Inter 1-0 Hellas Verona: Lautaro Martinez strikes early as Nerazzurri limp to victory

lautaro-martinez

Lautaro Martinez was the hero for Inter once more, but it was a far from convincing performance by the Nerazzurri at San Siro.

Lautaro Martinez scored the only goal as Inter made hard work of a 1-0 win over struggling Hellas Verona at San Siro.

Although the team’s effort was far from convincing, the Nerazzurri’s in-form Argentinian striker struck early to secure a narrow victory that moves them level on points with third-placed Juventus in Serie A.

Martinez has now netted three times in four games since his national side’s World Cup success, while taking his league tally to nine goals for the campaign.

Inter, meanwhile, maintained their record of never losing a top-flight game against Verona at home, winning each of their last eight matches.

Inter broke through after just three minutes when Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s promising burst into Verona’s penalty area saw the ball fall behind Martinez and the forward slotted it neatly into the far corner.

No side have scored more first-half goals than Inter in Serie A this season and looking to build on their strong start, Martinez headed straight at Lorenzo Monti from Roberto Gagliardini’s cross.

Referee Michael Fabbri waved away a penalty appeal from the visitors just before the break, despite Fabio Depaoli appearing to deflect Mkhitaryan’s shot back with his arm.

Inter thought they had doubled their advantage in the 63rd minute when Martinez brilliantly slotted the ball past the onrushing Montipo but was disallowed for an earlier foul on Pawel Dawidowicz.

Without a win in their previous 22 matches with Inter since a 1-0 victory in February 1992, Verona came close to equalizing when Suleman’s low drive from a tight angle called Andre Onan into action with 20 minutes remaining.

Substitute Kristjan Asllani almost sealed victory with a spectacular effort from distance, but Martinez’s early strike was enough for the home side.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *