Lautaro & VAR Save Champs –

Reigning Serie A champions Inter whittled down the gap on leaders Napoli to one point with a dramatic 1-0 home win against Venezia. Simone Inzaghi’s side barely lived up to their firm pre-match favoritism, largely thanks to Yann Sommer and VAR.

Inter took Venezia for granted. As a result of their lackluster approach, the first half could’ve gone either way. Henrikh Mkhitaryan wasted a glorious chance to put the home team in front in the 35th minute. Filip Stankovic denied his point-blank shot with a terrific save.

Mkhitaryan’s miss could’ve cost Inter heavily had it not been for Sommer. The Swiss goalkeeper pulled off a spectacular save to thwart Gaetano Oristanio from only a couple of yards out on the stroke of halftime.

Inter thought they had taken the lead early in the second half when Mkhitaryan found the net. However, VAR disallowed his strike for offside in the build-up. It only delayed the inevitable.

Talismanic forward Lautaro Martinez headed home from close range midway through the second half to break the deadlock after Federico Dimarco picked him out with a pinpoint cross. Inter had two more clear-cut chances to double their advantage, but Marcus Thuram’s wasteful finishing let them down.

Venezia nearly stole a point at the death, but VAR came to Inter’s rescue, overturning Yann Bisseck’s 97th-minute own goal for a foul. Let’s look at our player ratings.

Inter (3-5-2)

Yann Sommer – 8

His save to deny Oristanio may be the goalkeeping play of the week in Serie A. He stole the spotlight again with another superb save to parry Joel Pohjanpalo’s close-range shot.

Alessandro Bastoni – 6.5

He lost track of Oristanio in that 41st minute but had Sommer to watch his back. However, he returned to his usual best after the break before succumbing to injury that forced his withdrawal.

Stefan de Vrij – 6.5

It wasn’t the most convincing performance from the veteran defender, as Pohjanpalo escaped his marking several times to create havoc inside Inter’s box.

Benjamin Pavard – 7

Apart from a minor lap in concentration leading to Oristanio’s chance, the Frenchman was nearly spotless tonight.

Federico Dimarco – 7.5

What an assist! After being caught narrowly offside before assisting Mkhitaryan, he set up Martinez on a silver platter with a laser-sharp cross. Decisive!

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6

A player of his caliber and experience cannot afford to squander a chance like that. He atoned with a brilliant left-footed finish at the start of the second half, only for VAR to cut his celebration short.

Piotr Zielinski – 6.5

While the Polish ace wasn’t threatening Venezia’s goal, he was flawless in possession, skillfully maintaining control in tight spaces and distributing the ball with clear intent and precision.

Nicolo Barella – 6

Most of his passes either went backward or to his closest teammate. His showing was average at best.

Denzel Dumfries – 6.5

Despite repeated overlapping runs down the flank, the Dutch wingback struggled to make a decisive impact, often finding his crosses blocked or lacking the precision needed to create scoring chances.

Marcus Thuram – 5.5

The French forward unfathomably spurned two golden chances on either side of halftime. Completely atypical for him, he lost his composure each time.

Lautaro Martinez – 7

After his thunderous sixth-minute half-volley flew a whisker wide of the post, the Argentine striker vanished from the pitch. But he reappeared when Inter needed him most to put them in front.

Substitutes

Mehdi Taremi – 5.5

Yann Bisseck – 6.5

Hakan Calhanoglu – 7

Matteo Darmian – 6

Davide Frattesi – N/A