Inter 1 - 1 Crotone: Eder goal not enough to win the match

MILAN – It was the fifth straight draw for Inter who were held 1-1 at San Siro by a Crotone side led by the former great Walter Zenga. In the second half, Barberis equalised after Eder had opened the scoring in the first half. The result sees Inter move to 45 points from 23 matches. 

The match began with a minute’s silence for the unforgettable Italy coach at Italia 90’: Azeglio Vicini. Three minutes in, Inter were dangerous from a Candreva cross that was deflected by Martella into the side-netting. After 15 minutes, Brozovic played the ball forward to Vecino. The Uruguayan controlled with his chest and let fire with a powerful right shot from the edge of the box but it didn’t hit the target. The Nerazzurri broke the deadlock in the 24th minute. Brozovic took the corner from the left, Eder got his head to it and it beat Cordaz via a light deflection from Trotta. Crotone looked to respond but without troubling Handanovic. In the 34th minute, Eder was dangerous again as he almost got onto a Candreva cross but Capuano was just able to get there first. After a minute of stoppage time, the first half finished and the sides went into the break with Inter 1-0 up. 

Following the interval, both teams headed out for the second half unchanged. The 56th minute saw a solid chance for the home side, as Skriniar picked out Candreva in space, although the following cross was cleared by Calabrian defence. Crotone then snatched their equaliser four minutes later. The ball fell kindly to Barberis at close-range, who subsequently did well to put his shot past Handanovic. In response, Spalletti sent on Rafinha in place of Candreva in the 64th minute, with Inter then going close through Perisic just five minutes later. The 74th minute saw Eder try his luck from the edge of the area, however, his strike was deflected out for a corner. Crotone gave the home side a scare in the 77th minute, when Trotta raced away on the counter-attack, sliding his effort just wide of the post. With 10 minutes remaining, the Nerazzurri continued pushing for a winner, however, Perisic was unable to find the target from a good position following a pass from Vecino. Four minutes of stoppage time were added on at the end, although one final chance was missed once again by Perisic, with Inter vs. Crotone ultimately finishing 1-1.

INTER 1-1 CROTONE 

Goalscorers: 24' Eder (I), 60' Barberis (C)

INTER: 1 Handanovic; 33 D'Ambrosio, 37 Skriniar, 25 Miranda, 29 Dalbert (74' 7 Cancelo); 11 Vecino, 20 B. Valero, 77 Brozovic (77' 17 Karamoh); 87 Candreva (64' 8 Rafinha), 23 Eder, 44 PerisicSubstitutes: 27 Padelli, 46 Berni, 2 Lisandro, 5 Gagliardini, 13 Ranocchia, 21 Santon, 63 Emmers, 99 PinamontiCoach: Luciano Spalletti

CROTONE: 1 Cordaz; 37 Faraoni (85' 34 Simic), 7 Ceccherini, 23 Capuano, 87 Martella (58' 20 Pavlovic); 10 Barberis, 38 Mandragora, 92 Benali; 11 Ricci, 29 Trotta (77' 5 Stoian), 9 NaliniSubstitutes: 3 Festa, 6 Rohden, 13 Izco, 14 Suljic, 17 Budimir, 21 Zanellato, 89 Crociata, 93 Ajeti, 99 SimyCoach: Walter Zenga

Bookings: Mandragora (C), Eder (C), Benali (C), Ricci (C)

Added time: 1' + 4'

Referee: OrsatoAssistants: Marrazzo, Bottegoni