As if Inter Milan expected Venezia to surrender without a battle, the Nerazzurri weren’t as determined as they should have been from the first minute.Despite their recent poor form and ungrateful table position, Eusebio Di Francesco’s crew came to fight and “show their teeth.” The seventeenth team of Serie A held out against the current champions for 65 minutes, and had it not been for the superb Yann Sommer, the atmosphere at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza would have been much quieter.+3️⃣ POINTS 🖤💙#ForzaInter #InterVenezia pic.twitter.com/LeA4ajGa1y— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter_en) November 3, 2024 The Swiss custodian made one of the stops of the season, saving Gaetano Oristanio’s close-range effort, while his teammates repaid him with the winner. Lautaro Martinez stepped up in a difficult moment, bringing the Nerazzurri the vital triumph with a 65th-minute header for 1-0, after Federico Dimarco’s assist. Venezia even netted a leveller in the 97th minute, but it was disallowed due to handball.2 – Federico Dimarco has provided his second assist in Serie A this season, becoming one of only two defenders to have provided more than one assist in each of the last six Serie A seasons (since 2019/20), alongside Theo Hernández. Unselfish.#InterVenezia #SerieA— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) November 3, 2024 Ahead of this game, both sides were in a good mood. Inter had been undefeated for more than a month since Derby della Madonnina, while Venezia noted their only second Serie A triumph, over Udinese 3-2. Still, the question of favourites was needless as the Nerazzurri were aiming to get back into second position on the table and reduce the gap between them and the leaders, Napoli (which lost to Atalanta earlier today), to only one point.Despite the expectations, Venezia managed to hold out in the first half. Inter’s 63% possession and nine attempts (three on target) were not enough for an opener. The Nerazzurri were dominating the game, but the most important thing – goals – were not there. Moreover, the goalkeepers played the main roles.The list goes on and on: Another disappointed Ballon d’Or nomineeMarcus Thuram was very active, causing a lot of trouble to the rivals’ defence, while Denzel Dumfries kept appearing on the right flank. After one of his excellent displays and a perfect cross, Henrikh Mkhitaryan had the best Inter’s chance in the first 45 minutes, but Venezia’s custodian Filip Stankovic (son of Inter’s legendary midfielder Dejan Stankovic) stopped him.However, Venezia had the chance of the match. In the 41st minute, Jay Idzes escaped over the left wing and found Joel Pohjanpalo inside. The Finn crossed it for Gaetano Oristanio, who failed to convert from a distance of only a couple of meters as Yann Sommer made an unbelievable save, preventing the shock at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.La parade GIGANTESQUE de Yann Sommer. ⚫️🔵pic.twitter.com/cVpu73zyph— Inter FR (@InterMilanFRA) November 3, 2024 However, after the break, Inter’s offence started to look more organized, bringing Mkhitaryan’s opener in the 51st minute, which was eventually disallowed due to Federico Dimarco’s offside. Minutes later, Idzes threatened, but Sommer was cautious once more. In those moments, Venezia were absolutely a better team.Still, it did not take much for Inter to wake up and set things straight, thanks to the captain, Lautaro Martinez, and his 65th-minute deadlock-breaking header after Dimarco’s left-side cross – 1-0! The Italian could have shortly noted a double assist, but Thuram wasted a terrific chance, shooting straight into Stankovic.After the opener, Simone Inzaghi got the burden off his chest as the lead allowed him to make several changes and refresh his ranks. Thuram confirmed that it wasn’t his day in the 80th minute, losing a duel with Stankovic once more. Nevertheless, the Frenchman’s misses did not hurt his team much, as the Nerazzurri preserved the minimal advantage. Very luckily, though, as Venezia’s 97th-minute equalizer was disallowed due to handball.Harder than expected, Inter managed to fulfil the mission – to win and reduce Napoli’s advantage to only one point. Still, Inzaghi’s team will have to do much better in the next round when the Neapolitans arrive at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza to face the Nerazzurri in a direct duel for the top of the table. On the other hand, Venezia host Parma, and if they repeat this level of performance, they’ll undoubtedly be near a victory.SERIE A – MATCHDAY 11Saturday Bologna – Lecce 1-0 (0-0)/Orsolini 85/Udinese – Juventus 0-2 (0-2)/Okoye 19 og, Savona 37/Monza – Milan 0-1 (0-1)/Rejinders 43/Sunday Napoli – Atalanta 0-3 (0-2)/Lookman 10, 31, Retegui 90+2/Torino – Fiorentina 0-1 (0-1)/Kean 41/Verona – Roma 3-2 (2-1)/Tengstedt 13, Magnani 34, Harroui 88 – Soule 28, Dovbyk 53/Inter – Venezia 1-0 (0-0)/Martinez 65/Monday 20.30: (2.85) Empoli (3.10) Como (2.65)20.30: (1.88) Parma (3.50) Genoa (4.20)22.45: (1.50) Lazio (4.20) Cagliari (6.75)***odds are subject to change***
