Inter Milan lost to Lazio in Serie A, decisive goals scored by players from the bench

Serie A continues with the third round, with two matches on Friday. Monza and Udinese clashed at 18:30, and after a goal by Colpani on one side and goals by Beto and Udogio on the other, the latter team enjoyed the victory. At 20:45 one of the most watched matches of this long football weekend in Italy started, the match between Lazio and Inter Milan.

These are the cup representatives of the country from the Apennine peninsula. The Nerazzurri will face Bayern, Barcelona and Plzen in the Champions League group stage. The Biancocelesti will face Feyenoord, Midtjylland and Sturm Graz in the Europa League.

Both teams, who are among the favourites in the competition, were separated by two points in the table before the clash. Thanks to wins over Lecce and Spezia, Inter were just behind leaders Napoli, while Lazio were eighth after a win over Bologna and a draw with FC Torino.

Although the visitors from Milan had the ball more of the time at the Stadio Olimpico, it was the home side who had the opening big chance. Lazio captain Ciro Immobile narrowly missed the right post with a first-time shot in the 16th minute.

The next major threat on goal came in the 35th minute and again it was the work of coach Simone Inzaghi’s charges. A quick attacking action was finished by Zaccagni, whose shot was eventually parried for a corner by a visiting player.

The Brazilian opened the scoring

Moments later, Immobile had a second big chance, but his close-range effort was defused by goalkeeper Handanovic. In the 40th minute, Lazio did get a chance, after a pass behind the defence from Milinkovic-Savic to the onrushing Felipe Anderson, the ball ended up in the net thanks to the Brazilian’s accurate header.

The Romans went into the box with a one-goal lead. Immobile had another chance to score at the start of the second half, but again he failed to beat Handanovic. And so, in the 51st minute, came Inter’s penalty. After two headers in the whitewash, goalkeeper Provedel couldn’t get to the ball in time, which was pushed into the net by Lautaro Martínez with his right foot.

Slovakian stopper Milan Škriniar could have turned the game around a quarter of an hour later, but his header was easily dealt with by Provedel.

The substitutes made the difference

The home side regained the lead in the 75th minute. Luis Alberto shot from outside the box, his shot hit the top right corner of the net. The Spanish footballer had not played from the start and had been on the pitch for less than twenty minutes.

In the 86th minute, another substitute increased the score to 3-1, with a shot to the right post by the experienced midfielder Pedro. Immobile was the only one of the home team who did not enjoy the goal celebration, as he had to be treated after a fierce duel. But he finished the match.

The team led by coach Inzaghi could not erase the two-goal deficit despite the six-minute setup and lost points for the first time in this league season. Lazio, on the other hand, moved into first place thanks to their victory over Inter.

On Saturday, the Italian top flight has four games, with Juventus and AS Roma promising to be the most attractive duel. Of the four matches on Sunday, let’s mention for example the duel between Fiorentina, with Antonín Barák as a new guest, and Napoli.

Source: Serie A