Former Sweden international Ibrahimovic has scored eight goals in 18 appearances since returning to the Serie A club on a short-term deal.
The 38-year-old's arrival has coincided with an upturn in form for Milan in the second half of the campaign, including a run of 11 games without defeat since last month's restart.
And Pioli has underlined Ibrahimovic's importance to the side, not only in terms of scoring goals but also creating opportunities for others.
"Ibra has improved us in many ways on the pitch, giving us solutions we didn't previously have," Pioli said at a pre-match news conference on Tuesday.
"He has an important presence both physically and technically and creates a lot of space for his team-mates. Regarding his personality and character, he was definitely decisive."
Centre-back Simon Kjaer has also impressed since joining from Sevilla at the turn of the year, forming a solid partnership with Alessio Romagnoli at the heart of the defence.
Pioli, who last week agreed a new two-year deal to stay on as Milan boss, is after more of the same from his in-form side ahead of the trip to Sampdoria.
"Kjaer is doing well and is another January signing that has contributed in an important way," Pioli said.
"We now have a couple of games remaining. We should face each game with the right determination and concentration.
"The matches must be played with great respect. Sampdoria are doing well and gave Juventus difficulties. They are playing with ease because they have reached their target."
Milan drew 1-1 with Atalanta last time out to extend their unbeaten run and Pioli has fifth-placed Roma in his sights with two games to go.
"We have to believe we can catch them," he said. "We don't have much time and it is not just up to us.
"We are focused on tomorrow's game against Sampdoria, who know how to cover the field well. We will have to be at our best.
"Winning is the only way we can have any hope. Then we will wait for Roma's result [against Torino]. I'll ask my players for one final effort."
Ibrahimovic made a superb start to the season with Serie A leaders Milan, scoring 11 goals in 10 games, before suffering a hamstring injury last month.
The veteran striker has impressed since returning to the Serie A club at the start of the year, although talk about his future continues after he turned 39 in October.
But Ibrahimovic, who is contracted until the end of the season, said he wanted to continue while he could.
"As long as I will continue to feel good. Because when the years go by, we no longer talk about quality, but only about how you are physically," he told Sky Sport.
"If you are physically well you can do it, like [Francesco] Totti. But it applies to everyone. It is not a lack of quality, if one is in the right physical condition he can do it.
"That's the important thing, losing quality is impossible. It's whether you can do it physically or not."
Ibrahimovic returned to Europe at the start of the year after two seasons with LA Galaxy.
The former Sweden international said he would be realistic about his future, revealing he headed to MLS after uncertainty about whether he could still deliver in Europe.
"Because you still think you are stronger, you still think you can, and you are not realistic in understanding that maybe you can't do it anymore. And I don't have this ego, I'm realistic," Ibrahimovic said.
"Why did I go to America? Because I wanted to start from scratch, I thought that, perhaps, after the injury, I would no longer be able to do the things I did before at Manchester United. I told [Jose] Mourinho, 'Don't call me anymore, with all due respect I am no longer the Ibra I was before.' I was being realistic towards myself, my ego went down, so I went to America to start from scratch.
"I didn't know what awaited me, but after two years I felt alive and I said, 'Let's go back to Europe and see if I can do it or not.' That's why I signed up for six months, to evaluate myself. I have my vision, my confidence, but then it all depends on the results on the pitch.
"It is one thing to have vision and trust and then step into the field only to be told you can't take it anymore. It doesn't really matter what people say – because you don't have to be influenced from outside – you have to trust. That's why I say it's all ego."
After signing a short-term deal with Milan, Ibrahimovic committed to the club for 2020-21 in August – but said he had initially told coach Stefano Pioli he was leaving.
"I'll tell you how it went. Pioli asks me, 'What do you want to do?' I reply, 'In my opinion, I am not going forward'. I said, 'No, I don't continue. That's enough.'"
Ibrahimovic netted both of his goals in the first 16 minutes – the opener coming from a rebound after a penalty he won was saved – to maintain Milan's perfect start to the campaign.
He had missed four games and not played for almost a month after contracting COVID-19, but the 39-year-old made up for lost time with his match-winning brace at San Siro on Saturday.
"I was so hungry. They locked the wrong animal in the house," he told MTV.
"It is not easy mentally to always be at homecoming from a very high pace – the body is shaking because it wants to work, it wants to play.
"I stayed at home and have waited for him to pass to return with the team and work with the team."
Ibrahimovic, who now has five goals in three appearances this season, lasted the full 90 minutes against Milan despite his lack of playing time over the past month.
