MILAN, Italy :Inter Milan maintained their flickering Serie A title hopes with a 1-0 home win over Hellas Verona on Saturday, courtesy of an early penalty by Kristjan Asllani, as they rested players ahead of their Champions League clash with Barcelona next week.
The result keeps the Scudetto race ticking over, with Inter on 74 points, three behind leaders Napoli as the final three rounds await. Verona are 15th.
Inter were feeling the pressure as Napoli had earlier secured a 1-0 victory at Lecce with a Giacomo Raspadori goal.
Coach Simone Inzaghi and midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu were also missing as they served one-match bans from Italy’s soccer association over their relations with hardcore ‘ultra’ fans, so assistant coach Massimiliano Farris was in charge.
“We knew Verona would be compact, and it wasn’t easy to find gaps. Maybe in the second half, we could have been quicker in some decisions, but we didn’t face many serious dangers,” Farris told Sky Sport Italia.
With Inter’s semi-final return leg at home to Barca on Tuesday, following a 3-3 draw in Spain, defender Yann Bisseck was the only player to keep his place from the previous game.
“Rather than referring to it as a secondary team, I would describe it as a group of players with limited playing time, but who are fully aware of what is expected of them,” Farris added.
MARTINEZ ABSENCE
Inter took the lead after nine minutes through Asllani’s penalty following handball by Nicolas Valentini.
The visitors offered little threat, with forward Amin Sarr providing their only real spark with an angled strike that forced Josep Martinez into a sharp save.
Asllani came close just before the break with a long shot from a tight angle that skimmed the bar and landed on top of the net to the dismay of the home fans who thought it had gone in.
The intensity waned in the second half, though, with the match becoming a midfield battle littered with lost possession and attacks that came to nothing as Inter held on for the win.
The match was also played without key striker Lautaro Martinez, who is still struggling with a hamstring injury and racing against the clock to be ready for Tuesday’s clash.
“It is true that it’s not a lesion, so there is a little hope, but at the moment it’s more no than yes,” Farris said.
“He hasn’t trained, we’ll try everything of course because it is a fundamental match, but it’s more no than yes right now, unfortunately.”
