Alex Jimenez left San Siro with Fiorentina beaten, but not unnoticed. In a match that seemed to belong to Inter’s pressure and eventual late recovery, the Spanish wide player became the figure around whom the afternoon turned: first through confrontation, then with a strike that briefly gave the Viola an unlikely lead.
Fiorentina had arrived with a cautious plan under Paolo Vanoli, defending deep and offering little room for attacking adventure. Jimenez was the player most willing to break from that script, carrying the ball forward and bringing an edge that the home crowd quickly turned against him.
Quick facts
- Jimenez scored Fiorentina’s goal in the 65th minute from around 25 metres.
- It was his second goal of the season, following his earlier strike against Napoli.
- He had also forced Vasquez’s own goal in Genoa, giving him a further indirect contribution.
- Fiorentina protected their lead until the 90th minute before Inter overturned the match.
- Jimenez was substituted in the 75th minute and was restrained by Vanoli after the final whistle.
The tension had begun shortly after the interval. Jimenez clashed with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and then responded to the Curva Nord, gesturing for the supporters to make more noise. From that point, whistles and abuse followed him around the stadium.
There was history in the setting. His previous appearance at San Siro had come in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final in May 2025, when he supplied Luka Jovic for Milan’s opening goal in a 3-0 Rossoneri win. With his Milan connection and newly bright, almost fluorescent hair, the occasion acquired the feel of a personal derby.
His most important intervention came in the 65th minute. Fiorentina’s move appeared to be fading into a routine attack, but Jimenez drove forward and, from an area where a cross seemed the obvious choice, struck firmly with his right foot.
The effort beat Provedel at the near post and flew into the top corner. It was one of the weekend’s standout finishes, and it gave Fiorentina a lead that had looked beyond the pattern of the game.
Vanoli’s side could not turn that moment into control. Their defensive work held until the final stages, but Inter found the response expected of a side accustomed to forcing matches in the closing minutes and completed the turnaround after the 90th minute.
Jimenez had already gone off after 75 minutes, leaving the field as Fiorentina’s outstanding performer despite the hostile atmosphere. From the bench, he struggled with both his replacement and the late collapse.
At full time, some Inter players approached him over his conduct during the match. Vanoli stepped in, held his player back and led him away, closing an intense San Siro afternoon for a Fiorentina side that found one defiant voice but could not protect the result.