And it was revealed after the match that the Swedish striker asked to be substituted, only for head coach Stefano Pioli to keep him on until the end.
"He was very tired and even asked to come off, but this time I was the one who ignored him!" Pioli told Sky Sport Italia.
"Zlatan is extraordinary, he brings so much to the side with his talent, determination and character. He's an exemplary professional, gives everything for his team, wants to win everything from a cup Final to a training ground routine.
" I can't take any credit for dealing with Ibrahimovic, as it's very easy."
Romelu Lukaku pulled one back for Inter just before the half-hour mark and had a penalty shout turned down by VAR in the second half.
Achraf Hakimi also wasted a good headed opportunity for Inter as Antonio Conte's side pushed for a leveller but Milan held on for to seal the bragging rights.
Not since 1995 have they won four straight league games at the start of a season, though Pioli can still see room for improvement as he put talk of a Scudetto challenge in perspective.
"The team spirit is incredible, we work hard for our cause," he said. "We won every game this season, but none of them were easy.
"That means we have to improve tactically and technically, because we cannot always rely on character.
"I like to think positive and consider myself an optimist, but I also acknowledge there are at least three or four clubs who invested more than we did and are at a more advanced stage.
"We are ambitious, but largely invested for the future. There are seven clubs at a high level in Serie A right now and only four of them will be happy with a Champions League spot at the end of the season.
"If you want to challenge for the Scudetto, you need to raise the quality level of the squad. Even then, it takes a lot of time, there are sides that invested far more and haven't done as well.
"The club has been wise to lay the foundations and build upon them going forward."
Ibrahimovic opened the scoring with a stunning first-half free-kick in Wednesday's 3-0 victory at Genoa, a result that moved Milan within a point of leaders Napoli, who squandered a 2-0 lead in a 2-2 draw against Sassuolo.
The victory was a welcome return to form for Milan, having gone from unbeaten domestically to licking their wounds following back-to-back league defeats.
Milan head coach Stefano Pioli signed a contract extension last week and Ibrahimovic wants to be the next to put pen to paper as the evergreen 40-year-old eyes silverware with the club.
"I have fun, before the match, we had already decided how long I would have played," Ibrahimovic said to Sky Sport Italia after the match. "These guys make me have fun and feel young.
"We had made errors that cost us the previous two games. It was all our fault, not our opponents' merit, but we won today and we remain up there.
"Now I have to renew. I am happy for [Pioli] because he deserves [his contract extension], if he renews, I renew. Pioli has done a great job.
"I am happy for the fans. For so many years, they have not enjoyed as they are enjoying now. I want to make them happy, but if we don't win a trophy we haven't done anything."
Ibrahimovic's goal was his 153rd goal in Serie A, drawing level with Stefano Nyers and Hernan Crespo in 26th place among the top scorers in the Italian competition.
His 73 league goals for Milan also took Swedish forward Ibrahimovic to 10th in Milan's standings, alongside Filippo Inzaghi.
Once Pioli had penned his own terms, the 56-year-old revealed that Ibrahimovic wasted no time in contacting him to ask for a new contract.
The Milan boss praised his team's performance against Genoa, particularly the connection between Ibrahimovic and his team-mates.
"Zlatan is the only player who sent me a message as soon as I signed my contract," Pioli said to Sky Sport Italia. "It said congratulations, Mister, now sort mine out!
"That's Zlatan for you! This is a season that can give us satisfaction, I don't know how far we can go.
"We played with intensity and determination for the whole game this evening and unfortunately we are not a team that can do the bare minimum. We've got to give it our all, or we are not superior to the opposition.
"The arrival of Zlatan improved everything, certainly, but his team-mates also did well to accept his way of motivating them.
"At the same time, Zlatan has to thank his team-ates, because he has come back to being the great player he was a few years ago. It's give and take for them both."
Ibrahimovic will turn 41 in early October and is into his third full season at Milan, having joined from LA Galaxy in December 2019.
Injuries have been a regular source of frustration for the Swede since his return to Milan, though he still has a fine goalscoring record of 33 in 60 Serie A appearances during his second spell at the club.
Ibrahimovic is not expected to play again this year after having surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury in May, an injury that at the time seemed likely to end his career.
But it appears the enigmatic striker is determined to go out on his own terms, dismissing recent comments from former Milan player and executive Zvonimir Boban, who said it was "not right" for Ibrahimovic to keep playing.
