AS Roma 2-2 Inter Milan
Inter Milan are back up to second in the Serie A table after Romelu Lukaku’s late penalty saw them salvage a 2-2 draw away to Roma.
However, their already slim Serie A 2020 odds to win the title now seem all but over after failing to close the gap further on Juventus, who are still five points clear with a game in hand despite their recent hiccups.
Since the restart, there have been few teams quite as entertaining as Inter. Not only have they been scoring goals for fun, but they’ve also been letting them in, which has led to some exciting matches.
It’s not the style manager Antonio Conte wants, but it’s certainly one that neutral fans certainly enjoy with all the Serie A 2020 highlights they create.
Highlights of the game
Roma were one of the form teams in the league with three straight wins heading into the match against Inter. And they really should have taken the lead after just nine minutes.
Inter keeper Samir Handanovic came nowhere close to claiming a Roma corner, leaving Mancini with a wide-open goal to aim at. Shockingly, though, the Roma centre-back completely missed the mark with his header.
Roma would be left to rue that miss just a few minutes later as Inter took the lead through their own corner. Centre-back Stefan de Vrij showed Mancini how it’s done as he rose high and sent a thumping header past keeper Pau Lopez.
The away side then came close to taking the lead on 27 minutes. Ashley Young cut the ball back to Marcelo Brozovic in the six-yard box, but the Croatian midfielder couldn’t get much power to his shot.
With time ticking down in the first half, the home side would get themselves back on level terms. Edin Dzeko set up left-back Leonardo Spinazzola, who beat Handanovic with his right-foot strike.
De Vrij tried to clear the goal-bound shot off the line, but he only managed to whack the ball into his own net.
Roma kept the pressure up at the start of the second half. Handanovic was forced to make a crucial save on Roma midfielder Jordan Veretout.
That Roma pressure would finally pay off on 57 minutes as they took the lead through Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The Armenian made a powerful run into the penalty area and passed off to Dzeko, who was unable to control the ball. Luckily for Roma, though, the ball broke to the path of Mkhitaryan, who just got ahead of Dzeko and smashed past Handanovic.
Roma looked like they would hang on for the big win, but disaster struck four minutes from time. Spinazzola was dispossessed inside his own penalty area by Inter substitute Victor Moses, who then went down after the Roma defender kicked him. Penalty to Inter.
Romelu Lukaku, who came on for Lautaro Martinez, stepped up to take the spot-kick, which he drilled into the left corner to hand Inter a share of the spoils.
Key statistics
Despite being away from home, Inter still dominated possession against Roma, 56 per cent to 44. However, they only just edged out the shots battle, 8-7, in a match where chances were few and far between.
Lukaku, who only came on after 66 minutes, still ended up with twice as many shots as Lautaro and Alexis Sanchez had combined (one).
Although, Sanchez still contributed an assist as he continues to impress at Inter. The Chilean has now set up seven Inter goals since the restart while scoring two of his own.
Inter have now scored 25 goals in nine games since the restart, tied with neighbours AC Milan, who have played one game fewer.
What’s next?
Up next for Inter is a home match against a resurgent Fiorentina side that’s turned things around after a rough start to their restart. La Viola have now gone unbeaten in their last five matches, with back-to-back wins over Lecce and Torino.
However, the SBOBET odds should still favour Inter, who have won 17 of their last 19 home matches in all competitions against Fiorentina.
Meanwhile, Roma will fancy their chances of getting back on the win column as they visit bottom club SPAL, who have now lost five matches in a row after losing to fellow relegation fodder Brescia.
With both AC Milan and Napoli just two points behind them, Roma cannot afford more slip-ups in their last four games of the season if they want to hold on to fifth spot.
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