Inter return to the top of Serie A for the moment after seeing off spirited Spezia! The champions looked well on their way to three points after Brozovic's first-half strike. Spezia improved in the second half but the visitors responded in kind, with Martinez and Sanchez both coming off the bench to score. Maggiore's lovely late goal proved to be a mere consolation for the hosts.
Inter edge ahead of Milan, who've just kicked off against Genoa, by a point for now. They've won their last three league games now, their longest winning run since late last year. They're picking up speed again at just the right time. Spezia stay 15th. They should be safe from relegation at this point, but a Genoa defeat wouldn't go amiss for them.
Inter put the pressure on Milan to match their pace in the Serie A title race then. It's all eyes on Milan for the next few hours! That's all for now. Goodbye!
Cronaca
Formazioni
Statistiche
90'+4'
FULL-TIME: SPEZIA 1-3 INTER20:58
90'+3'
Martinez's pass for Sanchez there was great. The Argentine's certainly made a contribution to Inter's victory since he came on, bagging a goal and now an assist.20:58
90'+3'
GOAL! SPEZIA 1-3 INTER! Sanchez grabs a goal to seal the win for Inter! Martinez finds the Chilean in the centre of the box and he slots the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.
Spezia are understandably pushing for a late equaliser, which is leaving them open at the back. Perisic fires off-target from a difficult angle.20:56
90'+2'
Spezia earn a set-piece down their right as Vidal halts Maggiore unfairly. The eventual delivery is disappointing as Handanovic claims it without difficulty.20:55
90'+1'
There are chances at both ends as we enter four minutes of added time. Sanchez fires wide of the top right corner after a fast Inter break, before Agudelo's curler bounces wide of the left-hand post.20:54
90'
That's Maggiore's first league goal of the season and Ferrer's first assist. If they end up earning Spezia a point from a game they've been outplayed in, they'll be invaluable.20:54
88'
GOAL! SPEZIA 1-2 INTER! Hello! What's this? Maggiore curls a delightful effort into the top left corner off the left-hand post from outside the box. Ferrer had found the Spezia captain. Could Spezia salvage something from this game after all?
Perisic drags a right-footed shot wide from outside the box. Inter are almost home and dry.20:51
86'
Nikolaou picks up a late booking for blocking off Barella's run down the right.20:47
86'
Verde's sent too far wide to benefit from being slipped in down the left. A Spezia goal would be exciting, but feels unlikely.20:47
85'
Erlic makes a well-timed interception to prevent Sanchez from latching onto a deceptive Inter cross from the right. The corner comes too close to Provedel, who punches it away.20:45
83'
Maggiore's tripped by Vidal and Spezia get a free-kick. Spezia's captain has probably been their best player. Unfortunately for the hosts, their best hasn't been good enough against a side of Inter's quality.21:24
82'
Alessandro Bastoni walks off the pitch. De Vrij replaces him in Inter's back three for the last 10 mnutes.20:43
81'
Inter get a corner as Martinez has a shot blocked. Skriniar reaches Vidal's cross to head towards the top centre of the goal. Provedel raises his arms to catch the ball.20:48
79'
Inter are still looking for goals. Sanchez shoots from the centre of the box. Provedel prevents the Chilean from finding the bottom left corner.20:40
77'
To their credit, Spezia haven't thrown in the towel just yet. Verde wins the hosts a free-kick down their left, and Erlic heads high and wide from Gyasi's flick-on.20:39
76'
Martinez's goal was his 15th goal this season, more than any other Inter player in Serie A. He's been crucial to the champions' title defence so far.20:37
75'
Calhanoglu is the next Inter man to go. Vidal is his replacement.20:36
75'
Now the game looks safe, Inter can start resting players. Darmian replaces Dumfries at right wing-back.20:36
73'
Perisic had all the time he needed to gallop into space down the left and check onto his right foot. Martinez's finish was instinctive and clinical. Spezia's hopes of getting back into this game have suddenly evaporated.20:35
73'
GOAL! SPEZIA 0-2 INTER! Inter have their second goal through Martinez! The substitute cleverly sticks out his right foot to flick Perisic's right-footed cross into the far bottom corner. It's no less than the champions deserve.