Asked about Boban's opinion, Ibrahimovic told Gazzetta dello Sport: "If I see a player stronger than me, I'll stop. But I haven't seen him yet.
"I am arrogant, [I have] zero fear. I'm fine, I work every day to come back. When I come back, I'll be heard, you can count on it.
"I'll [return] with violence. It takes patience – this is the key now."
Ibrahimovic helped Milan to Scudetto success before his injury, with that being the Rossoneri's first league title since 2011, during his first spell.
Milan have enjoyed a decent start to their title defence, with Napoli and Atalanta only sitting above them in the table after six games by virtue of a better goal difference.
When Ibrahimovic does return to the pitch, he believes he will be coming into a team that is even better than the one that won the title, appearing particularly excited about Charles de Ketelaere.
"De Ketelaere is top, I say so. You just have to give him some time to grow," he continued.
"We are even stronger than last year as a group. Overall, we are a better team, the market in the summer after the Scudetto strengthened us and now we have more alternatives on the bench.
"If I hadn't liked it [the transfer business], I wouldn't have been here."
High-profile additions to the playing staff are among a number of ambitious proposals Leven, who hopes to gain control of the club at elections planned for November, has put forward to turn around the fortunes of a club that has struggled to pay wages this year.
As part of the 'Somamos' project he also hopes to bring in US$400million in six years, redevelop the Sao Januario and raise the capacity to 55,000, increase the membership base to record-breaking levels and purchase clubs in Europe and China to expand the Vasco brand.
Leven claims to have been working with Italian businessman and sporting director Fabio Cordella as well as agent Mino Raiola, whose clients include Ibrahimovic and Balotelli.
"We are negotiating, trying to make the Vasco of our dreams," Leven said in an interview with FOXSports.com.br.
"Balotelli and Ibrahimovic have the same agent. Ibrahimovic would be a more daring project.
"But you don't have to think about which great player will be hired, but that we will bring in great players. If it's not one, it will be another."
Former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure was linked with a switch to Botafogo that did not come to fruition, but Leven suggested Vasco stand a chance of securing a deal for the former Ivory Coast international.
"In football there are no coincidences. If [Toure] didn't go to Botafogo, it was because someone stopped him. Maybe he's close to me," he said.
A move to return Jiangsu Suning forward Teixeira to Vasco reportedly hit a stumbling block, while Al Hilal's Giovinco is understood to be another target for the club.
Leven has also promised to bring Brazil international Souza back to the club.
"If we have players at the level of Balotelli, Yaya Toure, Giovinco, Alex Teixeira and Souza, we are a competitive team," added Leven.
The Milan striker was recalled by Janne Andersson for this month's World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo and Georgia, plus the friendly with Estonia, paving the way for him to potentially play at Euro 2020.
He celebrated his first call-up in nearly five years by posting a picture on Twitter of himself in a Sweden shirt with the caption: "The return of the God."
Ibrahimovic, who turns 40 in October, is Sweden's all-time leading scorer with 62 international goals, the last of those coming against Denmark in November 2015.
Speaking at a media conference on Monday, an emotional Ibrahimovic revealed the difficulty of leaving his family to join up with the national team.
"I had Vincent [his son] here, who was actually crying when I left him. But it's okay...," he said, before breaking off in tears.
"This takes time away from my family and it's not an easy thing. If you have two kids crying every time you leave them, it's a bit hard. I'm human, even though I'm Superman.
"They are very proud."
Ibrahimovic has impressed in Serie A this term with 15 goals in as many matches, and the ex-Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain striker believes he can still make an impact on the international stage.
"I'm just a piece of the puzzle, among many pieces. I'm here to do better, if Janne thinks I can,” he added.
"If you ask me, I'm the best in the world, but that doesn't help me much here. I've promised to decide matches, so now it's up to me!
"I'm just glad I'm here. I'm proud, I'm not demanding anything and I want nothing. I just want to contribute what I can. If Janne felt I cannot contribute or do what I have to do, then we wouldn't be here.
"As of today, I want to keep going as long as I can. I don't want to regret anything when I stop. That thought came into my head after the injury [in 2017].
"You should continue as long as you can with what you love. Football is what I want to do; that's what I love.
"I am who I am. But I'm not here to have my own show."
Icardi is on loan at Ligue 1 champions PSG, who have the option to make the deal permanent for a fee in the region of €70million at the end of the season.
The Argentina international was unwanted by Antonio Conte's Inter heading into the 2019-20 campaign and his move to PSG has yielded 19 goals in all competitions.
