Inter come from behind to beat Lazio 3 - 1

There are many ways to react to setbacks: you can face them; you can give up, or you can overcome them as a group with hunger, character, will and determination. Reading Inter 0 Lazio 1 on the scoreboard could not be accepted. It was incredible to see the same scoreline as in the last league game at San Siro. This Inter side had played too well to be a goal behind, missing lots of good chances after some excellent play: saves by Provedel, shots just going high or wide, screams of disbelief strangling the throat. It was hard to believe but at that moment the stadium came to life, pushing and driving the team forward with all its might. Between the 78th and 83rd minutes, the Biancoceleste defensive wall eventually broke. First Lautaro, then Gosens, who acrobatically sacrificied himself in getting the goal for the lead. The San Siro went delirious at the end with Lautaro grabbing his second to seal it 3-1 at the end. What drive, what a win, and three precious points that puts Inter on 57 points in the table alongside Roma and AC Milan.

A very intense April has finally come to an end, with May expected to be even more electrifying. Nothing less was expected in this vital clash in the Champions League race to set up the run-in in this year's campaign, that has at times been rather cruel for Inter. Inzaghi's side started off strongly to give a signal that his side were up for the challenge, pressing high and with tempo. But they also found an inspired Provedel, who immediately saved efforts from Brozovic and Dimarco. It was a fast start for the home side who were able to construct well thought out moves. Many times throughout the afternoon the San Siro crowd applauded some fine pieces of play that ended without much luck. Mkhitaryan was one of those benefactors who found the back of the net after 25 minutes, but provider Correa was found to be in an offside position after a VAR check.

And just as Inter were were starting to ponder their misses, Lazio, against the run of play, took the lead: Luis Alberto robbed the ball back on the edge of the box and played in Felipe Anderson, who coolly slotted past Onana with his right foot. But it didn't stop the home side's onslaught: Mkhitaryan came close again, before Barella went even closer. Then, Onana acrobatically denied Immobile.

Inter made a change at half-time with Dumfries taking the place of D'Ambrosio. After the entrances of Lautaro and Calhanoglu, Inzaghi's side started to really crank up the pressure on the Biancoceleste's backline. It almost seemed the kitchen sink siege at the end of a game, yet there was still over 30 minutes to play. Provedel made an outstanding save from Dimarco, and Dumfries couldn't get a touch on Lukaku's cross in to deflect towards goal. The on-loan striker didn't find the back of the net on the day, but helped his team out enormously overall. Lautaro didn't get off to a flying start, with Casale getting back to defend after a nice ball through by Dumfries. But he wasn't to be discouraged; he soon found the equaliser.

With 33 minutes gone in the second half, Lukaku sent Lautaro through on goal, just as they did two years again in the game against Crotone: a sliding Toro beat Provedel and sent the stadium wild. The Meazza was bedlam, with Lazio struggling to breathe and only one thought in mind: defend! With all their energy and force, Inter piled on the pressure with quality and determination, as shown by Brozovic who broke up two potential dangerous Lazio counter-attacks. Lukaku, in an inside-right position, found Gosens at the backpost and the German flung himself to get to the ball first and score to make it 2-1. In the follow through, he unfortunately dislocated his right shoulder and was immediately taken off to a Meazza raising the roof.

It was all Inter and they rounded off a deserved comeback victory in the 90th minute when Lautaro took advantage of a poor backpass and beat Provedel one-on-one, after the keeper had initially saved the first attempt. It was his 17th Serie A goal this season and sealed the result on a fine Sunday afternoon for the Nerazzurri. May is soon upon us with so much to look forward to and play for.

INTER 3-1 LAZIO | FULL-TIME

Scorers: 30' Felipe Anderson (L); 78' Lautaro (I), 83' Gosens (I), 90' Lautaro (I)

INTER (3-5-2): 24 Onana; 33 D'Ambrosio (2 Dumfries 46'), 15 Acerbi, 95 Bastoni (8 Gosens 71'), 36 Darmian, 23 Barella, 77 Brozovic, 22 Mkhitaryan (20 Calhanoglu 61'), 32 Dimarco; 90 Lukaku, 11 Correa (10 Lautaro 61'). Subs: 1 Handanovic, 21 Cordaz, 2 Dumfries, 5 Gagliardini, 6 De Vrij, 8 Gosens, 9 Dzeko, 10 Lautaro, 12 Bellanova, 14 Asllani, 20 Calhanoglu. Head Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

LAZIO (4-3-3): 94 Provedel; 77 Marusic, 15 Casale, 13 Romagnoli, 23 Hysaj (3 Pellegrini 86'), 21 Milinkovic-Savic, 32 Cataldi (5 Vecino 51'), 10 Luis Alberto; 7 Felipe Anderson, 17 Immobile (9 Pedro 67'), 20 Zaccagni. Subs 1 Maximiano, 31 Adamonis, 3 Pellegrini, 4 Patric, 5 Vecino, 6 Marcos Antonio, 9 Pedro, 11 Cancellieri, 18 Romero, 26 Radu, 29 Lazzari, 34 Gila, 50 Bertini, 88 Basic. Head Coach: Maurizio Sarri.

Bookings: Zaccagni (L), D'Ambrosio (I), Bastoni (I), Marusic (L)

Referee: Guida. Assistants: Galetto, Di Iorio. Fourth official: Pairetto. VAR: Chiffi. Assistant VAR: Ayroldi.

Added-time: 1' - 8'.

31st MATCHDAY

Hellas Verona 2-1 Bologna Salernitana 3-0 Sassuolo Lazio 0-1 Torino Sampdoria 1-1 Spezia Empoli 0-3 Inter Monza vs Fiorentina Udinese vs Cremonese Milan vs Lecce Juventus vs Napoli Atalanta vs Roma

TABLE

Napoli 75 Lazio 61* Juventus 59 Roma 56 Milan 53 Inter 54* Atalanta 49 Bologna 44* Fiorentina 42 Torino 42* Sassuolo 40* Udinese 39 Monza 38 Salernitana 31* Empoli 32* Lecce 28 Spezia 27* Hellas Verona 26* Cremonese 19 Sampdoria 17

*game in hand