Pisa-Inter 0-2
GOALS: 24′ st and 38′ st Lautaro Martinez.
PISA (3-5-2): Scuffet 6; Caracciolo 5.5, Albiol 5.5 (35′ st Lorran sv), Canestrelli 5.5; Tourè 6.5, Piccinini 6.5 (26′ st Tramoni 5.5), Aebischer 5, Marin 6, Angori 6 (26′ st Leris 5.5); Meister 6 (45′ st Moreo sv), Nzola 6.5 (45′ st Buffon sv). On the bench: Nicolas, Vukovic, Bonfanti, Calabresi, Coppola, Hojholt, Maucci, Bettazzi. Coach: Gilardino 5.5.
INTER (3-5-2): Sommer 6; Akanji 6.5, Acerbi 6 (22′ st Bisseck 6), Bastoni 6; Luis Henrique 5 (22’st Diouf 6.5), Barella 6.5, Calhanoglu 6, Sucic 5.5 (1’st Zielinski 6.5), Dimarco 6; Thuram 5.5 (22’st Esposito 7), Lautaro Martinez 7.5 (42’st Carlos Augusto sv). On the bench: Josep Martinez, Taho, Maye, De Vrij, Cocchi, Mkhitaryan, Frattesi. Coach: Chivu 6.5.
REFEREE: Torre Annunziata Guide 6.
NOTES: clear afternoon, pitch in fair condition. Booked: Caracciolo, Acerbi, Albiol. Angles: 4-6. Recovery: 1′; 5′.
For a good hour Inter suffer and don’t shine, but in the end they bring home three crucial points. After defeats against Milan and Atletico Madrid, Chivu’s team defeated a tenacious and never subdued Pisa 2-0. At the Cetilar Arena, Captain Lautaro takes care of taking the chestnuts out of the fire, scoring a brace. The Argentine striker thus responds on the pitch to the numerous criticisms received during the week: the embrace with Chivu at the moment of the substitution, with the result largely achieved, establishes “peace” between the two after some bad mood in Madrid. So Lautaro will take care of it. But it wasn’t easy, on the contrary. There were many errors in the build-up phase, Pisa’s constant pressure and the two attackers, Meister and Nzola, asserting their physicality. Few opportunities, almost always from set pieces: Dimarco shoots centrally, then headers from Lautaro and Acerbi, assisted by Calhanoglu, do not scare Scuffet (making his seasonal debut due to starter Semper’s flu). Thuram and Lautaro move a lot but are not very incisive. Pisa are more in the game than ever and scare the away team on the half hour mark, when Piccinini, after Touré’s clearance, enters the area and sends the ball just wide with his right foot.
Same refrain at the start of the second half (Zielinski for a dull Sucic), with Pisa even more dangerous: Acerbi saves from Meister, then is forced to let go of Nzola, who sends it wide with his left foot after a ride in an open field. It’s time for changes: in Diouf and Bisseck, but above all Esposito. The Italian striker was immediately decisive, because Inter’s advantage was born from one of his recovered balls in the duel against Aebischer. Esposito provides the assist for Lautaro who attacks the near post and shoots powerfully under the crossbar, sealing the 1-0 with his left foot. At home in Pisa the light goes out and Gilardino’s offensive changes have no impact: thus comes Martinez’s brace in the 83rd minute, this time on a tailor-made assist from Barella. Inter is momentarily ahead of Roma at 27 points, -1 behind Milan.