He Inter Milanwho were declared champions of Serie A just six days ago after winning the derby against Milan, five days before the end of the championship, had a mass bath on Sunday since their arrival at the San Siro, an hour and a half before beginning of the fight against Turin. Hundreds of fans cheered and crowded in front of the team bus. Then, a victory against the home fans and a parade through the streets of Milan as a culmination.
With Inter lethargic from too much partying and aware that nothing but honor was at stake, Inzaghi’s team played and played but did not create any danger in the first half. Only Marcus Thuram really troubled the Torino area after 10 minutes. However, his shot went up. The lack of tension is more than apparent. The rival provided a little more bite through Zapata, who on two occasions (15′ and 18′) put Yann Sommer and Ricardo Rodríguez (10′) in trouble.
Five minutes before the break, Benjamin Pavard could have been booked for a harsh tackle, studs first, on Bellanova when the Torino player looked for a cross from the wing. A harmless shot from Lautaro closed out a first half to forget. Inter seem to have reserved the second leg to give joy to a dedicated fan base that wants to see goals.
The first action of the second half changed everything: a foul by Tamèze on the edge of the area on Mkhitaryan, facing Milinkovic-Savic alone, and the Frenchman was sent off after the VAR review (47′). Juric’s team will play less than one in about 45 minutes. Maria Sole Ferrieri was initially shown a yellow but changed her decision after reviewing the play. Things were facing Inter, who knew how to take advantage of the situation: a whip from Çalhanoglu with his left foot (56′). Some European options were lost from a Torino that collapsed.
Just three minutes later, a penalty for a clear foul in the area against Thuram and Çalhanoglu himself shot and scored his 13th goal (10 from a penalty). It is impossible to stop a shot as strong and powerful as Turkish. Inzaghi replaced him in the 63rd minute and left to applause. Inzagui changed his three midfielders: Mkhitaryan and Barella also left. Bastoni, Arnautovic and Alexis Sánchez entered. Thuram also landed on the bench.
With that extra player compared to Torino, Inter continued to control the match. Lautaro scored but it ended in disappointment: he couldn’t break that bad streak in front of goal. Inter still have a number of challenges and records to overcome and one is on the way: surpassing the 100-point barrier. Total 89 and only four days to go, so the milestone is within reach. Next Saturday, against Sassuolo, three more are at stake.
match lineup
1
36
30
95
6
28
23
22
10
9
twenty
32
19
13
8
6
4
16
61
91
28
twenty
Giuseppe Meazza Stadium
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic32
Raoul Bellanova19
Ricardo Rodriguez13
71′
70′
Ivan Ilic8
Matteo Lovato6
Alessandro Buongiorno4
71′
Nikola Vlasic16
62′
Adrian Tameze61
46′
48′
Duvan Zapata91
62′
62′
Samuel Ricci28
55′
59′
62′
Valentino Lazarotwenty
62′
Replacements
Luca Gemello1
Mihai Popa71
Adam Masina5
71′
Alessandro Dellavalle25
Mergim Vojvoda27
62′
Jonathan Silva30
Antonio Sanabria9
62′
Pietro PellegriEleven
62′
Uros Kabic17
70′
David Okereketwenty-one
62′
Zanos Savva79
71′
62′
coach
Simone Inzaghi
Ivan Juric
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
