Salernitana 1 - 1 Inter, the Nerazzurri pegged back late on

Sometimes, luck just isn't on your side. Candreva was supposed to find one of his teammates in the box with a cross, but it ended up looping in on the 90-minute mark. Today's match at the Arechi finished in a 1-1 draw, a result that certainly doesn't reflect Inter's dominance. The Nerazzurri had 25 shots (11 on target), hit the bar, struck the post and were denied on numerous occasions by Ochoa. It meant that the lead that Gosens had given Inzaghi's side in the sixth minute remained a slender one, with Inter then being made to pay. It's another league match without a victory for the Nerazzurri, who sit on 51 points ahead of their Champions League encounter away to Benfica on Tuesday.

Inter were in a hurry. The team wanted to race out of the traps to put their recent league defeats well and truly behind them. Winning was the only thing on the players' minds, even with a big Champions League showdown just around the corner. Full steam ahead. The Nerazzurri made the perfect start as Lukaku nodded down Asllani's ball over the top and found Gosens, who confidently dispatched into the net with his left foot. Just six minutes in and Inzaghi's men were ahead. They were looking good and repeatedly came close to doubling their advantage in the opening half an hour.

The Nerazzurri were moving the ball around well, getting it forward and also to the flanks. Asllani was at the heart of the action and, with Salernitana regularly being sucked in as they sought to close him down, spaces opened up for the Nerazzurri players to attack. Plenty of balls were reaching the feet of Lukaku, who came close with his right foot and was thwarted by Ochoa on more than one occasion, most notably at the end of the first half. Indeed, the Mexican goalkeeper used his knees to keep out the Belgian's close-range header in added time.

In short, Ochoa allowed the hosts to stay in the game. He'd also produced a smart stop to save a header from Correa after 32 minutes. Beyond the chances they'd created, Inter actually finished the opening period at a slower tempo than they'd started it. The Nerazzurri needed to be careful, with Paulo Sousa's side starting to make some inroads into their half.

This was no doubt discussed at half-time as Inter began the second half on the front foot. Ochoa produced more heroics in the 49th minute, tipping a shot from Barella onto the post. The Nerazzurri wanted to kill off the match but needed to beat the goalkeeper again. Sousa's side were still in it and the Granata coach decided to go for it, sending on a second and then a third striker. Despite not playing at a particularly high pace, Inter had numerous opportunities to put the game to bed. However, Ochoa saved everything. Mkhitaryan was denied, as was Dumfries. In the 65th minute, Lukaku hit the bar and, on the rebound, the goalkeeper came up with a remarkable stop to foil De Vrij. At the other end, the home team experienced a bit of bad luck, too, as Dia struck the woodwork from Candreva's cross.

Inter just couldn't score another, with Lukaku testing Ochoa once again on the 84-minute mark. And then came Candreva's cross that ended up looping in, meaning Inter were forced to settle for a bitter 1-1 draw.

SALERNITANA 1-1 INTER

Goalscorer: 6' Gosens (I), 90' Candreva (S)

SALERNITANA (3-4-1-2): 13 Ochoa, 5 Daniliuc, 23 Gyomber, 98 Pirola (15 Ekong 66'); 2 Bronn (29 Dia 46'), 18 Coulibaly (41 Nicolussi Caviglia 66'), 10 Vilhena (8 Bohinen 80'), 3 Bradaric; 87 Candreva, 20 Kastanos (11 Botheim 85'); 99 Piatek. Substitutes: 1 Fiorillo, 33 Sepe, 6 Sambia, 9 Bonazzoli, 14 Valencia, 39 Iervolino, 66 Lovato. Coach: Paulo Sousa.

INTER (3-5-2): 24 Onana; 36 Darmian, 6 De Vrij, 15 Acerbi; 2 Dumfries, 23 Barella (5 Gagliardini 66'), 14 Asllani (77 Brozovic 66'), 22 Mkhitaryan, 8 Gosens (32 Dimarco 75'); 90 Lukaku (9 Dzeko 85'), 11 Correa (10 Lautaro 66'). Substitutes: 1 Handanovic, 40 Botis, 12 Bellanova, 45 Carboni, 46 Zanotti, 95 Bastoni. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

Booked: De Vrij (I), Coulibaly (S), Nicolussi Caviglia (S), Gagliardini (I). Added time: 2' - 4' Referee: Fabbri. Assistants: Bresmes, Galetto. Fourth official: Ayroldi. VAR: Nasca. VAR assistant: S. Longo.

MATCHDAY 29

Friday 7 April Salernitana 1-1 Inter Lecce vs. Napoli (19:00 CEST) Milan vs. Empoli (21:00 CEST)

Saturday 8 April Udinese vs. Monza (12:30 CEST) Fiorentina vs. Spezia (14:30 CEST) Atalanta vs. Bologna (16:30 CEST) Sampdoria vs. Cremonese (16:30 CEST) Verona vs. Sassuolo (18:30 CEST) Roma vs. Torino (18:30 CEST) Lazio vs. Juventus (20:45 CEST)

TABLE

Napoli 71 Lazio 55 Milan 51 Inter 51* Roma 50 Atalanta 48 Juventus 44 (-15) Bologna 40 Fiorentina 40 Udinese 38 Torino 38 Sassuolo 37 Monza 34 Empoli 31 Salernitana 29* Lecce 27 Spezia 25 Hellas Verona 19 Sampdoria 15 Cremonese 13

* one more match played