Inter-Venice 1-0
INTER (3-5-2): Summer 6.5; Pavard 6, De Vrij 6, Bastoni 6.5 (25′ st Bisseck 6); Dumfries 6, Barella 6 (25′ st Calhanoglu 6.5), Zielinski 5.5 (38′ st Frattesi sv), Mkhitaryan 5.5, Dimarco 7.5 (31′ st Darmian 6); Thuram 5, Lautaro Martinez 7 (25′ st Taremi 6). On the bench: Martinez, Di Gennaro, Buchanan, Acerbi, Palacios, Arnautovic, Correa. Coach: Inzaghi 6.5.
VENICE (3-5-2): Stankovic 7.5; Altar 5.5 (1′ st Sverko 5.5), Svoboda 6, Idzes 6.5; Zampano 5.5 (32′ st Ellertsson 6), Nicolussi Caviglia 6 (38′ st Yeboah sv), Andersen 6 (32′ st Duncan 6), Crnigoj 6 (1′ st Busio 6.5), Haps 6; Pohjanpalo 6, Oristanio 5. On the bench: Grandi, Joronen, Schingtienne, Sagrato, Carboni, Doumbia, El Haddad, Candela, Raimondo, Gytkjaer. Coach: Di Francesco 6.
REFEREE: Ferrieri Caputi of Livorno 5.5.
NET: 20′ st Lautaro Martinez. NOTES: peaceful evening; playing field in good condition. Booked: Pavard, Zampano, Frattesi. Corners: 9-3 for Inter. Recovery: 0′; 7′.
Inter struggled more than they should, but beat Venezia and moved to -1 behind Napoli in the standings thanks to Lautaro Martinez’s decisive goal and a thriller endingbringing themselves within reach of overtaking the Neapolitans towards next Sunday’s direct clash. The Nerazzurri created chances, wasted them, took risks on a couple of occasions but then took the lead with a goal from the Argentine captain, who returned to scoring at San Siro after eight months. A three-point goal, despite a crazy Inter finish, with Sverko scoring in the last of the seven minutes of injury time, However, the goal was canceled out by VAR due to a touch from the player from the lagoon.
After the doubts on the eve of the turnover, Inzaghi finally chose to field all his starting players, starting with captain Lautaro Martinez. Inter pushes at the start and the first to create danger is the Argentine himself, with a right-foot volley following an assist from Dumfries which goes just wide. The Nerazzurri then continued to create opportunities, wasting them repeatedly with Barella, Thuram (twice) and Mkhitaryan. However, Inter confirm their ability not only to create danger, but also to distract themselves in the defensive phase. So the Inter defense leaves Idzes undisturbed to travel 40 meters before serving Pohjanpalo who dribbles, the ball ends up in Oristanio who, however, shoots at Sommer from a few steps away with the goal unguarded. In the second half, Di Francesco throws Busio into the fray for a more offensive Venezia. The lagoon players raise their center of gravity and pace, effectively uncorking the game so much so that Oristanio is almost on target after less than a minute, but is stopped by Bastoni at the last minute. Inter found space and in fact broke the deadlock on the restart, with Dimarco serving Mkhitaryan, left-footed, and Stankovic beaten: the VAR, however, canceled it due to the winger’s offside position. Once the scare was over, the Venetians created another sensational opportunity, but Pohjanpalo fired another shot at Sommer from inside the area. So the home team needed Dimarco’s usual silky left foot to break the deadlock, a kissing cross that Lautaro only had to head into the goal. A goal that matters, not only because it unlocks the result but because it unlocks the Argentine at San Siro, where he hadn’t scored since last February 28th. Thuram immediately received the ball for the second goal, served again by Dimarco, but alone in front of Stankovic he kicked at him. Thuram himself, then, with his header, finds another prompt response from the Venetian goalkeeper, while on the rebound Inter asks for a penalty for a touch from a defender’s hand on a close shot by Taremi, but the VAR cancels everything for a offside at the start of the action. Inzaghi also finds Calhanoglu at the end, who comes close to making it 2-0 with a great right-footed shot from distance that is well saved by Stankovic. The game seems to be on ice for the Nerazzurri, but in the last seven minutes of injury time Sverko jumps over Bisseck and pushes a cross from Haps towards goal: while all of Venezia is on the pitch to celebrate the equaliser, the VAR cancels for a touch hand of Croatian footballer. The three points go to Inter, who are preparing in the best possible way for a week in which they will have to challenge Arsenal in the Champions League before the direct clash against Napoli.