MY ACCOUNT
Inter warmed up for the Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Torino to cap off their Serie A campaign.
The Nerazzurri head to Istanbul to face Manchester City on June 10, but the Coppa Italia winners had league business to attend to on Saturday.
Marcelo Brozovic’s excellent strike proved the difference, with substitute goalkeeper Alex Cordaz making a superb save to preserve Inter’s lead in the second half.
Inter will face an altogether tougher test in a week’s time, but for now, Simone Inzaghi can reflect on a job well done in Serie A.
Romelu Lukaku sparked what had been an insipid first half into life when he crafted space on the edge of Torino’s area and saw a low strike deflected just wide.
Stefan de Vrij headed straight at Vanja Milinkovic-Savic from the resulting corner, but Torino’s goalkeeper was beaten in the 37th minute.
Given space and time on the edge around 20 yards out, Brozovic punished Torino with a fine left-footed strike that nestled in the bottom-right corner.
Brozovic turned provider shortly after the restart, only for Roberto Gagliardini to head wide from close range.
Ex-Inter forward Yann Karomah almost made an instant impact from the bench when he forced a fine save out of Samir Handanovic, who subsequently received an ovation when he made way for Cordaz in the 65th minute.
Cordaz made a stunning save soon after, reacting brilliantly to parry Antonio Sanabria’s effort wide and ensure Inter ended their domestic campaign with a victory.
What does it mean? Ideal warm up for Inter
No injuries, playing without any pressure, and now a full week of recovery for Inter before that monumental clash with City. Inzaghi could hardly have asked for much more.
His side had to withstand some Torino attacks late on but have now won their final league game of the season in each of the last seven seasons.
The three points lifted them at least temporarily above Lazio, who would need to beat Empoli to reclaim second place.
Brozovic doubles up
Having scored the winner in the reverse fixture back in September, Brozovic has scored in both league games against a single opponent in a single Serie A season for the third time.
He previously did so against Milan in 2019-20 and Cagliari in 2017-18.
Handanovic gets his farewell
Inter’s long-serving goalkeeper will not be signing a new contract to stay at San Siro, so the 38-year-old got to say goodbye to the away fans in his final Serie A game for the club.
He made three saves during his time on the pitch, while his replacement Cordaz pulled off two stops, including one of the season, to deny Torino an equaliser.
Key Opta stats
– Brozovic scored a goal from outside the box in a Serie A match for the first time since October 2020, when he struck against Parma.
– Handanovic has matched Ivan Ramiro Cordoba in 10th place for Inter games, with 455.
– Torino’s tally of 42 goals is their lowest in Serie A since they netted 37 in 2008-09.
– Since last Arpril, only Kevin De Bruyne (10) and Ilkay Gündogan (8) have had more goal involvements than Brozovic among European Big Five midfielders in all competitions.
– Edin Dzeko has now played 100 games for Inter in all competitions.
What’s next?
Inter will aim to win the Champions League for the first time since 2010 when they go up against Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City side in Turkey.
