May 07, (THEWILL) – Inter came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Empoli 4-2 at San Siro on Friday evening, thanks to a brace from Lautaro Martinez.
Simone Inzaghi’s 300th match as a coach was noteworthy, as his Nerazzurri team returned to the top of Serie A, a point ahead of Milan despite having played one more game.
Empoli took an early lead on the counterattack through Inter loanee Andrea Pinamonti after just five minutes. Ivan Perisic had pushed high up the pitch, allowing Szymon Zurkowski to cross for Pinamonti to deftly turn home against his parent side, appearing quite guilty in his quiet celebration.
Empoli scored again five minutes later through Zurkowski, but the Nerazzurri were saved by a late offside flag and subsequent VAR check.
Nicolo Barella hit the outside of the post with a powerful volley at the other end, but he was way offside and the goal would not have stood.
As Inzaghi’s men increased the pressure, Milan Skriniar and Martinez both wasted half-chances from corners.
When Barella was hauled down by Fabiano Parisi in the 22nd minute, Inter were given a penalty, but the judgement was overturned after VAR intervention, with replays indicating that the 21-year-old got the ball cleanly with his sliding challenge.
Empoli quickly extended their lead, thereafter. Stefan de Vrij failed to cope with a straightforward long ball forward by Riccardo Fiamozzi, allowing Kristjan Asllani to sprint in behind and slot past Samir Handanovic.
The Nerazzurri were given a lifeline when Federico Dimarco’s cross was redirected into the net by Simone Romagnoli, and the goal was allowed to stand after another nervy VAR check, giving Inter a foothold once more.
Martinez equalised for Inter on the stroke of half-time, blasting in from a cutback by Hakan Calhanoglu with the outside of his boot.
Following the break, Denzel Dumfries’ header went just wide of Guglielmo Vicario’s goal, before fellow winger Perisic came agonisingly close to finding the far corner.
Martinez and Skriniar both failed to connect properly on Dimarco’s fizzing cross, while Barella and Calhanoglu’s respective shots from 25 yards were off target.
Dumfries, Skriniar, and Joaquin Correa all came close during a frantic corner routine. Martinez was unable to make good contact with Dumfries’ smart cutback moments later, but the Argentine made no mistake when a loose ball came to him in the 18-yard area, slamming past Vicario with force to give Inter the lead.
Correa and Edin Dzeko both missed chances to extend the advantage, but Alexis Sanchez scored with the final kick of the fixture for all the three points.
Inter moves one point ahead of Milan in the league standings, with their opponents not playing until Sunday. Their focus now shifts to Wednesday’s Coppa Italia final, in which they will meet Juventus. Empoli’s winless streak continues, and they stay in 14th place. Their next game will be against struggling Salernitana.
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.
