Soccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Sassuolo's Giangiacomo Magnani celebrates scoring their third goal, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
Third-placed Inter Milan threw away two points in the Serie A title race when they missed an open goal and conceded an 89th- minute equaliser in a 3-3 draw at home to mid-table Sassuolo on Wednesday.
The game hinged on an incredible miss by midfielder Roberto Gagliardini who had the chance to put Inter Milan 3-1 ahead midway through the second half when he was left four metres in front of an open goal but somehow hit the crossbar.
Instead, Domenico Berardi equalised with a penalty in the 81st minute and, although Borja Valero put Inter back ahead five minutes later, poor defending by the hosts allowed Giangiacomo Magnani to equalise in the 89th minute.
Soccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Sassuolo's Gian Marco Ferrari in action with Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
The result left Inter with 58 points, eight behind leaders Juventus with 11 matches to play.
"It's a draw that hurts us because we had several chances to wrap up the game," said Inter coach Antonio Conte. "There are situations where you have to score and today we paid dearly for our naivety."
Inter fully lived up to their reputation for making life hard for themselves throughout the game, starting in the fourth minute when Francesco Caputo was allowed time and space to give the visitors a shock lead.
Soccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Inter Milan's Borja Valero celebrates scoring their third goal, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
Inter turned the game around as Romelu Lukaku scored from a penalty in the 41st minute, his 19th goal of the season, and Cristiano Biraghi exchanged passes with Alexis Sanchez to put them ahead in first-half stoppage time.
Inter decided to play on the counter in the second half and it should have paid off when Lukaku's shot was saved at point-blank range by Andrea Consigli and the ball rebounded to Gagliardini, but he missed with the goal at his mercy.
That was followed by a see-saw final 10 minutes.
Soccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Inter Milan's Cristiano Biraghi celebrates scoring their second goal with Alexis Sanchez and teammates as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
Berardi levelled from the spot after Ashley Young tripped Mert Muldur, then Lukaku had an Inter goal disallowed before Valero was left unmarked at the far post to prod in Antonio Candreva's free kick and put the hosts back in front.
Inter's jubilation proved premature, however, as they left Magnani unmarked at the far post to turn in Berardi's cross with one minute left.
Soccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Sassuolo's Filip Djuricic in action with Inter Milan's Cristiano Biraghi as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
(Reporting by Brian Homewood, editing by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)
Soccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Sassuolo's Domenico Berardi celebrates scoring their second goal,as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele MascoloSoccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku scores their first goal from the penalty spot as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele MascoloSoccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Sassuolo's Giangiacomo Magnani celebrates scoring their third goal, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele MascoloSoccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte celebrates after Borja Valero scored their third goal, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele MascoloSoccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Sassuolo's Rogerio in action with Inter Milan's Victor Moses as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele MascoloSoccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Sassuolo's Vlad Chiriches in action with Inter Milan's Alexis Sanchez as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele MascoloSoccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Sassuolo's Francesco Magnanelli in action with Inter Milan's Christian Eriksen as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele MascoloSoccer Football - Serie A - Inter Milan v U.S. Sassuolo - San Siro, Milan, Italy - June 24, 2020 Sassuolo's Jeremie Boga in action with Inter Milan's Milan Skriniar as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