Inter carry on unperturbed. Martinez swivels and shoots inside the box to force a corner. From it, the Argentine volleys just wide of the left-hand post.20:32
70'
Antiste replaces the stricken Nzola. What a strange cameo that was by Spezia's Angolan striker.20:32
70'
Spezia are preparing another substitution. It looks like Nzola won't be able to carry on. He's only just come on! What a farce.20:31
68'
Nzola's left the pitch temporarily to receive treatment to his ear. It appears he hasn't removed an ear stud. Meanwhile, Dumfries arrives unmarked at the far post to blaze Perisic's cross way over the crossbar!20:30
66'
Nzola slams the ball against an Inter defender to get Spezia a corner. Verde swings it in. It's headed away.20:27
64'
Inter are still on top for the time being. Provedel gathers Calhanoglu's opportunistic strike from just outside the box.20:26
62'
Sanchez earns Inter a free-kick in Spezia's half. It's taken short. Sanchez spots Barella arriving in the box unmarked, and the midfielder prods the ball straight at Provedel. That could easily have been 2-0.20:24
60'
Simone Bastoni is Spezia's latest departure. Verde replaces him on the wing.20:23
60'
Spezia respond with more changes of their own. Manaj, who's had a few moments in this game, makes way for Nzola.20:22
60'
Dzeko goes off too as Inter try out a new strike pairing. Martinez comes on.20:22
60'
Here are those Inter substitutions. Correa makes way first. Sanchez replaces him up front.20:21
59'
Inter are preparing a few changes. They're still doing alright but they've lost the grip they had on this game in the first half.20:20
58'
Brozovic carries the ball into Spezia's half with the hosts backing off. Inter switch the play to Dumfries, who trips just as he enters the box. Spezia clear.20:19
56'
Skriniar heads a Spezia cross out for a corner. Inter survive it and Barella's pulled down by Ferrer.20:17
54'
Barella wins a header in Spezia's box and carries the rebound left to fire into the advertising hoarding. It feels like the scorer of the next goal could tip this game in either direction.20:16
53'
Manaj jinks down the left and hooks the ball into the box with the outside of his right foot for a teammate to reach. Handanovic gets to the cross first.20:14
51'
Spezia got a lucky reprieve there and already look a feistier prospect since the break. Maggiore has a shot blocked from the right of the box, before Manaj chases D'Ambrosio and unfairly hauls him down.20:13
49'
Now Inter spurn a chance to put Inter 2-0 up! Perisic latches onto Kiwior's unfortunate backheel flick in his own box, but the Croatian can only hit the ball into the turf and out for a goal-kick! Dzeko is furious. He was lurking just behind Perisic and would surely have scored.20:11
47'
Spezia force a corner down their right. The corner comes in and Erlic's backwards header at the near post floats just wide of the far one! That's more like it from the hosts. 20:12
47'
Agudelo shows his intent early in the half, latching onto Alessandro Bastoni's misplaced pass to dribble towards the byline and force Handanovic into covering his near post.20:07
47'
The players are back out on the pitch for the second half, which Inter get started.20:06
46'
Spezia make a half-time substitution. Agudelo replaces the anonymous Kovalenko.20:06
Inter were rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes, enjoying 70 per cent of the ball. The champions have stopped their opponents from scoring a first-half goal in 20 of their 32 league games this season. They're very good at giving themselves something to build on in the second half.20:02
Brozovic's sumptuous strike is the difference between Inter and Spezia as things stand. Inter have easily been the better team, but Motta's men have worked hard to stay in the game and have a chance of nicking something in the second half.19:52
45'+3'
HALF-TIME: SPEZIA 0-1 INTER19:50
45'+2'
Dzeko beats Spezia's centre-backs to a throughball, worrying Provedel enough for the keeper to rush off his line. In the end the Bosnian can't control it, and Spezia accept a goal-kick. That's all for now.19:50
45'+1'
Spezia don't achieve much with the free-kick. Inter counter down their right. The ball's worked to Dumfries to the left of the box, who sends Provedel low to make a routine save.19:48
45'
Spezia get a free-kick down their left. There'll be two added minutes at the end of this first half.19:47
