INTER MILAN WINS AT HOME TWO GOALS TO NILL AGAINST HELLAS VERONA.GOALS FROM BARELLA AND DZEKO.
Inter secured just a second win across their last five home games with a convincing 2-0 victory over Hellas Verona, who have now failed to win in every H2H meeting against the ‘Nerazzurri’ since February 1992.
With the league season in its business end of proceedings, Inter had no choice but to go all out against the visitors at the San Siro, with Verona themselves entering the match on the back of six games without defeat in their previous seven matches. Yet, an onslaught of ‘Nerazzurri’ attacks put the Venetians on the backfoot from the very first minute. The first clear-cut opportunity arrived at the feet of Ivan Perišić, who latched onto an accurate pass and struck a low drive, which was brilliantly saved by visiting shot-stopper Lorenzo Montipò.
Perišić then turned provider midway through the half, when he assisted Nicolo Barella’s exquisite finish from outside of his foot, which had no chance of being saved. Edin Džeko handed Verona’s second blow of the night via a simple tap-in from a corner kick, further dampening the visitors’ hopes of a top-half finish. The ‘Gialloblu’ finally saw a real chance come their way minutes before HT, as striker Giovanni Simeone drifted through the hosts’ defence and unleashed a low shot, only to force Samir Handanović into an amazing last-ditch save.
Igor Tudor’s outfit restarted the match as though the first half never took place, perhaps motivated by their Croat coach’s words of wisdom during the break. Fedrico Ceccherini blasted one over the bar from close range, before substitute Kevin Lasagna almost made a dream entrance with a similar effort but from a long range on the hour mark. Minutes later, Danilo D’Ambrosio’s close-range shot proved far more troublesome for the hosts, this time forcing Montipò into a stunning save to deny Inter their third.
An improved second half showing could not help Verona muster a comeback though, as they continued chasing their first top-flight clean sheet in 21 away outings – their longest such run in the competition without one since between 1992 and 1997. Meanwhile, this is just the second time in nine league matches the ‘Nerazzurri’ have scored more than one goal, and they once again put massive pressure onto Napoli and AC Milan in an intense three-way title race.
