MILAN :Inter Milan’s title hopes were dealt a crushing blow when a late Pedro penalty earned Lazio a 2-2 draw at the San Siro on Sunday, to leave the Serie A champions one point behind Napoli going into the final game of the season.
With leaders Napoli held to a 0-0 draw by Parma, Inter missed the perfect opportunity to move into pole position at just the right time, but Yann Bisseck went from hero to villain, conceding the 90th-minute penalty after opening the scoring.
Inter are on 78 points and are away to Como on the final day with Napoli on 79, and they will host Cagliari. Should the sides finish level on points, the title will be decided by a playoff. Lazio are sixth on 65 points, two behind Juventus in fourth.
The first half was mostly played at a pace which made the game look like an end of season match with nothing riding on it rather than two sides with still very much to play for.
Federico Dimarco’s first-time effort from the edge of the area, which was parried away by Lazio keeper Christos Mandas after half an hour, was the first shot on target, and Inter keeper Yann Sommer was called into action shortly before the break.
Gustav Isaksen was sent through one-on-one but Sommer spread himself well to deny the Lazio striker, and it was Inter who took the lead on the stroke of halftime.
Dimarco had another effort blocked from a corner kick and when the ball fell to Bisseck he had time to control before smashing his shot into the roof of the net.
Lazio pushed forward after the interval, and had an excellent chance to level but Boulaye Dia sent the ball just wide from close range under pressure from Sommer and Bisseck.
Minutes later, Lazio equalised, with substitute Pedro firing home from the edge of the six-yard box from a Matias Vecino layoff in the 72nd minute.
Inter recovered and with 11 minutes left, Hakan Calhanoglu floated a free kick to the back post and Denzel Dumfries lost his marker to head in from close range.
It looked like a goal which could decide the Scudetto, but when Bisseck handled the ball late on, a VAR check resulted in the award of a penalty which Pedro converted.
Inter’s never-say-die attitude looked like saving them once more but Marko Arnautovic scuffed a close-range shot in added time.
Arnautovic then had the ball in the net and Inter looked to have earned a dramatic win, but the goal was ruled out for offside, and the defending champions and Champions League finalists must now hope for another Napoli slip-up.