44'
Spezia deal with the corner just fine as Dzeko nods wide, but Inter still have them pinned in their defensive third. Brozovic misjudges his pass out wide to D'Ambrosio and inadvertently stops the champions' progress for now.19:49
43'
Maggiore's looping cross from deep is cut out. Now here come Inter. Barella charges towards the byline and plays the ball off a defender for an Inter corner.19:45
41'
Inter have a throw-in down their right. Spezia end up turning it into a throw-in of their own. The hosts haven't played badly, but haven't really laid a glove on Inter yet.19:44
39'
Correa finds space in the box to get two shots off in quick succession. Spezia get bodies in the way to block both. Inter have got this game well under control though.19:41
37'
Reca leaves the pitch. Thankfully his knock doesn't look too serious. Ferrer replaces him for Spezia.19:40
35'
There's a delay while Spezia's left-back Reca receives treatment for an injury. It looks like he'll sadly be unable to continue.19:41
33'
That's Brozovic's first goal in Serie A this season, and what a strike it was. Inter have scored 32 first-half goals in 32 games now, more than any other team in the league this campaign.19:37
31'
D'Ambrosio didn't have full control of the header, but he was able to guide it back into the path of Brozovic who made no mistake in what he did next. After a quick VAR check to make sure that D'Ambrosio was onside, the goal stands.19:36
31'
GOAL! SPEZIA 0-1 INTER! Brozovic looks up and floats a promising throughball towards the head of D'Ambrosio, who's stayed forward. The centre-back nods it back down to the Croatian who darts into the box to lash it left-footed into the top left corner. There's no keeping that out.
Calhanoglu's delivery is headed out for an Inter throw-in on the opposite side of the pitch. The champions take it quickly...19:32
29'
Perisic fires in a cross from the left, but it does Inter no good. Calhanoglu cannons the ball against a Spezia defender to earn the visitors a corner.19:31
27'
Inter manage to see Spezia's second corner out, blocking Simone Bastoni's effort from outside the box. Calhanoglu's teed up to shoot from just outside the box. The Turkish midfielder's smashed shot whizzes over the crossbar.19:38
25'
Spezia are gaining confidence. They've got a corner down their left. The home fans are doing their best to spur their team on. The hosts keep the pressure on after Amian meets the corner and Skriniar's forced to hand Spezia another corner.19:28
23'
Calhanoglu cuts out Erlic's attempted pass down the right. Spezia are holding their own at the moment without threatening Inter too much.19:25
21'
Dumfries earns Inter another corner down their right. It's swung in and quickly hooked away. Alessandro Bastoni wrestles his man to the turf to let Spezia escape their own half.19:23
19'
Alessandro Bastoni steams into the back of Gyasi in Spezia's half. That's a free-kick. The hosts can't make the most of it though, and Inter come back on the attack. Calhanoglu fires way over from distance.19:21
17'
Kiwior puts Dumfries' low centre out for an Inter corner. The corner comes in but causes Spezia's defenders no concern as Dumfries' header goes out for a throw-in.19:26
16'
Provedel makes a routine catch from a cross into Spezia's box. Spezia end up sending the ball straight through to Handanovic in the opposing goal.19:19
14'
Correa looks to beat his man to jink into the box. Nikolaou is well placed to intercept the Argentine's run and clear.19:16
12'
Inter hit the post! Brozovic's dipping overhead pass from deep causes confusion for Spezia at the back. Dzeko takes advantage of it to hit the bottom of the left-hand upright. The ball rebounds off the woodwork and out for a goal-kick. A foul's given against Dzeko for hassling Erlic anyway.19:30
12'
Spezia win the first corner of the game down their left. Inter deal with it easily.19:13
10'
Simone Bastoni becomes the first player to see a yellow card for a poor challenge on Calhanoglu.19:14
9'
Amian blocks Perisic's cross, but the Croatian gets a second bite of the cherry down the left. Dumfries nudges over Simone Bastoni in the box to hand Spezia a free-kick.19:11
7'
Perisic's crossfield ball is cut out. Spezia are showing why they've just kept two clean sheets in a row.19:10
5'
