Lukaku and D’Ambrosio Seal 2-0 Inter Win Over Genoa

Genoa, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Serie A, Serie A 2020-2021 One comment

After a complicated week that saw them lose the Milan derby and draw at home in their first Champions League match, Antonio Conte’s Inter traveled to meet Genoa at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium. Even though it wasn’t the most exciting of matches, second half goals from Romelu Lukaku and Danilo D’Ambrosio were enough to seal the three much-needed points for the Beneamata.

Former Inter forward Goran Pandev started for Genoa alongside Juventus loanee Marko Pjaca, with 18-year-old Nicolò Rovella maintaining his regista role in Rolando Maran’s tactical scheme.

On the other hand, golden duo Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez once again led the visitors’ attack. Former Spurs playmaker Christian Eriksen played just behind them, with the forgotten Andrea Ranocchia returning to starting formation due to the long list of absentees at the back.

The first half was mostly a forgettable affair, with barely any notable chances. In the 14th minute, Ivan Perisic tried to create something from the left side, as he set-up a chance for Lautaro. The Argentine tried his luck from the edge of the penalty box, but his shot went a little too high off Mattia Perin’s goal.

Another Inter cross found Arturo Vidal inside the Genoa box. The former Juventus midfielder tried to find a nice shooting angle, but his shot was denied by an acrobatic dive from Mattia Bani.

The Rossoblu defender was arguably the best player in the first half, as just a minute later, he masterfully intercepted Lukaku’s ball who was right in front of Perin’s goal after receiving a cross from Perisic.

In the 33rd minute, D’Ambrosio made good work on the right side, and crossed for Lautaro. The Inter striker spectacularly volleys it but a deflection took the ball out the pitch.

Before the end of the first half, Pandev created Genoa’s sole chance when his long pass across the field put Paolo Ghiglione through on goal, but the Italian failed to bring the ball down properly and thus the opportunity was wasted.

The second half picked up where the first had ended, with Inter low on energy – probably due to their two previous important encounters in the previous seven days – and Genoa looking composed in defense.

But the introduction of Ashraf Hakimi and Nicolò Barella turned out to be a game-changing double substitution by Antonio Conte, as it immediately picked up Inter’s pace, and the latter setting up Romelu Lukaku, who flicked the ball with his right foot, before finishing with a beautifully taken left shot that smashed Perin’s far top corner.

After taking the lead, Inter looked much in control of the match and started to create more scoring opportunities while a hapless Genoa could only watch. Lukaku had a second goal rightfully disallowed for offside, and Marcelo Brozovic threatened with a long shot, but Perin quickly went down to catch it.

In the 79th minute, the Croatian midfielder’s corner kick found Ranocchia’s head, and the former Inter captain sent the ball to the mouth of the Genoa goal where Danilo D’Ambrosio nodded it to seal the match for the visitors.

Despite two more chances wasted by substitutes Aleksandar Kolarov and Radja Nainggolan in added time, Inter crossed the finish line with three valuable points from minimal effort, but would nonetheless help them in finding their balance once again after a shaky period.

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