Draw and controversy between Inter and Atalanta

Inter tried to forget the disappointment for the derby lost to Milan by resuming the Scudetto race in front of their own public, but Atalanta managed to snatch a point from the home team in the final, with a goal disputed by the Beneamata and in particular by coach Chivu, who arrived to take two yellow cards and the consequent expulsion in the space of a few seconds. They now become eight points the advantage of the’Inter over Milan, which can shorten to five in case of success with Lazio on Sunday evening at the Olimpico.

At the Meazza the match starts with rather low pace and in the first quarter of an hour very little is recorded: it is just a right-footer by Scamacca at 12′ that makes the home fans anxious, mainly because of an intervention by Sommer that is far from perfect even if, in the end, it proves effective. At Inter’s first real lunge, however, came the goal of the lead: it was minute 26 when Pasalic lost a very poisonous ball, Barella took advantage and served Pio Esposito, who was cold in front of Carnesecchi to make it 1-0.

Francesco Lucivero

The goal mentally unblocked Inter, which two minutes later came close to doubling the score: Dimarco&#8217s diagonal shot went close to the goal, but went out just wide. On the wings of enthusiasm, the home team controls possession and tries to sting again, but without precision. The end of the first half slips away without further excitement and the locker room is 1-0. In the second half, the script does not change: in the first five minutes, Inter is dangerous first with Dumfries and then with Thuram, the latter at 62′ he finds himself in touch with Carnesecchi but is unable to get past him.

On the other side, despite the changes (there are Krstovic, Ederson, Hien, Sulemana and De Ketelaere in place of Scamacca, Samardzic, Kolasinac, Zalewski and De Roon), Atalanta seems to produce little but, just when it seems close to surrendering, Palladino&#8217s team strikes and does so at the 80’s: Sulemana wins a clash with Dumfries and serves Krstovic in the center, who finishes into the net past Sommer. Vibrant protests from the Nerazzurri bench over the contact between the Ghanaian and the Dutchman, Chivu also gets himself sent off, but the goal remains valid even after verification in the VAR Room.

In the very long recovery, nothing else is recorded except for a yellow to De Ketelaere, who was returning today after more than a month of injury layoff. It ends 1-1 between the two Nerazzurri teams: Inter remains first but continues to struggle, Atalanta avoids the knockout but still misses the appointment with the victory in A, which has been missing since Feb. 22 (2-1 against Napoli).