Newly-promoted Palermo held Inter Milan to a 1-1 draw at the Renzo Barbera in the final match of Serie A's round three. The hosts took a surprise early lead, though were pegged back by the nerazzurri on the stroke of halftime. With both sides completely deadlocked in the second half, that was how the game ended.
Palermo vs. Inter Milan: Final score 1-1, impotent Inter held by Sicilians
Palermo earned a deserved point at home to Inter Milan on Sunday.
It took just three minutes for Palermo to open the scoring, when a terrible defensive lapse from Nemanja Vidić allowed Franco Vázquez to nick the ball inside the penalty area and stroke beyond Samir Handanović from close range.
It was a terrible start for Inter, and they didn’t improve in a hurry. Throughout the entire opening half they were ponderous in possession, and only really threatened with efforts from distance. Indeed, that was how they fortuitously equalised three minutes before halftime, when a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area popped out for Mateo Kovačić to lash home.
Despite their unimpressive performance, Inter almost found themselves leading at the break. In stoppage time at the end of the half, Vidić got up to head a Fredy Guarín free-kick into the back of the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. It was the same story when Mauro Icardi was denied by the flag on a volley five minutes after the restart.
Inter were more dominant early in the second half, though struggled to find the penetration to match their possession. Guarín went close to firing the visitors ahead just short of the hour, though he couldn’t make a clean contact on Pablo Osvaldo’s scooped cross from point-blank range.
They continued to hog the ball with little reward, and they were very nearly punished for their impotent display inside the final 20 minutes. Suddenly Palermo had come alive, with Vázquez's deflected effort crashing off the crossbar before Michel Morganella screwed the rebound wide. Vázquez went close again a couple of minutes later, though lashed his close-range effort wide on a deep cross.
Substitute Andrea Belotti seemed to have won the game inside the final few minutes for the rosanero, though this time the referee came to Inter's aid, adjudging that the Palermo forward had fouled full-back Yuto Nagatomo in the buildup.
Inter's final chance fell to Osvaldo in the dying seconds, though Stefano Sorrentino made an excellent save to deny the Italian international.
Palermo: Sorrentino; Feddal, Terzi, Anđelković; Lazaar (Daprelà 74’), Barreto, Rigoni, Bolzoni (Belotti 66’), Morganella; Dybala, Vázquez (Quaison 83’).
Goals: Vázquez (3’).
Inter Milan: Handanović; Juan Jesus (Hernanes 65'), Vidić, Ranocchia; Nagatomo, Kovačić (Palacio 79'), Guarín, Medel, D'Ambrosio (Dodô 56'); Osvaldo, Icardi.
Goals: Kovačić (42’).
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