There was no Mauro Icardi on the pitch for Inter but the previously outcasted Radja Nainggolan delivered the goods for Luciano Spalletti’s side as they beat Sampdoria 2-1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
It was not easy for the Nerazzurri though, who knocked and knocked on Emil Audero’s door before finally finding a way to break down his one-man wall midway through the second half.
Even without Icardi, it was Inter who looked the likelier to score early. First, Audero’s fingertips denied an Ivan Perisic header, before the goalkeeper was again called into action to deny Lautaro Martinez when the Argentine was set through by an excellent Roberto Gagliardini ball over the top.
Chances weren’t exactly plentiful in the first half, particularly for Samp who struggled to get behind Inter’s stubborn defence, with Stefan de Vrij barely giving Fabio Quagliarella room to breathe.
Dalbert came close after a cleverly-worked freekick on the edge of the box. Perisic looked set to whip in a cross but instead clipped a pass across the edge to the full back whose volley went off target.
Radja Nainggolan then had an instinctive strike from the edge of the area but his effort was always just the wrong side of Audero’s upright.
Perisic almost had a goal gifted to him by Audero after the Croatian hit a tame effort at goal which the Italian Under-21 international let slip between his legs. Fortunately, he was just far enough off his line to have the time to save his blushes by scrambling back and gathering the ball before it reached the goal.
Inter should have taken a second-half lead when a cutback found both Lautaro and Gagliardini with a chance apiece, but the former failed to really get a shot off before the No.5 missed on the follow-up.
Quagliarella hadn’t much in the way of goalscoring opportunities but when he did free himself of De Vrij’s shackles he came close to finding the net. A cross from the left found the 36-year-old but his looping header, which had Samir Handanovic worried, dipped too late and landed on top of the goal.
Matteo Politano went close shortly after, cutting in from the right only to see his curling left-footed effort fly narrowly wide.
The ex-Sassuolo forward was then replaced by Antonio Candreva, who had the next chance. Lautaro did well on the left and whipped a deep cross into the Italian, but he couldn’t quite get on the end of it at the back post. Perisic was the next to come close as he forced Audero into an excellent low save, but it was clear that something was coming.
An unlikely scorer eventually broke the deadlock as Danilo D’Ambrosio converted from close range after Perisic excellently worked his way into the box and put the ball across goal to find the defender.
Manolo Gabbiadini wasn’t long on the pitch for Samp before he popped up with an unlikely equaliser. The ball broke in the Inter box for the first time all evening and the forward calmly converted with his first touch of the night.
Nainggolan made it three goals in just five minutes immediately though as a loose ball fell at the edge of the box, allowing the Belgian to rifle an effort through a crowd and beyond Auddero, who was rooted to his feet. Luciano Spalletti even ran onto the pitch in the chaos of the celebrations, which were almost cut short as referee Daniele Doveri consulted VAR, but the goal stood.
Inter looked fluid without Icardi
Their No.9 and former captain was missing, but Inter looked promising in attack and showed more of a fluidity than they have this season.
Lautaro, Perisic and Politano were more daring and appeared to play without shackles when in possession and the two wingers were alway keen to find as direct a route to goal as possible.
Politano could have found the net himself and can count himself unfortunate to have been withdrawn for Candreva, as the 25-year-old had looked like the Nerazzurri’s biggest threat.
Icardi’s excellence cannot be questioned, but maybe there is life beyond the talisman.
Perisic finally delivers
Possibly his best performance since his summer heroics in Russia with Croatia, Perisic looked like the player that once attracted interest from all over Europe.
He didn’t get on the scoresheet himself, but without him Inter would not have found the breakthrough when they did, as he excellently worked his way towards goal before teeing up D’Ambrosio for the opener.
Icardi will get the headlines despite not playing, while Nainggolan will dominate out of those who did, but Perisic was as important, if not more, than anyone else on the pitch on Sunday.
If Inter are to hang onto third place to finish ahead of AC Milan this season then Spalletti will need Perisic to continue to deliver at this level.
