Having seen Napoli move six points clear at the summit earlier in the day, Inter knew a positive response was needed against lowly Verona. As widely expected in the pre-match build-up, Simone Inzaghi’s side started on the front foot, and they were soon given a golden opportunity to take the lead when Nicolas Valentini was penalised for a handball in the box after a VAR review.
Asllani assumed the responsibility from the spot and sent Lorenzo Montipo the wrong way to score his first Serie A goal of the season.
Buoyed by the breakthrough, Inter threatened to extend their lead shortly after when Nicola Zalewski’s long-range effort was smartly saved by Montipo.
From there, the visitors settled into the contest as the first half progressed, limiting the Nerazzurri to only half-chances in the final third, with Marko Arnautovic missing a pair of headers inside the box.
Inzaghi’s men continued to dominate possession at the start of the second period, but with Marcus Thuram on the bench and Lautaro Martinez out injured, a lack of cutting edge proved problematic.
Determined to avoid losing three consecutive matches for the first time since December, Verona sensed an opportunity with time ticking into the final half-hour, as Ondrej Duda and Tomas Suslov directed a pair of efforts narrowly off target.
With one eye on Tuesday’s semi-final second leg against Barcelona in the Champions League, the hosts looked to close out the victory late on.
Despite the Gialloblu’s best efforts, they were unable to carve out a clear-cut chance as Inzaghi’s men held firm, extending their remarkable unbeaten head-to-head league record on home soil to 35 matches (W23, D11).
As for Verona, they’ll be keen to bounce back against Lecce next weekend after six SA matches without a win (D3, L3).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicola Zalewski (Inter Milan)