Second-half goals from Hakimi and Lukaku earn Inter a 2-1 win over Spezia. Hakimi broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when he caught Provedel out at his near post after making a driving run. A VAR review then awarded Inter a penalty for handball against Nzola which Lukaku converted. Piccoli came off the bench and tapped-in a late consolation from close range for Spezia.
Inter stay second in the table, just one point behind rivals Milan who beat Sassuolo in their match. Their winning run extends to six games and they'll be hoping to keep that up against Verona next time out. Spezia are now winless in six and drop to 17th. Italiano will be hoping they can bounce back against Genoa on Wednesday.
That's all for today, goodbye!
Cronaca
Formazioni
Statistiche
90'+5'
FULL-TIME: INTER 2-1 SPEZIA.16:56
90'+4'
SPEZIA PULL ONE BACK! Piccoli just waits in the middle of the box for the cross to come into him and he reaches the cross just ahead of Darmian and taps it into the back of the empty net to score a late consolation for Spezia. 2-1!
Agudelo just can't find a way past Skriniar on the left and Inter come away with the ball. It looks like they're going to make a quick counter-attack with Vidal, but he's blocked off by Simone Bastoni.16:54
90'
Final change for Spezia now and it's Acapora that's making way for Mastinu.00:32
88'
Darmian's cross is deflected off Ismajli which takes it into D'Ambrosio's path on the edge of the box. He drills it towards goal first time, but it's straight at Provedel, who holds onto it.16:49
86'
Spezia are still pushing to try and get a goal back, but they just can't find a way in behind Inter in the final third. Farias makes a good run down the left, but his cross is blocked by Skriniar.16:48
84'
Vignali floats a great cross into the crowd of players waiting at the near post, but can't pick out a team-mate. Alessandro Bastoni gets ahead of Acampora and heads it clear for Inter.16:46
82'
Hakimi is the first Inter defender to score at least four goals in the first 13 games played of a debut Serie A campaign.16:44
80'
Piccoli is also being brought on in place of Nzola.16:42
80'
There's a double change for Spezia as well, with Farias coming on for Gyasi.16:42
80'
And Lukaku is also taken off, with Perisic replacing him.16:41
80'
Hakimi is also making way, with D'Ambrosio on for him.16:41
80'
Triple change for Inter now and Young is the first to make way for Darmian.16:41
78'
OFFSIDE! It's a good cross into the box from the left by Simone Bastoni this time and Maggiore flicks it on in the middle of the box. Gyasi latches onto it and heads in from close range, but he was offside when it came to him so it won't count.16:46
76'
Gyasi makes a driving run down the left and swings his cross into the box from the byline. He picks out Maggiore and his first-time shot is blocked by Skriniar, but the flag goes up against him anyway.16:38
74'
Sensi whips a deep free-kick into the box from the left wing and he picks out Vidal at the far post. It's a tight angle but he manages to get his shot away and sends it just wide of the target.16:36
72'
Mora is also being taken off and he's replaced by Agudelo.16:35
72'
Double change for Spezia now and Deiola is one of the players making way, with Maggiore on for him.16:34
71'
LUKAKU SCORES! He steps up to take the spot-kick and it's a confident strike from the forward. He sends Provedel the wrong way and fires his shot into the back of the net. 2-0 Inter!
PENALTY TO INTER! VAR has asked the referee to go over to the monitor and have a look at the incident. Nzola's arm is away from his body when the ball hits it and after seeing the replays, the spot-kick is awarded.16:31
68'
There are shouts from Inter as they ask for a penalty. They're claiming that it hit Nzola's arm when Hakimi swung the ball into the box but the referee waves the claims away.16:30
66'
Second change for Inter now and it's Brozovic that's making way for Vidal.16:27
64'
Another corner is swung into the box by Deiola and Nzola is in a lot of space in the middle. He has a free header, but can't keep his effort down and sends it just over the crossbar.16:27
63'
Conte isn't happy with one of the referee's decisions and he's making his feelings clear on the touchline. Michael Fabbri goes over to him and shows him a yellow card for his protests.16:25
61'
Inter don't clear their lines properly from a corner and Spezia keep hold of it. Acampora picks out Deiola's run to the near post and after weaving past two Inter defenders, his run is cut out by De Vrij.16:23
59'
Lukaku makes a great run down the right, pulling away from Mora to get into space at the byline. He whips a cross into the box, but can't pick out a team-mate as Provedel comes off his line to collect.16:21
57'
Spezia are keeping possession well at the moment, but it's all in front of Inter. Deiola tries to pick out Acampora's run ahead of him on the right with a throughball, only to see it cut out by Young.16:19
55'
SAVE! Martinez makes a driving run down the left before playing a low cross to Sensi on the edge of the box. His first touch takes him away from Terzi before he hits the shot, but it's straight at Provedel who makes the save.16:16
53'
Spezia are pushing forward in search of a quick response to Inter's goal and Gyasi pulls away from his defender to put a cross into the near post. It's too high for Nzola though and goes straight out of play.16:15
51'
INTER LEAD! Hakimi's got a lot of space to run into down the right and he takes the shot as soon as he gets into the box before Mora can close him down. He keeps his effort low and beats Provedel at his near post. 1-0 Inter!
