ROBERTO GAGLIARDINI’S mind-boggling miss was the main talking point as Inter Milan drew 3-3 with Sassuolo to seriously dent their Serie A title hopes.
The midfielder should have put Inter 3-1 up on Wednesday when he found himself in front of an empty goal at point-blank range.
But the Italian midfielder somehow hit the crossbar from just four metres out and it ended up proving costly.
Gagliardini wasn’t the only Inter man who had a game to forget, as Ashley Young gave away a penalty five minutes after coming off the bench.
The former Manchester United man should actually have given one away minutes earlier with a handball.
But Young’s rash challenge on Mert Muldur let Sassuolo back in late in the second half.
Ashley Young had a cameo to forget as he conceded a penalty and should have given away a secondCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Borja Valero then looked to have won the game for Inter, but Giangiacomo Magnani made it 3-3 with an 89th minute equaliser.
Antonio Conte’s men are now EIGHT points adrift of Juventus, who beat Bologna 2-0 thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala on Monday night.
The game hinged on an incredible miss by midfielder Gagliardini who had the chance to put Inter Milan 3-1 ahead midway through the second half when he was left four metres in front of an open goal but somehow hit the crossbar.
Instead, Domenico Berardi equalised with a penalty in the 81st minute and, although Valero put Inter back ahead five minutes later, poor defending by the hosts allowed Magnani to equalise in the 89th minute.
Romelu Lukaku scored but could not prevent Inter from only drawing with SassuoloCredit: AP:Associated Press
The result left Inter with 58 points, eight behind leaders Juventus with 11 matches to play.
Inter fully lived up to their reputation for making life hard for themselves throughout the game, starting in the fourth minute when Francesco Caputo was allowed time and space to give the visitors a shock lead.
Inter turned the game around as Romelu Lukaku scored from a penalty in the 41st minute, his 19th goal of the season, and Cristiano Biraghi exchanged passes with Alexis Sanchez to put them ahead in first-half stoppage time.
Sassuolo made it 3-3 with minutes left and Inter are now eight points behind Juventus in the title raceCredit: EPA
Inter decided to play on the counter in the second half and it should have paid off when Lukaku’s shot was saved at point-blank range by Andrea Consigli and the ball rebounded to Gagliardini, but he missed with the goal at his mercy.
That was followed by a see-saw final 10 minutes, with Young coming off the bench in the 75th minute before appearing to handball in the Inter box two minutes later.
No penalty was given, but in the 80th minute he tripped Muldur for a spot-kick, which was converted by Berardi,
Lukaku then had an Inter goal disallowed before Valero was left unmarked at the far post to prod in Antonio Candreva’s free kick and put the hosts back in front.
Inter’s jubilation proved premature, however, as they left Magnani unmarked at the far post to turn in Berardi’s cross with one minute left.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
