That’s what you call a job well done. Inter scored in either half to achieve a coll 3-1 win at Spezia, put pressure on rivals Milan and, what matters the most, climb to the top of the Serie A table.Simone Inzaghi’s team needed a moment of magic to jumpstart their engine at Stadio Alberto Picco in the opening match of another exciting weekend of Serie A football, but thankfully – there are many providers of magic on this team.
Goals from Marcelo Brozovic and Lautaro Martinez put Inter on course to points, although they needed to be careful in the last five minutes after conceding a goal from the Eagles’ industrious midfielder Giulio Maggiore. There were a few nervous minutes in the end, but the black and blues used their experience to prevent what would have been an undeserved equalizer.With the Italian championship entering the final stretch, every point can prove precious indeed.It was one of those games where something special is needed to make a difference on the field. And Inter’s Croatian international Brozovic made it happen on the half-hour mark. The tireless midfielder showed once again that he’s one of the most influential Inter players by starting off a move that would result in the opening goal. He played a diagonal ball into the box for Danilo D’Ambrosio. The defender cushioned his header across the area and into Brozovic’s path. Specia defenders left far too much space for the Croat to run onto that ball and strike it sweetly into the top corner past Ivan Provedel.Hardly anyone expected Spezia to stand any chance of staying up this season, but they’ve been exceeding expectations all season, managed by former Inter player Thiago Motta. And they were determined to make the Nerazzurri work hard from start to finish.
The reigning champions controlled the match well and survived a couple of dangerous attempts from the hosts shortly after the restart to continue their march to the summit.Nearly all doubts about the final outcome were settled by Lautaro Martinez, who’s only came on for the second 45 minutes. The Argentine made the most out of an inswinging Ivan Perisic cross, got a slight touch with his shin, but it made all the difference and Provedel had no chance to keep it out. Although there were aroud 20 minutes to go, it felt like Spezia won’t be able to fight back – although they did provide their fans a few minute of hope.Maggiore scored a nice goal to beat Samir Handanovic and make Inter fans sweat about their three points, but forgotten man Alexis Sanchez scored deep in injury time to end the contest.The pressure is now on Milan!SERIE A – ROUND 33FridaySpezia – Inter 1-3 (0-1)/Maggiore 88 – Brozovic 31, Martinez 73, Sanchez 90+4/22.00: (1.48) Milan (4.50) Genoa (8.00)Saturday13.30: (2.85) Cagliari (3.40) Sassuolo (2.55)15.30: (1.87) Udinese (3.60) Empoli (4.60)15.30: (1.94) Sampdoria (3.70) Salernitana (4.50)17.30: (1.42) Fiorentina (4.80) Venezia (8.50)19.30: (1.40) Juventus (4.90) Bologna (9.50)21.45: (1.72) Lazio (3.80) Torino (6.25)***odds are subject to change