The ball is nodded down to Martinez and he plays it out to Hakimi first time to set him off on his run.16:20
50'
Spezia are keeping Inter penned back in their own half at the moment as they patiently try and push into the final third. Deiola plays a throughball into Nzola, but he can't hold it up under pressure from Skriniar.16:12
48'
Inter are keeping the ball well in the opening minutes of the second half and Hakimi's run down the right is picked out. He cuts into the box and goes down under a challenge from Ismajli, but the referee waves his penalty claim away.16:10
46'
Spezia get us back underway for the second half!16:07
46'
There's a change from Inter at the break as Gagliardini makes way for Sensi.16:07
It's been a tight game so far, with both sides struggling to get into the final third at times. The managers will expect to see an improvement going forward after the break and they might need to make some changes to help open up the match in the second half.15:59
It's goalless at the break between Inter and Spezia. Neither side really created any clear cut chances in the first half, with Young forcing the only save in the game after he fizzed a shot across goal which Provedel got fingertips to. Lukaku sent a header into the side netting from close range while Deiola sent a long-range free-kick wide.15:55
45'+2'
HALF-TIME: INTER 0-0 SPEZIA.15:50
45'+1'
It's a tight game at the moment, with both sides struggling to push forward, so Gagliardini lifts the ball over the top to try and get his side on the attack. Martinez is chasing it down, but Provedel comes off his line to clear it.15:49
44'
Ismajli and Gagliardini clashed heads when they both tried to get on the end of Brozovic's free-kick, so the game's been stopped so they can get some treatment. They're quickly back to their feet and will be able to carry on.15:47
43'
Terzi is booked after he catches Lukaku with a late challenge.15:46
41'
Nzola is off balance when he tries to nick the ball off De Vrij and he ends up catching Barella in the face with his hand, so is shown a yellow card.15:47
39'
Nzola holds off De Vrij on the edge of the box and opens up some space for himself, but chooses to lay it off to Gyasi instead of having a shot. He can't find a way past Skriniar though and Handanovic comes out to collect it.15:41
37'
Spezia don't clear their lines when Martinez's cross comes into the box from the right and Provedel is put under pressure by Lukaku. Both jump to try and get to the ball and it's the forward that reaches it, but his header hits the side netting.15:40
35'
Mora pulls away from Skriniar on the right and curls his cross into the box. It's too far ahead of Nzola in the middle though and De Vrij gets across to the near post to intercept it.15:38
33'
Young does well to wrongfoot Vignali and create some space to get a cross into the box from the left. There's no one at the far post for Inter though and Mora heads it clear.15:35
31'
Hakimi intercepts Simone Bastoni's pass and plays a first-time throughball forward for Martinez to chase. He slips when the ball reaches him on the edge of the box though and Vignali clears his lines.16:46
29'
It's a good run by Simone Bastoni down the left and he drills a low cross into the box. It's just behind Nzola at the near post and Handanovic rushes off his line to collect it before Acampora can get there.16:47
27'
Ricci goes long looking for Nzola through the middle with his throughball again, but he's asking too much of the forward. He has De Vrij with him the whole way and he can't get ahead of the defender.15:30
25'
Spezia are sitting back in their own half as they try to close down the space ahead of Inter. Barella is forced to switch play out to Young on the right, but he puts it straight out for a throw-in.15:29
23'
De Vrij sends his clearance high up the field and Lukaku is chasing it down for Inter. Mora reaches it first and plays it back to Provedel and it's almost cut out by the forward, but there's just enough on it.15:26
21'
Spezia are closing Inter down much higher up the field now, but the home side do really well to play themselves out of trouble. Skriniar tries to switch play out to Young, but it's a poor pass from him that's cut out.15:24
19'
Deiola steps up to take the free-kick, and he goes for goal despite the distance. He lifts his effort over the wall, but it's always swerving well wide of the near post.15:51
18'
Brozovic slides in late on Acampora from behind and picks up the first yellow card of the game.15:20
16'
Inter break quickly on the counter after De Vrij intercepts Ricci's pass and he sets Lukaku on a driving run down the left. He puts an early cross into the box, but it's short and Simone Bastoni clears his lines.16:47
14'
Spezia are starting to push forward with a bit more intent now and Mora plays a good throughball into Nzola. De Vrij gets very tight to him and ends up bringing him down from behind in his attempts to win it.15:18