Chance for Spezia! Inter give possession away cheaply and the hosts play through the middle quickly. Maggiore's direct pass finds Gyasi's run on goal, but the Ghana international can't beat Handanovic.19:08
3'
Inter start the game on the front foot as expected. Manaj is penalised for halting Skriniar's run in Inter's half.19:06
1'
The hosts Spezia get this game underway!19:02
Inter are unbeaten against Spezia between Serie A and the Coppa Italia. The two teams have met only once at the Liguri's home, though, in a 1-1 draw this time last season. The Nerazzurri average the highest points per game in Serie A against sides currently in the bottom half of the table. Anything other than an away win would be a big surprise.19:41
There are two changes to Inter from their 2-0 home win against Verona. D'Ambrosio and Alessandro Bastoni start alongside Skriniar in the champions' back three. Dimarco and De Vrij drop to the bench.18:49
Spezia stick with almost the exact same team that drew 0-0 away to Empoli last time out. The hosts make one change to their starting 11 from that game. Kovalenko starts ahead of Agudelo.18:47
SUBS: Felipe Caicedo, Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez, Ionut Radu, Matteo Darmian, Andrea Ranocchia, Roberto Gagliardini, Federico Dimarco, Lautaro Martinez, Stefan de Vrij, Matias Vecino, Robin Gosens.18:44
INTER (3-5-2): Samir Handanovic (c); Danilo D'Ambrosio, Milan Skriniar, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, Hakan Calhanoglu, Ivan Perisic; Edin Dzeko, Joaquin Correa.18:44
SUBS: Aurelien Nguiamba, Kevin Agudelo, Jacopo Sala, Nicolo Bertola, Petar Zovko, Salvador Ferrer, Daniele Verde, M'Bala Nzola, Petko Hristov, Jeroen Zoet, Janis Antiste.18:42
SPEZIA (4-2-3-1): Ivan Provedel; Kelvin Amian, Martin Erlic, Dimitris Nikolaou, Arkadiusz Reca; Giulio Maggiore (c), Jakub Kiwior; Emmanuel Gyasi, Viktor Kovalenko, Simone Bastoni; Rey Manaj.18:41
Spezia may be able to start winding their season down, but Inter are still fighting to defend their crown. A win here would put Simone Inzaghi's men top of the table for a few hours at least, ahead of rivals AC Milan who play later. With Napoli also involved in a three-way title fight, any slipup now could be very costly.18:40
Spezia can enter this game fairly confident of playing top-flight football again next season. Thiago Motta's side sit 11 points clear of the relegation zone with six games left to play, and have kept clean sheets in each of their last two league games against Venezia and Empoli. A third successive shutout would be a first for them in Serie A.18:34
Hello! Welcome to our live text commentary of this Serie A match between Spezia and Inter at Stadio Alberto Picco.18:30
Dove si gioca la partita:
Stadio: Alberto Picco Città: La Spezia Capienza: 10336 spettatori18:30
Spezia - Inter is a match of 33 day of the season Serie A 2021/2022. The match will be 15 april at 19:00 in the stadium Alberto Picco in La Spezia. Referee of Spezia - Inter will be Fabio Maresca with the help of Giovanni Baccini e Michele Lombardi. At VAR there will be Luca Banti.
Currently Spezia is 15° in the standings with 33 points (thanks of 9 wins, 6 draws and 18 defeats); while Inter is 2° in the standings with 69 points (thanks of 20 wins, 9 pareggi and 3 sconfitte). Spezia scored 33 goals and conceded 57; Inter scored 68 goals and conceded 25. The first leg Inter - Spezia was played on 1 december 2021 and it ended on a 2-0 score.
At home Spezia scored 18 points (5 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses). Away Inter scored 30 points (8 wins, 6 draws and 1 loss). Spezia in the last three matches of the season challenged Venezia, Empoli and Inter obtaining 4 points thanks to 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss. Inter in the last three matches of the season challenged Fiorentina, Juventus and Vero obtaining 7 points thanks to 2 wins, 1 draw and 0 losses. In the last match Spezia was against Inter losing 1-3 while Inter was against Verona winning 2-0.
Spezia and Inter competed 3 times in the league. In the previous matches Spezia never won, Inter won 2 times while the number of draw is only one.
These are the statistics of the two teams in the matches played in the season:
Where to see Spezia-Inter You can see the live match Spezia-Inter here on Virgilio Sport starting 19:00 CET of 15 april. Discover who will broadcast live Spezia - Inter between Sky and Dazn.
