A Lautaro - inspired Inter come back to beat Cremonese

CREMONESE 1-2 INTER

Goalscorers: 11' Okereke (C), 21' and 65' Lautaro (I)

CREMONESE (3-5-2): 12 Carnesecchi; 15 Bianchetti (10 Buonaiuto 67'), 21 Chiriches, 5 Vasquez; 17 Sernicola, 19 Castagnetti (20 Afena-Gyan 60'), 28 Meité, 26 Benassi, 3 Valeri; 77 Okereke (98 Zanimacchia 72'), 9 Ciofani (90 Dessers 60'). Substitutes: 13 Saro, 45 Sarr, 4 Aiwu, 18 Ghiglione, 24 Ferrari, 62 Milanese, 74 Tsadjout. Coach: Davide Ballardini.

INTER (3-5-2): 24 Onana; 36 Darmian, 15 Acerbi, 95 Bastoni; 2 Dumfries, 5 Gagliardini, 20 Calhanoglu (14 Asllani 66'), 22 Mkhitaryan, 32 Dimarco (8 Gosens 66'); 9 Dzeko (90 Lukaku 77'), 10 Lautaro (11 Correa 77'). Substitutes: 21 Cordaz, 31 Brazao, 6 De Vrij, 12 Bellanova, 33 D'Ambrosio, 45 Carboni, 46 Zanotti, 47 Fontanarosa. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

Booked: Acerbi (I), Calhanoglu (I) Added time: 0' - 4'.

Referee: Mariani. Assistants: Bresmes, Scatragli. Fourth official: G. Miele. VAR: Nasca. VAR assistant: Dionisi.

Three points: exactly what was needed to bounce back. And there was one man who stood out in particular: Lautaro Martinez. El Toro scored two goals and produced a brilliant all-round display to help Inter return from Cremona with a win, that despite an early setback. A 2-1 comeback victory. A result that couldn't be taken for granted and which arrived after a solid display that saw Inzaghi's men have 30 shots, 66% possession and 14 corners. Football always throws up surprises, and Cremonese tried until the very end to rescue a point. However, ultimately, the Nerazzurri were able to come out on top.

A team's approach to a match is a good way of seeing whether they have digested previous disappointment and are ready to bounce back. Inzaghi's Inter, on the back of a home loss to Empoli, took to the pitch in Cremona without the suspended Barella and Skriniar but with clear intent to attack, create chances and win. During the opening eight minutes at the Stadio Zini, where Inter hadn't played since 1996, the Nerazzurri won one corner after another. Cremonese were struggling to contain the visitors but, out of nowhere, then struck. It's what can happen in football: the hosts took the lead with their first attack. It was a fantastic strike, too, from Okereke, who repeated what he did in the reverse fixture earlier on in the campaign. Eleven minutes in and Inter were behind.

With it all to do, Inter needed to make the most of the difference in technical quality between the two sides to create big opportunities, and willpower would take care of the rest. The Nerazzurri managed to respond and did so thanks to their two centre-forwards, Dzeko and Lautaro. From one of their many corners, Inzaghi's men equalised on the 21-minute mark: Edin's well-taken volley was saved by Carnesecchi, but Lautaro was there to turn home the rebound and make it 1-1.

Now, it was about netting a second. However, Cremonese knew what to do, with Ballardini's side hoping to catch Inter out at the right moment. Okereke's pace was a threat, as was Sernicola down the right flank. Benassi was making some great runs into the area, while Ciofani's movement was also a problem. Then, at the other end of the pitch, Carnesecchi produced a brilliant double save to deny Dimarco and then Lautaro just before half-time.

Dimarco was a constant thorn in Cremonese's side and, shortly after the restart, a combination of the goalkeeper and post kept him out. Ballardini made some attacking changes, but it was Inter's front duo who inflicted damage again in the 65th minute: Edin played in Lautaro, who, like a true centre-forward, protected it with his body and then let fly with a right-footed strike that found the net via a deflection.

Ballardini's substitutions were a sign that he wanted his team to give it a go, while Inzaghi replaced the attacking pair up front. Asllani had also come on straight after Inter's second goal and looked to dictate the tempo in the final 15 minutes. The closing stages saw the hosts threaten at least twice through Buonaiuto, who was expertly thwarted by Darmian in the 78th minute. Inter failed to net a third, also because of Carnesecchi, who kept out Dumfries' attempt (the ball then bounced off Chiriches and hit the bar). However, it didn't matter as the Nerazzurri emerged victorious to move up to 40 points in the table.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 20

Bologna 2-0 Spezia Lecce 1-2 Salernitana

Saturday 28 January Empoli 2-2 Torino Cremonese 1-2 Inter Atalanta vs. Sampdoria (20:45 CET)

Sunday 29 January AC Milan vs. Sassuolo (12:30 CET) Juventus vs. Monza (15:00 CET) Lazio vs. Fiorentina (18:00 CET) Napoli vs. Roma (20:45 CET)

Monday 30 January Udinese vs. Verona (20:45 CET)

TABLE

Napoli 50 Inter 40* Milan 38 Lazio 37 Roma 37 Atalanta 35 Udinese 28 Torino 27* Bologna 26* Empoli 26* Juventus 23 (-15) Fiorentina 23 Monza 22 Salernitana 21* Lecce 20* Spezia 18* Sassuolo 17 Hellas Verona 12 Sampdoria 9 Cremonese 8* *one more match played

LIVE UPDATES

FULL TIME: CREMONESE 1-2 INTER

91' Dumfries' attempt is saved by Carnesecchi. The ball hits Chiriches and comes off the bar.

90' Four minutes have been added on.

85' Bastoni bursts forward and goes for the spectacular from distance. It goes over.

78' Cremonese threaten through Buonaiuto, who is thwarted by a combination of Darmian and Onana.

65' GOAAALLLLLLLLLL! Dzeko plays a through ball for Lautaro, who finds the net via a deflection off Vasquez!

54' Benassi has a go but it's comfortable for Onana.

48' Carnesecchi manages to make a near-post save to stop Dimarco giving Inter the lead. Chiriches then blocks Acerbi's shot and, from the resulting corner, Bastoni heads wide!

46' The ball is rolling again in Cremona!

LIVE UPDATES

HALF-TIME: CREMONESE 1-1 INTER

45' Carnesecchi makes a great double save to deny Dimarco and then Lautaro!

42' Benassi plays in a cross that Ciofani meets on the volley; the ball sails over.

35' Mkhitaryan sends in a cross for Gagliardini, who can't quite convert at the back post.

27' Lautaro battles away in the box before shooting wide.

26' Onana makes a smart stop to keep out Benassi's back-heel flick.

25' Lautaro recovers the ball and finds Dzeko, whose effort is a bit too tame to beat the goalkeeper.

21' GOOOAAAALLLLLLLL! Dzeko's shot is saved but Lautaro turns home the rebound! 1-1.

17' Dzeko sends his left-footed effort from a promising position wide.

11' Okereke scores with a long-range strike. 1-0.

8' The Nerazzurri are piling the pressure on the hosts as they win their fifth corner of the game.

5' Acerbi heads Dimarco's corner over the bar.

1' Cremonese vs. Inter kicks off!