Balotelli fails to stop rampaging Inter from going top of Serie A

Mario Balotelli failed to stop his former club Inter Milan from beating his current side Brescia 2-1 and go to the top of the Italian League on Tuesday.

Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku were on target as both of them scored a goal each on the either side of the half-time to send Inter clear.

Milan Skriniar scored an own in the 76th minute to ease pressure on Brescia but the hosts failed to add to their tally and hold a rampaging Inter, failing to end their winless run. Brescia have not won a game since Sept.21 and are on the 18th spot in the 20-team league.

After the game Conte complained about Inter’s congested fixture list which has seen his side play four games in nine days.

Conte made two changes from the side which drew 2-2 with Parma on Saturday as Dutch international Stefan de Vrij started in the heart of defence.  Eugenio Corini brought in four new faces after the weekend defeat at Genoa and included Alfredo Donnarumma up front to partner Balotelli while handing 31-year-old goalkeeper Enrico Alfonso a Serie A debut. The visitors claimed an undeserved lead after 23 minutes as De Vrij won a midfield header against Balotelli. De Vrij’s clearance fell to Martinez outside the Brescia box and his deflected shot hit the left foot of defender Andrea Cistana and lobbed Alfonso.

Three minutes into the second half Balotelli threatened Inter’s lead but captain Samir Handanovic was equal to his low drive from outside the area.

Despite Brescia’s constant pressure since the break Inter doubled their lead after 63 minutes as Lukaku scored his seventh goal in 10 games this season. The Belgium forward picked up the ball on the right flank and charged forward before curling a shot past Alfonso with his left foot.

Balotelli was denied a chance to halve his former side’s lead with less than 20 minutes to go as he skied a rebound over the crossbar after Handanovic saved his point-blank header.

Brescia’s hopes of denying Inter top spot were boosted with 14 minutes to play.

Dimitri Bisoli was at the end of a tidy one-two with Donnarumma and his shot flicked off Skriniar to make it 2-1 despite Handanovic’s best efforts.

Earlier on Tuesday, Darko Lazovic’s 10th-minute thunderbolt claimed just a third success of the campaign for Verona as they beat Parma 1-0.

Agencies