Inter Milan 1-1 Lazio: Talking points as Biancocelesti lose vital ground in Champions League qualification race

Inter Milan and Lazio shared the spoils in an exciting contest at San Siro on Sunday, in the penultimate round of the 2023/24 Serie A season. Daichi Kamada put the visitors ahead in the 32nd minute, but Denzel Dumfries made sure the new Italian champions kept a point in the 87th.

The teams

Coach Simone Inzaghi deployed his Inter side in a familiar 3-5-2 formation. Yann Sommer was in goal, with Benjamin Pavard, Francesco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni forming the back line. Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were in the middle of the park, flanked by Matteo Darmian on the right and Federico Dimarco on the left. Upfront, Lautaro Martinez paired up with Marcus Thuram.

For Lazio, Igor Tudor arranged his men a shape that looked mostly like 3-4-2-1, with Mario Gila, Nicolo Casale and Patric forming the defence ahead of goalkeeper Ivan Provedel. Luca Pellegrini and Adam Marusic played out wide, flanking the midfield pair of Nicolo Rovella and Matias Vecino. Hamada and Mattia Zaccagni supported striker Taty Castellanos, who was given the nod ahead of veteran Ciro Immobile.

Both coaches used up all of the five substitutions at their disposal over the course of the game. Aside from goalscorer Dumfries, Carlos Augusto, Davide Frattesi, Alexis Sanchez and Tajon Buchanan were given a chance to contribute for Inter off the bench, while Elseid Hysaj, Matteo Guendouzi, Luis Alberto, Felipe Anderson and Danilo Cataldi came on in the second half for Lazio.

The game

There were plenty of chances at both end. Inter threatened first as Thuram was set up by Lautaro in the third minute and attempted to nutmeg Provedel, but the goalkeeper managed to deflect the shot with his foot. Shortly after, Castellanos nutmegged Acerbi and put the ball in the back of the net, but a VAR check revealed the striker had been offside on Kamada’s assist. Sommer made a crucial one-handed save on Castellanos after a misplaced pass from Acerbi, while Provedel, on…

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Author : Veselin Trajkovic

Publish date : 2024-05-20 10:14:09

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