Inter, late victory in Verona: 2-1 win comes at 94'

Inter were ugly but victorious in Verona, where only with time largely expired they got the better of Hellas by picking up a 2-1 win thanks to a lucky own goal after the back-and-forth between Zielinski and Giovane in the first half and a performance that was actually far from convincing on the part of the Nerazzurri. Still, a crucial result for Cristian Chivu’s men who, by virtue of this result, move back to within one length of Napoli. They remain third-last and therefore in the relegation zone the scaligeri.

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First half. Hellas flash at the start: Orban for Giovane, closed, ball wide. Immediately defined tactical theme: Inter in command, Verona on the defensive. 3′: Zielinski, diagonal, Montipò in the corner from which nothing springs. Then Lautaro surprises everyone with a lob, a miraculous intervention by Nelsson on the line says no to the Argentine. Lautaro tries again, ball in the hands of the Scaliger goalkeeper. On 16′ Inter take the lead: Calhanoglu from the crossbar catches the undisturbed Zielinski on the edge with a kissing ball, likewise the Pole’s conclusion in the set: 0-1. Hellas tries to react, but does not go beyond a shot over the crossbar by Belghali (21′). Verona doesn&#8217t give up, but Internazionale is airtight. Milanesi within a whisker of doubling: De Lima goes off on the right, center for Carlos Augusto’s header, Montipò on the stretch deflects.

The feeling is that of an’Inter ready for the winning acceleration at halftime, but it is the Veronese who increase the offensive pressure. Conclusion by Giovane, rebounded into a corner, then corrected by Nelsson’s aerial breakaway, Sommer safe in the grasp. At 39′ Orban spreads for Giovane on the right, the Brazilian enters the box and kicks, ball under the cross despite Sommer’s touch: 1-1 with subsequent paraphernalia between the two benches immediately quelled. Play is on, Inter forward but Hellas to have the ball for the lead: second minute of recovery, Orban is lightning in the area, deflection, a resounding post saves Inter. We go to rest on’1-1.

Resumption. Inter immediately came forward with Bonny and Lautaro Martinez, then a Verona side that seemed unwilling to settle for a draw came back into the game. The guests, however, are treacherous on the restart, with Calhanoglu narrowly missing the goal defended by Montipò. Chivu understands that it is time to intervene on the team, ignoring the nearby Champions League commitment, and sends Dumfries, Barella and Pio Esposito on the field at the same time: he will be rewarded at the end of the game. Before then the Bentegodi was inflamed by a foul by Bisseck punished with a yellow card while the stadium was expecting red. The defender, however, was last man but the’intervention on Giovane had occurred far from Sommer’s goal while the Gialloblù player was not advancing but moving toward the sideline.

One-sided end of the match: Inter attacked, Verona tried to preserve the tie point. Esposito’s header sends a good ball just over the crossbar, Montipò denies the goal to big former Dimarco, Bella-Kotchap closes the door on Lautaro Martinez. It goes to the dying minutes: Frattesi with yet another header off a corner narrowly misses, Doveri fails to see a penalty after a contact between Esposito and Bella-Kotchap. Then, when the clock struck 94 minutes, Barella went to cross for the usual Esposito but on the ball came Frese, whose header mocked Montipò and Verona giving goal and victory to Chivu’s Inter.