Inter 2-1 Venice: Henry, Barella and Dzeko

Dzeko’s header, which appears after a lifetime and when you least expect it, will perhaps make Simone’s stop sweeter, but it will not take some thoughts out of his head: his Inter wins a victory of extreme suffering against a brave Venice, however, there are some snags in the hitherto cannibal team. First the draw with Atalanta, then the round of the Italian Cup passed with inhuman effort against Empoli and now this other home comeback still torn at the last breath: it is certainly not the best moment for Inzaghi’s Inter who, evidently, he is taking his breath away after long running. Not a warning light, but a warning before the break that anticipates the derby. And even Venice, stronger than absences and the covid, leaves San Siro like someone who knows that, with this spirit, salvation is approaching.

IMMEDIATELY BELOW

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At the start, the Inter surprise is the absence of Dumfries on the right, with the rise in the hierarchy of Darmian, owner for the third game in a row. Venezia, heartened by the last round of negative buffers in the morning, must in any case replace five positives: so they set up a 3-5-2 more defensive than the first leg in the Lagoon, with the Italian trio Caldara-Modolo-Ceccaroni to keep at bay the Inter Dze-La, Ampadu and the latest arrival Ullmann on the two flanks and Henry to act as a magnet for the balls in front. It is not the Inter of the good times, however: the maneuver jams at the edge of the area and often we are reduced to phoning with predictable crosses in between. In short, for the second game out of two, the approach of the Italian champions is revisable and once again there is a joke: in one of the very few Venetian restarts, on a cross from Ampadou, Henry is badly controlled by Skriniar and finds the pumpkin under the crossbar. On this occasion Handa proves a bit awkward and after 19 minutes Inter suddenly ends up under.

THE EQUAL

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The goal is a propellant for Venice which must, however, slightly correct the game plan when the playmaker Vacca suffers a bad muscle injury, yet in a few minutes with two micro-raids the Venetians manage to get Barella and then Bastoni warned. Signs of a much more complicated match than one would have imagined, also because Inzaghi’s team has an enormous effort to go upstream and break through against the opponent’s wall. Indeed, she often finds herself forced to risk sterile conclusions from outside. An attempted overhead kick by Lautaro with a high level of theatricality becomes a small fuse, a signal of reaction and so, before the end of the first half, the equalizer arrives with a flash of real Inter: a long cross from Darmian, a sharp left foot by Perisic and, on the response of the goalkeeper Lezzerini, Barella’s tap-in for the 1-1. The action is spoiled by a possible foul by Dzeko on Modulo, but the Var cannot intervene because there is a subsequent change of possession.

SECOND HALF

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The second half begins with Dimarco for Bastoni and Inzaghi’s logic is clear: to avoid a second yellow card for the defender and to ferry the ball in front even further on the left-handed lane. The Nerazzurri, however, especially in recent weeks have lacked the central offensive of the goal: especially Dzeko, still very useful on the banks, he no longer seems to be in front of goal. Once again, he arrives a little late on a very occasional header and, above all, he fires incredibly over the crossbar the easiest of the tap-ins after a faulty response by Lezzerini on a header by De Vrij. These would be opportunities to be exploited in a now dusty game, not to mention that Venezia proves to be able to arm interesting restarts as well, as in the case of a left by Okereke controlled by Handanovic.

THE FINAL TURN

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20 minutes from the end Inzaghi uses new petrol and ventures to make a triple change: out of Darmian, Barella and Lautaro, in Dumfries, Vidal and Sanchez. But they are not the ones to give the umpteenth three points, more tiring than many others: it is Dzeko with a detachment of his at 89 on a cross from the Dutchman. If there was a way to erase the many mistakes and break the long fast, here it is. Especially with a decisive derby on the horizon.