12'
GOOD CHANCE! Inter have a free-kick on the right and it's whipped into the box by Brozovic. Nobody spots Martinez's run to the far post and he gets his head on it. He can't keep it down though and it sails over the bar.15:16
10'
Inter take the corner short to Brozovic and he pulls away from the challenge from Isajli before curling an effort towards the far post. It's always heading wide and there's no one there to get a touch on it for the hosts.15:15
9'
SAVE! Young does brilliantly to weave between two Spezia defenders and get into the box from the left. He fizzes a cross into the six-yard box and Provedel gets fingertips to it to send it wide of the far post.15:29
7'
Spezia are trying to move upfield after winning the ball back, but they can't get out of their own half at the moment. Mora switches play out to Deiola on the right, but he loses out to Young.15:10
5'
Ismajli was rushing back to try and close down Lukaku's run as well and he collided with the keeper when he slid in. He gets some treatment on his leg and it looks like he'll be able to carry on.15:08
4'
Lukaku times his run perfectly to stay onside and latch onto the throughball from Martinez. He tries to chip his shot over Provedel who comes rushing off his line but a deflection takes it out for a corner.15:08
2'
Inter are seeing more of the ball in the opening couple of minutes and it's patient play from the home side. De Vrij goes long looking for Hakimi down the right and he brings it down well before being closed down by Simone Bastoni.16:47
1'
Lukaku gets the game underway for Inter! 15:02
The teams are getting ready to come out onto the pitch now, with kick-off just moments away.14:58
Inter have won 15 of their last 19 Serie A matches against newly-promoted teams (D3 L1).14:55
Vincenzo Italiano makes eight changes to his team after their draw with Bologna. Only Provedel, Gyasi and Nzola, who scored both goals in that game, retain their places. Spezia are also without Julian Chabot due to suspension.14:52
Antonio Conte makes just one change to the side that beat Napoli last time out as he brings in Hakimi for Darmian, who drops to the bench.14:49
SPEZIA SUBS: Kevin Agudelo, Roberto Piccoli, Martin Erlic, Riccardo Marchizza, Giuseppe Mastinu, Paolo Bartolomei, Titas Krapokas, Nahuel Estevez, Salvador Ferrer, Diego Farias, Giulio Maggiore, Lucien Agoume.14:46
INTER SUBS: Matteo Darmian, Ivan Perisic, Christian Eriksen, Ionut Radu, Aleksandar Kolarov, Arturo Vidal, Andrea Ranocchia, DAniele Padelli, Danilo D'Ambrosio, Stefano Sensi.14:40
INTER STARTING XI (3-5-2): Samir Handanovic; Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni; Achraf Hakimi, Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, Roberto Gagliardini, Ashley Young; Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez.14:37
Inter come into this game having gone unbeaten in their last eight matches in Serie A since losing the Milan derby (W6 D2) and have won their last five on the bounce. They face a Spezia side that are winless in their last five league games (D3 L2) since a 3-0 victory against Benevento in early November.14:33
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Serie A meeting between Inter and Spezia at San Siro! 14:30
Dove si gioca la partita:
Stadio: Giuseppe Meazza Città: Milano Capienza: 80074 spettatori14:30
Inter - Spezia is a match of 13 day of the season Serie A 2020/2021. The match will be 20 december at 12:30 in the stadium Giuseppe Meazza in Milano. Referee of Inter - Spezia will be Michael Fabbri with the help of Tarcisio Villa e Marco Scatragli. At VAR there will be Paolo Valeri.
Currently Inter is 2° in the standings with 30 points (thanks of 9 wins, 3 draws and 1 defeat); while Spezia is 17° in the standings with 11 points (thanks of 2 wins, 5 pareggi and 6 sconfitte). Inter scored 32 goals and conceded 16; Spezia scored 18 goals and conceded 27.
At home Inter scored 16 points (5 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss). Away Spezia scored 8 points (2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses). Inter in the last three matches of the season challenged Cagliari, Napoli and Spezi obtaining 9 points thanks to 3 wins, 0 draws and 0 losses. Spezia in the last three matches of the season challenged Lazio, Crotone and Bolog obtaining 1 point thanks to 0 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. In the last match Inter was against Spezia winning 2-1 while Spezia was against Bologna evening 2-2.
Inter and Spezia is the first time that they face each other in the league.
These are the statistics of the two teams in the matches played in the season:
Where to see Inter-Spezia You can see the live match Inter-Spezia here on Virgilio Sport starting 12:30 CET of 20 december. Discover who will broadcast live Inter - Spezia between Sky and Dazn.
