Inter Milan was utterly dominant at the San Siro but was unable to break down a stubborn Fiorentina defense, and the resulting 0-0 draw meant Juventus moved a step closer to their ninth consecutive Scudetto in the ongoing Serie A.
With Romelu Lukaku back from injury, Inter coach Antonio Conte on Wednesday preferred Alexis Sanchez over Lautaro Martinez to partner the Belgian, while Christian Eriksen returned to the starting line-up, reports Xinhua news agency.
The Nerazzurri used their aggression and tempo to press high from the beginning.
Fiorentina risked an own goal just five minutes into the game before keeper Pietro Terracciano performed a double save to deny Inter.
Lukaku almost found the net in the 18th minute but saw his header smack the woodwork.
The home side was then forced to make the change as Stefan de Vrij limped off and was replaced by Andrea Ranocchia.
Antonio Candreva volleyed in from Ashley Young’s cross straight after the break, but it was correctly flagged offside.
Sanchez went closer in the 52nd minute, but his low strike was denied by the upright.
The draw dropped Inter to third place with 73 points, with second-placed Atalanta sitting six points behind Juventus who have a game in hand, meaning the Old Lady just needs one more win to secure the Serie A title with three matches remaining.
Elsewhere, Bruno Peres bagged a hat-trick as Roma surged to a 6-1 win over already-relegated SPAL.
Parma ended their seven-game winless run by defeating Napoli 2-1, with all three goals coming from the penalty spot.
In Wednesday’s other Serie A matches, Lecce condemned Brescia to Serie B next season with a 3-1 victory, Sampdoria suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Genoa, and Torino shared the spoils with Hellas Verona after a 1-1 draw.
