Udinese’s Serie A survival hopes took yet another hit, as Davide Frattesi’s 95th minute minute strike earned Inter Milan a 2-1 victory – inflicting a seventh successive winless home outing upon the hosts. As the only game in Europe’s traditional top-five leagues this evening, the eyes of the continent were on Udine, where a tepid start would likely have thrown even the most devout of football fans off the trail. Although a 14-point cushion at the Serie A summit prior to the round means the title is all-but wrapped up already for Inter, there was an extra layer of spice here as they knew victory would keep alive the dream of winning the title against city rivals Milan in just under two weeks time.82 – Inter are only the 2nd team able to gain 82+ points after their first 31 games played in single season in the Serie A’s history (since 1929/30), after Juventus in 2018/19 (84). Route.#UdineseInter #SerieA pic.twitter.com/ujQxpJzEN3— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 8, 2024 Perhaps no man would like to do that more than a man who crossed the divide, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and the Turk came close to firing his side into the lead on the half-hour mark when his thunderous strike was repelled by Maduka Okoye. That save looked even bigger 10 minutes later when the hosts took an unlikely lead in comical circumstances. Lazar Samardžić’s deflected cross looked to be harmlessly drifting into the box, but a breakdown in communication between Yann Sommer and Denzel Dumfries – both of whom left the ball – saw it trickle in the corner.
Inter thought they’d forged a way back into the game within minutes of the restart when Carlos Augusto turned home following a bout of penalty box pinball, but a VAR offside decision denied him a first-ever Serie A goal for Inter. That was only a temporary reprieve for the hosts, who imploded shortly after when Okoye came out for a cross he was never likely to reach and clattered Marcus Thuram. The Udinese stopper had already made one solid save to deny Çalhanoğlu earlier, but he had no chance this time, as his spot-kick arrowed into the bottom corner.
It was Inter doing most of the running for a late winner, but Frattesi’s wayward effort from 12-yards was somewhat symptomatic of the struggles they were facing in the final third. For all their huff and puff, the Nerazzurri never truly carved out what you could call a gilt-edged opportunity until the 95th minute, when Frattesi redeemed himself by popping up in the box to tap home after Lautaro Martínez’s initial effort was tipped onto the post – sparking jubilant scenes on the Inter bench and leaving Udinese heartbroken.
SERIE A – MATCHDAY 31FridaySalernitana – Sassuolo 2-2 (0-2)/Candreva 52 pen, Maggiore 90+1 – Lauriente 37, Bajrami 44/SaturdayAC Milan – Lecce 3-0 (2-0)/Pulisic 6, Giroud 20, Leao 57/Roma – Lazio 1-0 (1-0)/Mancini 42/Empoli – Torino 3-2 (1-0)/Cambiaghi 6, Cancellieri 74, Niang 90+4 – Zapata 60, 90+1/SundayFrosinone – Bologna 0-0Monza – Napoli 2-4 (1-0)/Djuric 9, Colpani 62 – Osimhen 55, Politano 57, Zielinski 61, Raspadori 68/Verona – Genoa 1-2 (1-1)/Bonazzoli 8 – Ekuban 45, Gudmundsson 58/Cagliari – Atalanta 2-1 (1-1)/Augello 42, Viola 88 – Scamacca 13/Juventus – Fiorentina 1-0 (1-0)/Gatti 21/MondayUdinese – Inter 1-2 (1-0)/Samardzic 40 – Calhanoglu 55 pen, Fratessi 90+5/