Conte hasn’t taken a seat for the entire second half, gesticulating and shouting wildly from the touchline. Even in the 92nd minute he’s still furiously barking instructions, as he knows there’s no reason to give up the three points at this stage.
90'
The fourth official indicates three minutes will be added to the end for stoppages.
86'
It’s Lazovic who takes the set-piece, but Lukaku is back to do the defensive dirty work, nodding the cross out of the penalty area at the first time of asking.
85'
Far from giving up, Faraoni drags his side down the pitch and wins a corner off of the defending Darmian. Can Verona get themselves back level late?
83'
Hellas Verona have the ball in the back of the net but it won’t count, after Lazovic’s cross was popped up towards the goalkeeper by Skriniar, only for Faraoni to nip in and knock the ball out of Handanovic’s hands and into the net. It didn’t appear as though there was a ton of contact, but it won’t count.
79'
D. D'Ambrosio enters the game and replaces A. Hakimi.
R. Gagliardini enters the game and replaces M. Brozović.
A swap to bolster the midfield sees Gagliardini sent on for Brozovic.
D'Ambrosio replaces Hakimi as Inter have just 11 minutes left to hold on for the win.
77'
E. Colley enters the game and replaces D. Bessa.
Verona make a change immediately after conceding, replacing Bessa with Colley.
76'
M. Darmian has scored a goal for Inter Milan! Assist by A. Hakimi.
Hakimi's slick, line-breaking pass allowed Darmian all the time and space necessary to finish with aplomb for the opener!
DARMIAN BREAKS THE DEADLOCK! 1-0 TO INTER! The substitute wing-back makes his presence felt with an all-important goal, receiving a Hakimi pass before sprinting down the flank, cutting inside and slotting a shot into the far corner with ease!
72'
A. Sánchez enters the game and replaces L. Martínez.
D. Udogie enters the game and replaces F. Dimarco.
Conte makes a change in attack with less than 20 minutes to go in the match, with Martinez replaced by Sanchez.
Again when one coach makes a move, the other must reply. In this case, Verona answer Inter's alteration with a switch in defence, as Udogie replaces Dimarco.
Minute
Description
68'
A. Barák gets yellow.
Barak is shown a yellow card for pulling Martinez back as the striker was charging towards the penalty area.
67'
An attacking change from Hellas Verona is met with two more defensive alterations by Inter. The match has been a tactical one thus far, with both coaches looking to cancel each other out from the touchline. A win isn’t mandatory for the Nerazzurri here, though with tougher opponents to come it may be worth their while to bank all the points they can.
65'
S. Sensi enters the game and replaces C. Eriksen.
M. Darmian enters the game and replaces I. Perišić.
E. Salcedo enters the game and replaces A. Tameze.
A third change from Hellas Verona sees Tameze replaced by Salcedo - in a surprisingly attacking move from the visitors.
Conte opts to shuffle his pack at this juncture, with Perisic coming off for Darmian.
Eriksen's afternoon is over as he's withdrawn with 25 minutes to go. Sensi is on in his place.
63'
With less than 30 minutes remaining in the contest, Verona are still putting considerable pressure on their opponents. For a team that’s only won one of their last seven fixtures (losing six), Juric’s side are posing questions to the league leaders in both attack and defence.
61'
What a chance! A Dimarco corner falls perfectly to Faraoni, who has the time to juggle the ball before firing a volley through the mass of bodies - taking a touch and going behind for a second set-piece.
57'
Play is stopped for Dimarco, who is down in considerable pain after a coming-together with Brozovic in midfield during a chase for the loose ball. The Inter-owned full-back appears to be able to continue, though he’ll need a moment to shake it off.
55'
Eriksen takes a corner short to Brozovic before receiving it back and firing in a quick cross, but the dangerous, bouncing ball inside the penalty area is finally whacked away by a desperate Hellas Verona defender.
53'
Bessa does quite a job at the back defending, getting himself between Barella and the loose ball, shielding possession from the rampaging Inter midfielder and seeing it out for a valuable goal-kick.
51'
There’s quite a large former-Inter contingent in this Hellas Verona squad, with both captain Faraoni and Bessa having spent time at the Giuseppe Meazza, as well as Dimarco and Favilli, who are currently on-loan from Conte’s team.
49'
Faraoni is first to get to a Hellas Verona corner taken from the right, but he sends his glancing effort at the near post wide of the target.
48'
Juric is evidently worried about the threat Lukaku poses, as the coach wastes no time bringing off the two centre-backs closest to an expulsion. The two substitutes are in for a mentally and physically difficult 45 minutes, especially as time goes on and Inter’s desperation increases.
46'
P. Dawidowicz enters the game and replaces F. Ceccherini.
K. Günter enters the game and replaces G. Magnani.
Juric makes two changes at the half, both of which are defensive in nature. The first sees the booked Mangani replaced by Gunter.
Dawidowicz replaces Ceccherini as Hellas Verona change both booked centre-backs.
Hellas Verona get the second half underway from the kick-off!
45'
HALF-TIME: INTER 0-0 HELLAS VERONA.
42'
G. Magnani gets yellow.
Two of Verona’s three centre-backs have now been booked as Magnani is shown a yellow card for wrestling Lukaku to the ground on the near touchline.
40'
With five minutes to go before half-time, it doesn’t look as though either side will be able to get their necks in front. It’s been an enjoyable match for the neutral, as neither side has really taken the upper hand.
38'
Dimarco swings a corner into the near post for Faraoni, who can’t do much more than awkwardly get out of the way - allowing Inter’s defence to clear without issue.
