Inter stayed within touching distance of Serie A title rivals Napoli with a 1-0 home win over Hellas Verona, with Kristjan Asllani’s penalty decisive for Simone Inzaghi’s much-changed team.
Ahead of the second leg of their Champions League semi-final tie against Barcelona, who fought back to salvage a 3-3 draw in the first match on Wednesday, Inter made 10 changes to their starting lineup.
Defender Yann Bisseck was the only player to keep his place from that chaotic draw in Catalonia, but Inter still started strongly and scored after nine minutes.
A handball from Nicolas Valentini, awarded following a VAR check, allowed Asllani to slot home and settle any nerves at San Siro.
However, the Nerazzurri’s intensity waned as the match went on, with clear-cut chances few and far between after Nicola Zalewski’s 30-yard drive hit the roof of the net in the 44th minute.
The second half descended into a battle for control of midfield, with Verona missing the chance to pull further clear of the bottom three as Inter held on.
After Giacomo Raspadori’s strike handed Napoli victory at Lecce earlier on Saturday, the two title rivals remain three points apart with just three games remaining, and a play-off will be required if they finish level on points.
Verona are 15th, six points clear of the drop zone.
Data debrief: Inter rotation pays off
With Inter falling six points behind Napoli earlier on Saturday, Inzaghi’s decision to rotate almost his entire team was a risky one.
It was the first time Inter had changed at least 10 players from their starting lineup between two games in all competitions since December 2015, when they beat Cagliari 3-0 in the Coppa Italia.
But the Nerazzurri earned their first league win since beating Cagliari 3-1 at San Siro on April 12, having since suffered back-to-back defeats against Bologna and Roma.
Asllani’s spot-kick made him the 18th different Inter player to score in Serie A this season – only Rennes (19) have more different scorers in one of Europe’s top five leagues this campaign.
