Away from home, Inter suffer another frustrating setback against Salernitana. Robin Gosens gave Inter the early lead in the 6th minute. Playing a good game Salernitana equalled the score in dying moment of the match through Candreva.
Salernitana made two adjustments to the lineup from their previous Serie A game, a 1-1 draw with Spezia. The first change was made on the right wing, where Bronn took Sambia’s place who was sitting on the bench. Kastanos took the place of top scorer Dia, who was named as a substitute after starting the previous game.
Inzaghi made seven changes to the Inter team from the Coppa Italia match against Juventus. Onana took Handanovic’s place. In the defence, De Vrij took in Bastoni’s place, and Darmian switched from the wing to the right center-back position to take D’Ambrosio’s place. Dumfries took the right wing back position. Gosens was preferred over Dimarco on the left. Asllani made a rare start in the centre of the midfield, leaving Brozovic out. The final two switches involved the attack, where Lukaku and Correa took the place of Martinez and Dzeko as the line-leaders.
In the middle of his own half, Coulibaly picked up the ball and attempted to switch it to the right, but he gave it too much height and sent it out for a throw-in instead.
Inter took the early lead in 6th minute thanks to Gosens. Exactly what a start for Inter. Asllani chipped the ball in the direction of Lukaku, who attempted to flick it into Correa’s path. The top corner was discovered by Gosens after it passed the Argentine. For Inter, who always try to find Lukaku with a long ball forward, Lukaku was a great target man. Although Lukaku’s cross did not find the intended recipient, Gosens was the one who made a last-second run from the left before launching his shot.
In the opening exchanges, Asllani was the mastermind behind Inter. This time, Gosens advanced past his defender and into the box after he chipped the ball down the left. Instead of shooting, he chose to pull the ball across the pitch in search of Lukaku, but his pass was delivered behind the striker.
Bronn received the ball on the right side after Kastanos clipped it into the box. To try and get onto his header, Lukaku and Piatek fought in the area, but Onana was there to punch it away. Then Piatek was facing the flag.
Bradaric received a ball that Candreva looped down the left side and over the top of the Inter defence. Before playing the ball across box, he reached the byline, but Piatek was in the back. Bradaric was then showed the offside flag.
Within the box, Asllani sent a quick pass to Lukaku’s feet. The striker turned while carrying the ball and fired a shot that hit a defender and went straight for Ochoa, who caught it on the second attempt.
In the first 27 minutes, Correa had been a crucial component of Inter’s team, effectively carrying the ball forward. This time, however, Gyomber slid to the ground to intercept his pass as he attempted to play a throughball to Lukaku.
Although the flag was raised, Ochoa was unaware of it. Acerbi advanced from his position at centre back and sent a quick pass to Gosens who was moving towards the goal on the left. He sent a curling cross into the box, where Correa met it with a downward header that Ochoa deflected wide.
With only a few seconds left, Inter nearly scored a second. Dumfries was holding the ball as Asllani played the ball down the right before crossing into middle of the box. Although Lukaku was present, he directed his shot directly at the goalkeeper, who closed his legs to stop it from passing him.
Daniliuc passed the ball directly to Gosens, who then passed it to Correa by sliding it across. He then discovered Barella on the edge of the box, who had shot himself while ignoring Lukaku, but had crashed into the post.
While Dumfries was moving forward, Lukaku played the ball out to the right. He curved a loose cross into the men-filled box, but nobody was able to grab the end of it because Ochoa claimed it.
Dia attempted to control Kastanos’ inside pass from the right, but the ball sailed through the air after hitting his foot. Barella took the loose ball away and eventually got fouled by Dia. Candreva advanced as Dia moved the ball to the left. He attempted to cross the ball to Piatek, the lone Salernitana player in the middle, but Onana deflected it over the crossbar.
By letting the ball pass through his legs and spin past Barella, who was unable to seize possession, Candreva did well down the right. He attempted to pass into the box, but Mkhitaryan intercepted it before it could reach Piatek. Acerbi flicked Asllani’s corner across the goal, and Lukaku dove to head the ball against the crossbar from close range. Ochoa then turned aside De Vrij’s rebound.
Caviglia manoeuvred past Mkhitaryan and fired from outside the box, but his shot missed the mark. Before launching a low cross into the area, Candreva sprinted down the right. Dia dribbled past Darmian and fired a shot that hit the crossbar.
After intercepting an errant pass from Brozovic, Bradaric raced into the Inter half and passed the ball to Dia. He quickly exchanged passes with Piatek to reach the left byline, but his cross was blocked.
Although Inter has only scored one goal, they should be safe. Martinez was rushing into Salernitana’s half when Lukaku flicked the ball into his path. In a one-on-one situation, Ochoa stopped his timid attempt.
In the last moments of the game the score was tied, Inter should have scored 3 or 4 goals. With Candreva stretching the field, Dia laid the ball down the right flank. He attempted to cross the pitch, but it sailed over Onana’s head and into the goal.
FOLLOW THIS ARTICLE ON TWITTER
READ MORE;
Cremonese 0-2 Fiorentina: La Viola wins the battle in Cremona