36'
A sloppy bit of play from Hakimi breaks down a positive Inter move, as his flick over the top for Lukaku didn’t allow the striker a chance to come back onside.
34'
Lazovic gets free on the left and uses his right boot to curl a cross into the penalty area, which is flicked up and over the crossbar by the head of a fading Lasagna.
32'
The earlier yellow card card shown to Ceccherini means he’ll miss Hellas Verona’s next match when they host Spezia.
30'
Eriksen sends the free-kick up and over the wall, but unfortunately his delivery also goes up and over the crossbar. It’s a goal-kick for Silvestri.
28'
F. Ceccherini gets yellow.
A dangerous tackle is punished with a yellow card after Ceccherini’s raised boot caught the knee of a driving Martinez. Inter have a free-kick in great range for a strike at goal.
24'
Dimarco looks to play Bessa through into the penalty area with a nifty little slipped pass, but Skriniar reads it the whole way and clears his lines.
22'
Eriksen takes the outswinging corner to Perisic, who sends a weak headed effort wide of the goal.
20'
Eriksen takes a corner looking for one of five Inter players in the box, but it takes a touch off of Magnani and rolls out for a second set-piece, this time on the other side.
18'
Magnani appears to dive into a challenge on Lukaku to win the ball near his penalty area, but the Hellas Verona defender has come off slightly worse, grimacing as he gets up. The referee, instead of awarding a free-kick, gives Inter a drop-ball which Brozovic stands over.
16'
A lovely Inter move that starts with Barella playing out of his own penalty area ends in a wayward Hakimi cross, as once again a Hellas Verona defender rises highest to nod away the danger coming into Lukaku.
14'
Dimarco looks to put some pressure on the Inter defence, but his early cross from a central position for Lasagna is easily dealt with by De Vrij.
13'
Eriksen sends the free-kick into the penalty area, but it’s poorly taken as Magnani is able to repel it at the first attempt - though possession is given right back to Inter.
11'
Lukaku wins a free-kick after he’s bowled over from behind by Magnani - giving Inter a set-piece in a great position for a cross.
9'
A corner is swung into Ceccherini from the right, but he’s unable to steer the effort on-target, allowing Lukaku to blast it away.
7'
Hakimi burts down the right wing and cuts inside towards the penalty area after receiving a pass from Martinez, but his eventual shot is put considerably off-target in search of the far post.
5'
Just three wins separate Inter from their long-desired Scudetto. It’s not an easy schedule upcoming for the Nerazzurri though, with matches against Roma and Juventus still to come.
3'
Martinez puts it over! The Argentina international gets through on-goal after a Lukaku flick-on in midfield, but he chips his close-range effort over the crossbar! It won’t count after all as the referee spotted a handball in the build-up, but the striker really should have done better with the chance.
1'
Inter get the match underway from the kick-off!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the Serie A fixture between Inter and Hellas Verona!
With 10 points separating league-leaders Inter from city rivals Milan in second place and just six matches remaining on the calendar, it appears as though Antonio Conte has done enough to win the Nerazzurri their first Scudetto since 2009/10. The job isn’t mathematically finished, however, as the Rossoneri, Atalanta, and Juventus are still not technically out of the running.
Losers in seven of their last eight fixtures, there probably won’t be too much movement up or down the table for Hellas Verona, who find themselves in a comfortable 10th place, 13 points away from relegation but 17 points away from any possibility of Europe. Ivan Juric has received praise this year for some of his side’s performances - though they’ll have to step it up to another level today if they wish to beat the champions-elect.
INTER XI (3-5-2): Samir Handanovic; Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan De Vrij, Milan Skriniar; Ivan Perisic, Christian Eriksen, Marcelo Brozovic, Nicolo Barella, Achraf Hakimi; Lautaro Martinez, Romelu Lukaku.
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, let's take a look at the team news - starting with the hosts!
HELLAS SUBS: Nikola Kalinic, Yildirim Mert Cetin, Ebrima Colley, Mattia Zaccagni, Iyenoma Destiny Udogie, Andrea Favilli, Ivor Pandur, Koray Gunter, Kevin Ruegg, Eddie Salcedo, Alessandro Berardi, Pawel Dawidowicz.
HELLAS VERONA XI (3-4-2-1): Marco Silvestri; Federico Ceccherini, Giangiacomo Magnani, Federico Dimarco; Marco Faraoni, Adrien Tameze, Ivan Ilic, Darko Lazovic, Antonin Barak, Daniel Bessa; Kevin Lasagna.
INTER SUBS: Roberto Gagliardini, Ionut Radu, Danilo D’Ambrosio, Andrea Ranocchia, Matteo Darmian, Alexis Sanchez, Stefano Sensi, Daniele Padelli, Andrea Pinamonti, Ashley Young, Matias Vecino.
Juric will need to do something to protect his defence if he wishes to keep 11 men on the pitch for the second half, as Lukaku’s ability to back in and use his strength has put the opposition in all kinds of awkward situations. Both Gunter and Dawidowicz started last match, and should be ready to step in to relieve either Magnani or Ceccherini. In attack, the pace of Salcedo could cause real damage to an Inter back line that will need to step up increasingly to try and push for a goal. Inter have a host of options on the bench, but only really Sanchez has the ability from a forward area to get the Nerazzurri the necessary goal.
That concludes our commentary of the Serie A fixture between Inter and Hellas Verona! We hope you enjoyed it!
Inter travel to southern Italy to face Crotone on May 1 next time out, while Hellas Verona go back home to host Spezia.
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