A melodrama occurred during a Serie A clash between Inter Milan and Hellas Verona on Wednesday night when Romelu Lukaku thought he had scored with the last touch of the match.
Inter had the ball in the net with the last kick of the game after Achraf Hakimi ran all the way from his own half to roll across for Lukaku, but it was disallowed because the striker fouled a defender to reach it.
It was initially thought that the referee blew the final whistle during the process of a counter-attack.
Well, that won’t really matter as Inter clinched their seventh straight win which sends them to the top of the Serie A table temporarily. It will however matter to Lukaku who scoffed the chances that came his way. The Belgian missed the opportunity to score in five straight games.
Inter stepped up their game in the second half against Hellas Verona without a goal from Lukaku
After a goalless first half, Inter once again stepped up the gear in the second half through goals from Lautaro Martinez and Milan Skriniar.
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β Inter (@Inter_en) December 23, 2020
The Nerazzurri has now put pressure on AC Milan that plays Lazio later tonight. The Serie A will go on break and resume in January.
Inter were able to extend their winning runs against Verona, who last recorded a victory against them in 1992. This has been followed by four draws and 14 defeats, home and away.
Martinez’s goal came from Hakimi’s cross from the right.
Verona restored parity after pouncing on a collective Inter howler to equalise. Inter defense allowed Davide Faraoni get his cross in from the right, and Samir Handanovic fumbled the ball, which fell at Milan Skriniarβs feet. Ivan Ilic smartly toe-poked it between the defenderβs legs to score from six yards.
Skriniar then made up for his error soon after from Marcelo Brozovicβs cross from a short corner.
This is a boost for Inter’s Serie A hope. They are expected to focus more on winning the title this season having been eliminated from European competitions. The fate of Antionio Conte might also lie in winning the trophy.
Grinding out a win against a Verona team that defeated Lazio and almost defeated AC Milan on their respective turfs showed a sign of improvement.
The battle for the Serie A this season is likely to go to the wire as all the contenders are not ready to give up soon,. But come March, we might be able to separate the boys from the men.
