilardino also incredibly wasted an excellent opportunity. Inter Milan's chances in the first half came only from Eto'o and Pazzini. During the game, both Nagatomo and Maicon rarely assisted, which was likely due to the pressure from Fiorentina's wing players, as Pascual, Behrami, and Comotto were all players who spared no effort. Moreover, Sneijder played with a slight injury, affecting his performance, and Inter Milan's chances mainly came from Stankovic and Eto'o's individual efforts. After the game, although Inter Milan won, Bergomi only acknowledged the performances of Stankovic, Eto'o, and Ranocchia. It is worth noting that in the last moments of the game, Leonardo chose "New Nesta" and the Colombian among Ranocchia, Materazzi, and Cordoba, and Ranocchia rewarded Leonardo with several crucial tackles. National TV commented that Gilardino missed so many opportunities in the first half, and actually, people shouldn't overlook Ranocchia's "contribution."
After the game, Baresi replaced Leonardo to attend the press conference. This wasn't the first time in Leonardo's Inter Milan era. But it was different from the situation when Mourinho was in charge; the Portuguese wanted to give Baresi a chance to appear, while Leonardo did so because he temporarily lost his voice after being overly involved in commanding the game from the sidelines. Additionally, Italian media revealed that after the game in Turin, there was a very important meeting between Leonardo and Moratti. During this process, Moratti reaffirmed his unwavering trust in Leonardo, while Leonardo expressed his strong desire to win and some specific approaches. One of the most obvious points was that Leonardo had delivered a fierce statement during the press conference before going to Florence, which seemed out of sync with the club's steps, but in fact, it was the result of discussions with Moratti. Similar to Mourinho's approach, Leo intended to shift the media's focus and criticism onto himself rather than discussing Eto'o's mistakes, Cordoba's errors, or Ranocchia's value. Clearly, Leonardo achieved his goal for the club's benefit. After this game, both Baresi and Ranocchia expressed that after losing the Derby della Repubblica, this victory was very important. Besides AC Milan and Napoli, Inter Milan would also persist until the end in the Serie A title race.
Just as AC Milan and Roma both stumbled in the Champions League, Inter Milan secured a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina in a fiercely contested game at the Artemio Franchi Stadium. "After the postponed match against Fiorentina, the gap between Inter Milan and AC Milan should enter a negligible range." In Milan, similar topics had been repeated for months. "Inter Milan must defeat Fiorentina, they have no room for error anymore," coinciding with AC Milan's loss to Tottenham, was a similar question. Both Leonardo and Zanetti admitted that their team felt the pressure; they were very clear that Inter Milan had to win this postponed match, otherwise, the dream of winning the Serie A title this season could completely vanish. Ultimately, facing a virtually reborn Fiorentina and a highly active Mutu, Leonardo's team emerged victorious. After Campolese's own-goal and Pascual's goal, both sides were tied 1-1 in the first half, and in the second half, former Fiorentina player Pazzini determined the outcome of the game. Assisting Pazzini was the panther Eto'o, out of respect for Fiorentina's fans, Pazzini was very low-key after scoring, making no celebratory gestures. Leonardo achieved his 8th victory in 10 Serie A matches since taking over, after this game, the gap between Inter Milan and AC Milan narrowed to a noteworthy 5 points...