From our correspondent Francesco Pietrella
December 16, 2024 (changed at 10.55pm) – ROMA
Simone Inzaghi will have thanked the 17th. A kick on the shin to that saint who has always accompanied him: superstition. Inter landed six slaps on the face of a beautiful and bold Lazio for only half an hour and kept in the wake of the two climbers up front, Gasperini and Conte, three and one point away respectively. All with the match against Fiorentina to recover. It's a text message to the entire championship, to those chasing and those behind, but also to Europe: the Italian champions are still hungry.
it changes everything
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The 17th, we were saying. The minutes in which Gigot remained on the pitch, the boy from Avignon who came on in place of Gila at half-time and left at half-time after causing the penalty for the Nerazzurri's turning point. His was the mistake that tilted the match in favor of an astute and cunning Inter, capable of deceiving a Lazio team that started in fifth place and then overwhelming them mercilessly as the frost fell, on a night so bitter that it hadn't been seen for a decade. Inter are a rattlesnake capable of nesting in the most hidden corner of the rock and suddenly stinging violently, with six bites one after the other that left no escape from one of the revelations of Serie A. The 6-0 win by Inter counts for a lot, a lot, especially because Lazio had never lost at the Olimpico this season. And it came from the success against Ajax in Europe.
test of strength
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There is a before and after Gila in the history of the match. The exit of the centre-back – replaced in the 28th minute due to dizziness due to a clash with Lautaro – upset a choreography studied down to the smallest detail. High pressing, precise pace (a couple of excellent ones from Rovella), Lautaro and Thuram pressed mid-field by a mastiff with the, 34 on his shoulders. Baroni's team danced on point for a third of the first half. He came close to taking the lead with Noslin (right-footed shot strangled in the 22nd minute) and made the Olimpico vibrate shortly after, when Zaccagni skipped past two men and then failed to fire a curling shot to the far post. Wasted opportunity. Inter, as usual, waited patiently. She took refuge behind Sommer's safety and bit at the first opportunity. In the 35th minute Calhanoglu, until then limited by the Lazio midfielders, returned to score from a penalty after the error against Napoli by taking advantage of a wide arm from the unfortunate Gigot, who was overtaken by Dumfries in the breakaway and then overwhelmed by Lautaro once he was on the ground. Chiffi awarded the penalty after a long check by the VAR.
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Lazio overwhelmed
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At this point Inter abandoned the rock they had been hiding under and became aggressive: Dimarco's goal (44') is the manifesto of Inzagismo, a philosophy born at the Olimpico and cultivated for several years along the Tiber. Cross from Dumfries from the right and precise left foot from the winger on the other side, left very alone by the Marusic-Isaksen tandem. It is the famous fifth-to-fifth goal that Simone has craved so much over the years. He'll definitely treat him to dinner. The rest of the match is a crescendo of hooks and uppercuts to corner an opponent already stunned in the first round: in the 51st minute Barella – then substitute due to an adductor contracture – invents the Eurogoal by kicking under the crossbar from the edge (great control), while Dumfries overtakes Tavares with a header in the 57th minute, sealing a perfect match. Bastoni's fourth assist of the season. The five was signed by Carlos Augusto, who did well to puncture Provedel with a left-footed shot from inside the area (77'). Finally, the exclamation point belongs entirely to Thuram, now a seasoned bomber (90'). Eleventh goal of the championship. Inter returns to Milan with a remarkable show of strength. Inzaghi, however, has discovered that meeting his first love again along the Roman cobblestones no longer has an effect on him. Simone had lost the first two matches played at the Olimpico with the Nerazzurri, then he righted the bar with four successes in the last five matches. “We loved each other so much,” they say. But now it's another life.
