Inter starting XI (3-5-2): Sommer, Pavard (subbed for Sanchez), Acerbi, Bastoni, Dumfries (subbed for Darmian), Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan (subbed for Frattesi), Carlos Augusto (subbed for Dimarco), Thuram (subbed for Arnautovic), Lautaro

Bench: Di Gennaro, Audero, Sensi, De Vrij, Klaassen, Asllani, Bisseck

Goals: Martinez 13’, Frattesi 90+3’

Hellas Verona starting XI (4-2-3-1): Montipò, Tchatchoua, Coppola, Magnani, Doig (subbed for Cabal), Duda, Suslov (subbed for Charlys), Ngonge (subbed for Kallon), Folorunsho, Mboula (subbed for Lazovic), Djuric (subbed for Henry)

Bench: Berardi, Perilli, Amione, Faraoni, Cruz, Serdar, Hongla, Bonazzoli

Goals: Henry 74’

The moment came when Davide Frattesi leaped on top of a yellow fence lining the San Siro and erupted in celebration toward the crowd as his teammates mobbed him so wildly that they pulled down his shorts and exposed his black underwear.

Frattesi’s stoppage-time winner proved decisive in a frenetic finish as Lautaro Martinez marked his return from injury with a league-leading 16th goal, helping Inter beat relegation-threatened Hellas Verona 2-1 to secure the midseason lead in Serie A.

“I would have done much worse, but I didn’t want to get another yellow card for celebrating,” said Frattesi, who came on ten minutes before he scored.

The game wasn’t won, though, until a penalty kick ten minutes into added time from Verona striker Thomas Henry hit the post.

Then it was back to celebrating as Inter moved five points clear of Juventus, who subsequently brought the gap back down to two after beating Salernitana on Sunday.

Inter drew their previous match and were eliminated from the Italian Cup by Bologna in late December. This dramatic victory put Simone Inzaghi’s team back on track for their title pursuit and the chance to stitch a second star onto their shirt to signify what would be a 20th Italian championship.

Juventus, with three stars and a record 36 Serie A titles, are the only club in Italy with more than one star.

“The tough games to win are the dirty ones — but they’re also the ones that enable you to go all the way,” Frattesi said.

The match started as expected, Marcus Thuram using one touch with his back to the goal to leave the ball for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who sent a diagonal pass toward Lautaro. 

The Argentina international, who missed two games with an injured left thigh, then controlled with his right foot and used the outside of the same foot to slot the ball in past Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipò.

But Inter couldn’t add to the advantage and Henry equalised seconds after coming on by using his knee to redirect in a cross in the 74th.

Inter forward Marko Arnautovic wasted more chances when he accidentally blocked a shot from going in and missed a header from point-blank range.

Frattesi finally restored Inter’s lead when he tapped in a rebound after a volley from Alessandro Bastoni hit the crossbar.

But a foul from Matteo Darmian threatened to render Frattesi’s celebration useless until Henry sent the ensuing penalty off the left post, with a follow-up header from Verona also missing the target.

AAP

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