Inter Milan secured a 2-0 victory away against Venezia on Wednesday at the Pierluigi Penzo Stadium, in the ninth round of the Italian football league, benefiting from two own goals scored by the hosts in the final minutes.
The winning goals came in the 82nd and 90th minutes, earning Inter three points and raising their tally to 25 points, allowing them to take sole possession of the top spot on goal difference ahead of Lazio, who have the same points, while Venezia's tally remained frozen at 3 points in 20th and last place.
Venezia imposed their attacking presence during the first half and nearly opened the scoring early through a header by Nigerian Akor Adams that went past the post, before Inter's goalkeeper saved a powerful shot from a long distance.
In the 29th minute, the referee disallowed a goal for Venezia scored by German Leon Lobobach due to offside, after he finished off a rebound from the goalkeeper following a save from a free kick taken by Spaniard Kike Perez.
With the start of the second half, Romanian Cristian Chivu, Inter's coach, made three changes by bringing on Nicolo Barella, Manuel Akanji, and Hakan Calhanoglu, in an attempt to energize his team's performance, but the hosts continued to threaten the goal, and substitute Gianluca Busio missed another chance after shooting the ball over the crossbar.
In the 71st minute, Venezia thought they had succeeded in finding the net after Adams dribbled past the goalkeeper and scored, but the referee disallowed the goal due to offside, while a header by Frenchman Marcus Thuram did not pose a major threat to the hosts' goal.
As the match was heading towards a draw, Inter took the lead in the 82nd minute with an own goal scored by Mattia Morino accidentally into his own net, before Venezia's troubles doubled with a second goal in the same manner, signed by Moroccan Ridwan Halhal, allowing the visiting team to leave with a valuable win that strengthened their position in the title race.
Bologna beats Milan
In another match in the same round, Bologna achieved a thrilling 4-2 victory over visitors Milan, overturning their deficit into a win thanks to the brilliance of Belgian Samuel Mbangula, who scored three goals.
Mbangula opened the scoring for Bologna in the eighth minute, before Milan responded with two goals through Alfadjo Sesse in the 14th and 27th minutes, ending the first half leading 2-1.
In the second half, Bologna regained the initiative, benefiting from Milan's defensive decline, equalizing with an own goal scored by Davide Bartesaghi into his own net, before Mbangula added two more goals in the 62nd and 86th minutes, completing his hat-trick and securing the win for the hosts.
With this result, Milan's tally remained frozen at 18 points in fifth place, while Bologna raised their tally to 11 points, moving up to 11th place, benefiting from an important win that boosts their players' morale for the rest of the competition.
Parma and Udinese draw
Meanwhile, Parma and visitors Udinese drew without goals, with each team earning one point, raising the hosts' tally to 5 points in 18th place on goal difference behind 17th-placed Udinese.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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