Inter claimed a fortunate 2-1 victory at Hellas Verona in Serie A, with a brilliant Piotr Zielinski strike and a last-gasp own goal from Martin Frese securing the win.
In the 16th minute Hakan Calhanoglu’s corner found an unmarked Zielinski on the edge of the box. The Polish midfielder curled a superb right-footed volley into the top-left corner to open the scoring.
Verona struck back five minutes before the break when Giovane was released down the right, holding off the Inter defence before firing home a sharp, angled shot. In first-half stoppage time, Verona nearly turned the match around when a swift passing move around Inter’s box ended with a one-touch flick from Gift Orban that grazed the base of a post before going wide.
The second half began at a slower tempo with few clear chances until Verona launched a counterattack that ended with Inter’s Yann Aurel Bisseck fortunate to escape with only a yellow card after tripping Giovane.
Deep in stoppage time, as the rain poured down, Nicolò Barella sent a long ball into the box that deflected off the Verona defender Frese and spun into the bottom corner, sealing a dramatic late winner for Inter.
Inter are now one point behind the leaders, Napoli. They can both be overtaken in the evening match, when Roma, now level with Inter, visit Milan, who are fourth, three points worse off than their opponents.
In Spain, Barcelona will seek to bounce back from last Sunday’s defeat at Real Madrid when they host Elche.
