Sports

Inter grab last-gasp winner over Juve to move eight points

Inter Milan's Italian forward #94 Pio Esposito celebrates after scoring Inter's second goal
 
Inter Milan's Italian forward #94 Pio Esposito celebrates after scoring Inter's second goal

 
MILAN: Inter Milan extended their Serie ⁠A lead to eight points as they edged 10-man Juventus 3-2 at the ​San Siro on Saturday with ​a last-minute winner from Piotr Zielinski.
It was a dramatic victory after Juventus looked to be on course for a hard-fought draw despite having Pierre Kalulu sent off in the first half.
Zielinski fired home a left-footed shot from outside the area in the 90th minute to win the game, ⁠after Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli had made it 2-2 in the 83rd.
Andrea ⁠Cambiaso’s own goal handed Inter a 17th-minute lead, but the Juventus fullback made amends by scoring an equaliser nine minutes later.
Kalulu’s sending off on the stroke of halftime handed Inter a ‌massive second-half advantage, but they struggled to break ​through until Francesco Esposito’s ⁠header in the 76th minute put them back ahead.
But as ​they looked to be on ‌their way to victory, Locatelli equalised.
Zielinski, however, had other ideas and Inter advanced to 61 points, comfortably ahead of second-placed ​AC Milan, who have played one match fewer, on 53, while Juventus remained fourth on 46.
Inter, who have a Champions League date in Norway on Wednesday against Bodo/Glimt, had some fortune with the opener as Luis Henrique’s cross was deflected by Cambiaso past goalkeeper ‌Michele Di Gregorio.
But Cambiaso slipped in between the Inter defence to grab ​the equaliser not long after, tucking away Weston McKennie’s driven cross.
Inter had struck the ​woodwork ‌already ⁠before missing a good chance 10 minutes before halftime when Bremer cleared Zielinski’s shot off the line and then Lautaro Martinez fired a powerful shot from Petar ​Sucic's pass narrowly wide of the target.
Kalulu was cautioned for ⁠a second time ​for a slight touch on Alessandro Bastoni that looked a lot worse than it was, with the Inter player tumbling down dramatically.
The one-man advantage in the second half allowed Inter to dominate possession, but they laboured in front of goal ​before going 2-1 up.
That set up the dramatic finish with Juventus ​thinking they had snatched an unlikely point before Inter secured success to the delight of the home fans.