Stefan de Vrij’s header, a spectacular Nicol Barella goal, and a solo effort from Joaquin Correa helped Inter defeat Dejan Stankovic’s Sampdoria for their fourth straight Serie A victory.
The Nerazzurri were full of confidence upon obtaining Champions League qualification for the knockout round and compiling three straight Serie A victories; Marcelo Brozovic was the only absentee as Romelu Lukaku scored against Viktoria Plzen midweek after making his comeback from a two-month injury layoff.
Dejan Stankovic, the Samp coach and former Treble winner, had to manage without Fabio Quagliarella and Harry Winks, making it a special night for him.
The first real opportunity of the game, a header from Stefan de Vrij on a right-handed corner from Hakan Calhanoglu, gave Inter the lead. He oddly scored his final Serie A goal in January 2021 also against Samp.
Alessandro Bastoni deflected a Calhanoglu free kick past the post, Federico Dimarco hit the side netting from a tight angle, and Lautaro Martinez sent Henrikh Mkhitaryan clear on goal to shoot wide.
On the cusp of halftime, sensational play from Nicolo Barella doubled their score. Barella received a long ball from Bastoni that he controlled brilliantly with his right foot, letting it bounce so that he could smash it in with his right boot just outside the box.
Lautaro Martinez poked a Federico Dimarco cross just wide to start the second half for Inter, and after strong work from Mkhitaryan, Emil Audero made a last-ditch save on Edin Dzeko from close range.
While Milan Skriniar should have scored with a free header wide from Dimarco’s set play, Andre Onana got away with mishandling a Bartosz Bereszynski cross.
Romelu Lukaku returned to the Serie A for the first time in two months, and Lautaro Martinez forced Audero into a save. This was also Lautaro Martinez’s 100th match in an official Inter jersey.
Joaquin Correa was another substitute who came off the bench and had an immediate impact. He ran from inside his own half and curled the ball from outside the box into the near top corner.
In a chaotic move involving Raoul Bellanova, Mkhitaryan, and Correa, Audero made three saves, but Onana had to stretch to parry Ignacio Pussetto’s fierce footshot and stop Francesco Acerbi from scoring an own goal at the near post in stoppage time.
Inter completed their task in the first half and added to their two-goal advantage at the break with Correa’s late, beautiful counterattacking finish to firmly seal the three points against Sampdoria. Stankovic’s relegation-threatened team struggled in the game, managing just one shot on goal despite falling behind to De Vrij’s headed finish from a set-piece after just 21 minutes.
The hosts did well to keep their composure and keep play in front of them throughout the aggressive, stop-start game with seven yellow cards, rarely allowing the defensive trio to be troubled. An all-around successful day for the Nerazzurri puts them level with Atalanta for fourth place. Lukaku came on to the delight of the home crowd as he continues to get fit for the World Cup. Sampdoria continues to be in position 18.
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