Lazio managed to snatch a point against Inter Milan at San Siro on Sunday, in a game crucial for both teams.
Yann Bisseck broke the deadlock in Inter’s favour in the first-half stoppage time, but Pedro equalized in the 72nd minute. Denzel Dumfries restored the home side’s lead seven minutes later, but in the 90th, Pedro scored his second equalizer from the penalty spot, setting the final score at 2-2.
Teams
Inter boss Simone Inzaghi was without his captain, Lautaro Martinez, and the hero of the Champions League semifinal triumph over Barcelona, Davide Frattesi, as well as midfielder Valentin Carboni.
Yann Sommer was in goal, with the trio of Bisseck, sco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni forming the back line. Hakan Calhanoglu anchored the midfield, positioned slightly behind Nicolo Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Dumfries and Federico Dimarco covered the flanks. Mehdi Taremi took Lautaro’s place in attack, alongside Marcus Thuram.
Lazio head coach Marco Baroni was without a few players himself. Patric and Manuel Lazzari were absent through injury, while Luca Pellegrini and Mattia Zaccagni served yellow-card suspensions.
Christos Mandas stood between the posts. Alessio Romagnoli and Mario Gila paired up in the heart of defence, flanked by Nuno Tavares and Adam Marusic. Matias Vecino, Matteo Guendouzi and Nicolo Rovella formed a three-man midfield, while Boulaye Dia and Gustav Isaksen flanked Taty Castellanos up front.
The game
With Inter mostly dominating possession but not rushing anything, it took quite a while for the contest to properly get going. But in the 30th minute, Dimarco threatened very seriously by hitting a half-volley from the edge of the box, forcing a good save from Mandas. Lazio responded 10 minutes later through Isakson, whose curled effort from a tight angle narrowly missed the far post.
The same player had the best chance of the first half in the 42nd minute, being put through by an excellent defence-splitting from Dia, only to be thwarted by the fantastic Sommer in the Inter goal.
The visitors were punished for that glaring miss just before halftime. Their defence half-cleared a Calhanoglu corner, Dimarco had a powerful shot blocked, and Bisseck took advantage of the ensuing scramble to fire under the bar and get Inter ahead.
Minute 53 had just started when Baroni withdrew Isaksen and sent Pedro into the fray; a game-changing moment, as it turned out.
Lazio came very close to an equalizer in the 69th minute when Castellanos set Dia up and the winger managed to poke the ball past Sommer, only to see it trickle wide.
Three minutes later, Inter’s defence looked rather disoriented as Lazio moved the ball around the box, and eventually the offside flag went up, just as Vecino set Pedro up to score from close range. The visitors protested the call and the VAR intervened, ruling the linesman out and giving the goal.
Lazio’s joy was short-lived at that point, as Guendouzi lost Dumfries on the far post from a corner cunningly taken by Calhanoglu, and the Netherlands international headed into the net from close range to restore Inter’s lead.
But the VAR came to Lazio’s rescue once more late on. Minute 86 was ing when Castellanos tried to take the ball past Bisseck inside the box and it hit the Inter defender on the arm. Referee Daniele Chiffi waved Castellanos’ penalty request away, but then he was told to review the situation on the pitch-side screen. The slow-motion footage made it rather clear that Bisseck had indeed handled the ball, arguably with intent, and Chiffi pointed to the spot.
There were seven minutes of stoppage time, but the score remained unchanged, despite Castellanos wasting a big chance to win it late for Lazio at one end, and Inter substitute Marko Arnautovic seeing a goal rightly ruled out for offside at the other.
Table implications
Going into this gameweek only a point behind Serie A leaders Napoli, who played a goalless draw away to Parma, Inter had a huge opportunity to retake the top spot and grasp the Scudetto race firmly in their own hands. But Pedro’s penalty saw that opportunity fly out the window, and the two rivals at the top remain as they were.
It means it’s still down to Napoli, who will clinch the title if they beat Cagliari at home on Friday evening. All Inter can do now is make sure they beat Como away at the same time and hope that Cagliari can pull off a miracle and emerge undefeated at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
If that doesn’t happen, the Nerazzurri will look to find consolation – not a small one, to be sure – when they face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final the following week.
As for Lazio, they won’t be too happy with this outcome either. They’re currently in sixth place with 65 points, behind city rivals AS Roma on 66, and Juventus on 67. The Biancocelesti will have to make sure they beat Lecce at home on the final matchday of the campaign, before checking to see what Juventus have done away to Venezia and what Roma have done away to Torino, and learning which European competition they’ll be playing in 2025/26.
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
