January 08, (THEWILL) — Inter Milan extended their advantage at the summit of Serie A to four points following a 2-0 win against Parma on Wednesday evening. The victory came after Napoli could only manage a 2-2 draw with Verona earlier in the day, allowing the Nerazzurri to pull clear of both the reigning champions and AC Milan, though they have played one match more than their city rivals.
Manager Simone Inzaghi made significant changes to his starting line-up with Sunday’s clash against Napoli in mind. Alessandro Bastoni was rested entirely, whilst Nicolo Barella, Francesco Acerbi, Ange-Yoan Bonny and Marcus Thuram were all held back for second-half introductions. Despite the rotation, Inter controlled proceedings throughout at Stadio Ennio Tardini.
The opening period saw both sides hit the frame of the goal on three occasions. Yann Bisseck and Francesco Pio Esposito struck the woodwork for the visitors, whilst Parma’s Jacob Ondrejka watched his overhead effort pushed onto the post by goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Federico Dimarco broke the deadlock three minutes before the interval, finishing at the near post after initially being flagged offside before VAR intervention overturned the decision.
Petar Sucic spurned a golden opportunity to extend Inter’s lead when through on goal in the second period, failing to convert when one-on-one with the Parma keeper. The hosts briefly thought they had reduced the deficit when Bonny found the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for handball in the build-up.
Thuram sealed the three points deep into stoppage time, racing onto a pass from Barella to finish clinically. The result leaves Inter in a strong position ahead of their top-of-the-table meeting with Napoli at San Siro this weekend.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