Icardi, who has only scored twice in his past 12 appearances, has previously spoken of his willingness to stay at PSG but Nara said she is unsure what the future holds.
"Will Mauro go to Juventus? I really don't know," Nara told Chi magazine.
"I don't know if next season we will return to Milan or Paris. In football you never know.
"He will choose and we will follow him. It's difficult for you to argue because I know Mauro very well and I know exactly what he wants as a footballer and what makes him feel good as a man.
"I will follow him in his choices as wife and as his agent for extra security."
Icardi was an unused substitute as PSG lost 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund in the opening leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday.
Ligue 1 leaders PSG and Icardi host 10th-placed Bordeaux in Paris on Sunday.
Football's rules governing body took the decision to give competitions scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020 the option to permit five subs back in May as leagues around the world resumed following widespread coronavirus-enforced stoppages.
Its board of directors conducted an in-depth review to determine whether to extend the option following feedback from stakeholders and an assessment of COVID-19's impact on competition calendars.
The board took the decision to extend it to competitions set to be completed by July 31, 2021 and to international competitions scheduled in July/August 2021.
A FIFA media release said that the reasons for giving competitions the option remain valid and that player welfare will likely continue to be impacted due to the shorter-than-usual recovery and preparation period athletes in competitions that resumed in 2020 may have before the start of the 2020-21 season.
The release also pointed to the condensed fixture schedule that is set to be a feature of most major competitions next term due to delayed starts and major international tournaments preventing a later end to the 2020-21 campaign.
The Premier League, LaLiga, the Bundesliga and Serie A are all set to start in September and end in May, with Ligue 1 - which will commence in August - the lone exception among the top five European leagues.
Euro 2020 - delayed to 2021 because of the pandemic - is scheduled to begin on June 11, as is the 2021 Copa America. Both competitions are set to finish on July 11.
Playing ahead of Juve on Tuesday, Lazio came from behind to defeat Torino and move – temporarily at least – to within a point of Maurizio Sarri's side
Immobile was key to their result, scoring his 29th league goal of the campaign in the 48th minute to cancel out Andrea Belotti's early opener.
Immobile's low strike from the left side of the area into the bottom-right corner saw him equal a club record he set in 2017-18.
The only player to have scored more goals after 29 games in a Serie A season was Antonio Angelillo with 31 in 1958-59.
Italy international Immobile, playing against his former club, was not done there, however, and teed up Marco Parolo to secure the points and keep Lazio right on Juve's heels.
The 29-year-old Italy international scored twice in the 5-1 thrashing of SPAL last Sunday to take his tally to 25 Serie A goals for the season.
Immobile has accounted for almost half of Lazio's 52 league goals in 2019-20 and leads the race for the European Golden Shoe ahead of Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski and RB Leipzig's Timo Werner.
He is six goals clear of Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the Serie A scoring charts and is the first player since former Inter, Roma and Milan attacker Antonio Valentin Angelillo back in 1959 to reach 25 goals in the first 21 league games of the season in Italy's top flight.
Such has been Immobile's ruthless form that his representative, Alessandro Moggi, is in no doubt as to how he compares to the other leading forwards in the continent.
"I think he's the best striker in Europe, not just Italy," he said to Tuttomercatoweb.
Immobile's goals have propelled Lazio into a surprise Scudetto challenge.
Simone Inzaghi's men, who have lost just twice all season, will move second in the table and to within two points of leaders Juventus if they beat Hellas Verona on Wednesday.
Moggi thinks the fact Lazio and Inter are challenging Juve's dominance this season shows Serie A is on track to become Europe's elite league once more.
"It's certainly not a coincidence. It's the result of all three teams' work," he said of seeing three sides scrapping for the top of the table.
"I have to emphasise the work of Lazio, especially sporting director [Igli] Tare, who has managed to make his team competitive and even fight for the title with fewer resources.
"Serie A has got back to spending. It's returned to a league of arrivals, not only departures. We can get back to the glories of the past."
Lecce's 2-1 comeback win over Lazio at Stadio Via del Mare on Wednesday was overshadowed by a section of Lazio fans in the away end aiming racist abuse towards Umtiti and Banda.
The match was halted for several minutes by referee Livio Marinelli and a message was played over the announcer system warning the match would not resume if the chants continued.
Home supporters chanted Umtiti's name in solidarity and he asked for the match to resume, but the Barcelona loanee reportedly left the field in tears at full-time.
"Umtiti asked for the game to resume because he wanted to respond to the insults he received on the pitch. He reacted like a true champion," Lecce president Saverio Sticchi Damiani said after the match.
