Inter edge Verona 1-0 to stay close to leaders Napoli

Inter Milan edged past Hellas Verona with a 1-0 victory at the San Siro on Saturday, fueled by an early Kristjan Asllani penalty. The win keeps Inter within touching distance of Serie A leaders Napoli as the season approaches its final three matches.

The solitary goal came in the ninth minute when Asllani converted from the spot after a handball in the box by Verona’s Nicolas Valentini. The result places Inter on 74 points, trailing Napoli by a mere three points, who had earlier secured their own 1-0 win against Lecce. Verona remain in 15th position.

Inter were without head coach Simone Inzaghi and midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, both serving one-match bans. Assistant coach Massimiliano Farris took charge of the team. “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 commented to Sky Sport Italia.

With a crucial Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona scheduled for Tuesday, following a thrilling 3-3 draw in Spain, Farris opted to rotate the squad, with only defender Yann Bisseck retaining his place from the previous outing.⁴ “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 explained.

Verona struggled to create significant opportunities, with an angled strike from forward Amin Sarr forcing Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez into a notable save being their most threatening moment. Asllani nearly added a second just before halftime with a long-range effort that grazed the top of the bar.

The second half saw a decrease in tempo, with the game largely contested in midfield, characterized by turnovers and ineffective attacks as Inter managed to maintain their slender lead.

The home side was also missing key striker Lautaro Martinez, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury and is in a race against time to be fit for the Barcelona 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 stated. “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.”