Inter beat Cremonese 2-1 early on matchday 20, opened by Okereke’s goal in the 11th minute overturned by a brace from Lautaro Martinez, who scored in the 21st minute and then in the 20th minute of the second half. The Nerazzurri rise to provisional second place with 40 points, -10 from Napoli, the Grigiorossi remain last with eight. The record
Lautaro show (brace) and Inter resume march. After the knockout against Empoli at home, Inzaghi’s team is back on the road by beating Cremonese 2-1. A well-deserved success for Zini, but the Nerazzurri saw the witches back after going behind after a handful of minutes hit by a splendid goal by Okereke with a shot from the edge of the area. At that moment, however, Inter did not disunited, quickly managing to pierce Ballardini’s Cremonese wall 10′ later. Fundamental condition to end the first half in a draw, playing the second half with more patience and taking advantage of the best technical quality in finding the right passage sooner or later. And so it was. If in the first half Lautaro’s goal was a robbery on Carnesecchi’s rebound after a shot by Dzeko, in the second half the attacker made the most of the Bosnian’s great work. In fact, Dzeko’s finishing work was decisive as he found the right pocket for the fellow world champion, also lucky in the conclusion given the shot deflected by Vasquez and finished behind the Cremona goalkeeper. Inzaghi was able to make the most of the first imbalance of Cremonese forced to change Castagnetti due to a muscle problem and in fact without other midfielders on the bench. The entry of Afena Gyan led the Grigiorossi to attack more by switching to a 3-4-3 but also to leave some space behind. Dumfries’ incursions hurt the grey-red defense, but above all Dzeko was decisive with his ability to come out of the attack to work balls on the edge of the area until the goal made it 2-1. But after the goal, Inter relaxed a little too much, leaving Cremonese at least two good chances to equalize the match. First Buonaiuto and then Dessers gave the Nerazzurri fans shivers but they didn’t materialize. In the final, Lukaku’s entry, not very incisive, didn’t change things much with Inter good at managing ball possession until the fifth minute of added time. Satisfied coach Simone Inzaghi: “A well-deserved victory that pleases us, on a difficult pitch. We had a good reaction after the goal conceded. The lads were very good”. Coach Davide Ballardini put on a good face: “Dzeko was important but Lautaro ran for 70′ and scored two goals… Needless to say, he made the difference. We tried to sting the Nerazzurri in the second half. At this point of the season we must always try to get the most out of it, even if we risk something.”
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