Lecce condemned the racist abuse in a statement on Wednesday and Umtiti posted a message of his own on social media that read: "Only football, fun, joy. The rest doesn't count."
Umtiti received supportive replies from the likes of Jerome Boateng, Naby Sarr and Alexandre Lacazette, while FIFA chief Infantino also offered his backing for the centre-back and Zambia international Banda.
"Solidarity with Samuel Umtiti and Lameck Banda – let's shout it loud and clear: No to racism," he wrote alongside photos of Umtiti and Banda in action.
"May the huge majority of fans, who are good people, stand up and shut up all the racists once and for all."
The unsavoury incident came on the first day of Serie A action following a near-two-month break for the World Cup.
Lecce's victory, secured thanks to goals from Gabriel Strefezza and Lorenzo Colombo after Ciro Immobile had given Lazio the lead, moved them up to 12th in Serie A.
The forward, who turns 41 in October, underwent ACL surgery in May but signed a one-year contract extension with the Rossoneri in July.
Given the former Sweden international's age and the severity of the injury there has been talk that he will not return, but Ibrahimovic insisted he will with a January timeframe on the cards.
"I will be back soon," Zlatan told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I'm not going to retire, I'm coming back and I won't give up."
Ibrahimovic helped Milan clinch last season's Serie A title, scoring eight league goals with two assists from 23 appearances, including 11 starts.
Milan have collected 14 points from six games this campaign to sit third, with Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud both netting three times.
InjuredNew signing Divock Origi is yet to start for Milan, making four appearances off the bench in all competitions for no goals.
The Italy international agreed to join Toronto in January, going on to finish the 2021-22 Serie A season with 11 goals in 32 appearances for Luciano Spalletti's Napoli before heading to Canada.
Insigne scored 122 goals in 434 appearances for his hometown club, a tally which is only bettered by Dries Mertens (148) and represents seven goals more than the late, great Diego Maradona netted for the Partenopei (115).
Speaking at his first news conference in Toronto, Insigne refuted the suggestion that MLS represented a step down for a player of his quality.
Asked whether he had been presented with other options, Insigne said: "I didn't receive any [other] offers at that time. It was very early when I first met the president, and I still had my contract with Napoli. I could have stayed in Europe.
"I'm 31, so I still have many years in front of me, but I wanted to choose happiness and the wellbeing of my family.
"As I mentioned before, I won a lot with Napoli, and I lost as well. But I wanted a change and more importantly, a challenge, either in another European club or here in North America.
"I've heard people saying that soccer in North America is not real soccer, but I've seen it and it's not true.
"It is a challenge because of the move, but I'm really grateful to the opportunity the president gave me and the whole organisation has given me, and the love and the effort that everybody is putting into this. I'm very thankful, and I want to repay the love with my performances during the season."
Insigne joins a team that sits 11th in the Eastern Conference, but he is already targeting silverware.
"I am very happy to be here. This is a big and new adventure for me and my family, this is the first time we have been away from Napoli," he said.
"But it was a great choice, because when I first met the president, he talked to me about Toronto as a city and especially about the team.
"He struck me as a really great person, and the project that he explained to me about the team stuck with me.
"I made the decision, not for the money, but for a new life for my family and my kids, and for their wellbeing. The project is certainly a challenge, and I would like to be part of winning the championship.
"I played for Napoli for 10 years and for the Italian national team, winning the Euros. So, I don't have any problem with being under pressure, and I'd rather have my actions speak for me on the pitch."
After their closest challengers Milan beat Salernitana away earlier the same day, Napoli's lead at the top was cut to five points as the Partenopei began 2023 in underwhelming fashion.
Inter were unfortunate not to be ahead at the break after Federico Dimarco and Romelu Lukaku missed great first-half opportunities.
But Dzeko powerfully nodded home the winner 10 minutes after half-time, as Inter remain in fourth but crucially move within eight points of Napoli at the summit in their bid to chase Luciano Spalletti's side down.
Inter should have been ahead within four minutes, but Dimarco could only fire over after Lukaku picked him out at the back post.
Dimarco's fellow wing-back could not do any better, Matteo Darmian failing to hit the target after excellent link-up play between Lukaku and Dzeko set him up.
Lukaku missed a golden opportunity before the break, latching onto a throughball but wildly firing over as Inter failed to take advantage of their superior chances in the opening 45 minutes.
