Benevento vs. Inter: stats and trivia

MILAN – After their victory over Fiorentina, the Nerazzurri are preparing to face Benevento in their rearranged matchday one clash at 18:00 CEST on Wednesday 30 September. Filippo Inzaghi’s side also got off to a winning start, coming from behind to beat Sampdoria thanks to a brace from Luca Caldirola on his Serie A debut and a goal from Gaetano Letizia.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

Inter have won both of the matches they’ve played against Benevento in Serie A: the Nerazzurri emerged 2-1 victors away from home in October 2017 thanks to a Brozovic brace and then went on to beat the Stregoni 2-0 at San Siro in February 2018 following goals from Skriniar and Ranocchia. Together with Frosinone (4/4), Pistoiese (2/2) and Treviso (2/2), Benevento are one of four sides that Inter have a 100% winning record against in Serie A.

The Nerazzurri have won nine of their last eleven matches against newly promoted sides in Serie A (D2), with their last defeat coming against Parma in September 2018. However, Inter’s last two away fixtures against new Serie A teams ended in draws – the last time the Nerazzurri went at least three successive matches without beating a newly promoted side on the road was in 2010/11.

STATE OF PLAY

Inter have won their last two away fixtures in the league without conceding – the Nerazzurri haven’t kept three consecutive clean sheets away from home in the Italian top flight since September 2013. After their victory over Fiorentina, Inter have the opportunity to win their first two Serie A matches for two years running for the first time since 2002/03 – 2003/04.

Meanwhile, thanks to their win over Sampdoria, Benevento are already just one point away from the tally they collected in the first half of the 2017/18 season (four), their last campaign in the Italian top flight. Prior to Inzaghi’s side, the last newly promoted team to score three goals in their opening game in Serie A were Juventus in 2007. The last side to come up from Serie B and score at least four goals in their first two matches in Italy’s top division were Pescara in 2016/17 (five).

GENERAL STATS

Both Benevento and Inter won their opening matches of the season after completing comebacks in the last 20 minutes. Including the two goals they scored in the closing stages against Fiorentina, Inter have found the net eight times after the 85-minute mark in Serie A in 2020, more than any other side. Since the start of last season, the Nerazzurri have scored 21 headed goals in the Italian top flight, at least seven more than any other team (Atalanta are second in this regard with 14).

Benevento have scored three goals through defenders this season, more than any other side. The Stregoni are the only team to have scored more than one goal from a corner so far (two). Inzaghi’s side have conceded just three shots on target up to this point, with only Napoli, Lazio and Udinese having done better in this respect (two).  

PLAYER FOCUS

Lautaro Martínez scored more than one goal in the same match for Inter for the first time in January 2019, when the Nerazzurri faced Benevento in the Coppa Italia. The last of Marcelo Brozovic’s two braces in Serie A came against the Stregoni in October 2017. Meanwhile, the last time that Milan Skriniar found the net in Italy’s top division was in the previous encounter between the two sides.

Nicolò Barella scored in his only previous match against Benevento at the Vigorito: he found the net from the penalty spot in March 2018.

Since the start of last season, Romelu Lukaku has scored 15 goals away from home in Serie A, more than any other non-Italian player. Only Ciro Immobile (18) has done better in this regard.

In the past five seasons, only two defenders have scored more headed goals than Danilo D’Ambrosio (five) in Serie A: Stefan de Vrij (ten) and Gian Marco Ferrari (six).

Danilo D’Ambrosio is one step away from experiencing his 100th Serie A win (he’s currently on 99).

Achraf Hakimi and Marco Sau are the first two players to have provided an assist after coming off the bench this Serie A season.

Luca Caldirola, who came through Inter’s youth ranks, made just one competitive appearance for the Nerazzurri. This came in the group stage of the 2011/12 Champions League against CSKA Moscow back when Claudio Ranieri was in the Inter dugout.

COACHES

Filippo Inzaghi and Antonio Conte are set to face each other for the first time as Serie A coaches. Since 2011/12, the latter has always led his side to victory in their first away match of the season, both in Serie A and the Premier League (six wins from six).

SUSPENSIONS AND THOSE WALKING THE TIGHTROPE

Benevento: -

Inter: -