But they eventually capitalised in the 56th minute when Dimarco's pinpoint delivery from the left found Dzeko in space to power a header past Alex Meret.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia nearly got a rapid equaliser as he slammed into the side-netting.
The visitors pushed for an equaliser late on, but Inter held out despite Giacomo Raspadori stinging the palms of Andre Onana with a fierce effort in the dying seconds.
Lautaro Martinez opening the scoring for the champions in a pulsating contest, but goals from Ruslan Malinovskyi and Rafael Toloi gave Atalanta a deserved half-time lead.
Malinovskyi also struck the post before Inter rallied and Edin Dzeko equalised with just under 20 minutes to play courtesy of his fifth goal in six Serie A games for the club.
There was much more drama to come, though, as Dimarco struck the crossbar from the spot with three minutes of normal time remaining and Piccoli then had what Atalanta thought was a winner chalked off as the ball had gone out for a corner in the build-up.
A draw leaves Inter in third place, two points behind leaders Milan, and with a run of 18 straight home league wins having ended.
Gervinho found a way through 19 seconds into the second half - the third straight game he has scored against Inter - and added a second shortly after the hour mark.
That had Inter facing the real prospect of back-to-back home league defeats, though substitute Marcelo Brozovic pulled one back 137 seconds later to give his side some hope.
Inter had a strong penalty shout rejected but Perisic glanced in a last-gasp equaliser to deny Parma, who can still hold claim to being unbeaten in five away games with Inter at San Siro.
Belgium international Lukaku set them on their way to a fifth consecutive top-flight win with a goal inside the opening minute.
Antonio Conte's side largely dominated proceedings thereafter, with Nicolo Barella striking the crossbar, and they wrapped up all three points in the second period through Darmian and Sanchez.
The result moved them seven points ahead of second-placed Milan, although Stefano Pioli's side can rein them back in with victory over Roma later on Sunday.
Inter started in blistering fashion, Lukaku firing into Mattia Perin's bottom-right corner from just outside the penalty area after 32 seconds – Inter's second-fastest Serie A goal since Opta started tracking such data in 2004-05.
Darmian clipped wide after 14 minutes, while Barella hit the bar with a long-range effort soon after.
Perin then kept out Lukaku's powerful strike shortly after the half-hour mark as Inter ultimately failed to double their advantage before the interval.
The hosts put the result beyond doubt in the 69th minute when Darmian lashed home his first Serie A goal for the club from 12 yards after being picked out by Lukaku.
Substitute Sanchez then added gloss to the scoreline 13 minutes from full-time, heading in from close range after Lukaku's effort had been repelled by Perin.
Former Bayern Munich winger Ribery created second-half goals for Gaetano Castrovilli and Federico Chiesa as Fiorentina looked set to take the points at San Siro on Saturday, only for Romelu Lukaku and Danilo D'Ambrosio to strike late on.
A dramatic game saw Fiorentina lead early on through Christian Kouame, but Lautaro Martinez scored a majestic equaliser in first-half stoppage time and Inter were in front thanks to a Federico Ceccherini own goal soon after the break.
Ribery then began to run the show, first teeing up Castrovilli after a joyous run down the left, and then when his defence-splitting long pass fed Chiesa.
But with seven minutes remaining, Fiorentina took Ribery off, and Lukaku bundled in an 87th-minute leveller before D'Ambrosio thundered in a back-post header to take all three points.
Werner has caught the eye in the Bundesliga and the Champions League with RB Leipzig this season.
Only Robert Lewandowski has scored more than 24-goal Werner in Germany's top flight this season.
Inter was once the place to go for Germany stars, with the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann, Lothar Matthaus and Andreas Brehme pulling on the famous black and blue stripes in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
However, Inter will not enter any close-season battle for Werner's signature, sporting director Piero Ausilio has revealed.
He said: "We have always liked him but he will not come.
"I know the reasons and they are various. I know the opinion of the boy and his entourage.
"It is true he has a clause [in his contract], but he will not come."
Premier League champions-elect Liverpool are the club to whom Werner has been most frequently linked.
The 24-year-old is widely reported to have a €60million release clause in his contract.
Ausilio, who was speaking on Sky Sport Italia, said Inter were keeping tabs on Hertha Berlin winger Matheus Cunha.
He also stressed Paris Saint-Germain veteran Edinson Cavani was "not a priority", pointing to Inter having Lautaro Martinez, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez already at the club.
Serie A is set to resume the 2019-20 season from June 20, it was confirmed on Thursday, more than three months after it was put on hold during the coronavirus crisis.
