Inter Milan bounced back from their disappointing exit from the UEFA Champions League with a 2-0 win over Genoa in Serie A. It was their 14th league match in a row without losing against Genoa.
The game started quickly. Lorenzo Colombo fired over the bar, and Nicolò Barella had a shot blocked early on. Inter created chances from Federico Dimarco’s corners, but Genoa goalkeeper Justin Bijlow saved a header from Stefan de Vrij. Manuel Akanji also missed the target. Bijlow then made an excellent save to stop Ange-Yoan Bonny after Genoa lost the ball cheaply.
Inter were patient in their build-up play. Henrikh Mkhitaryan tried his luck from distance and his shot deflected onto the crossbar. Bonny’s header forced another great save from Bijlow. However, on the half-hour mark, Dimarco scored with a brilliant volley from a very tight angle after a looping pass from Mkhitaryan. Barella later headed over, while Genoa’s Mikael Egill Ellertsson saw his volley saved before half-time.
After the break, both sides attacked but struggled to test the goalkeepers. Vitinha had a long-range effort deflected wide. Ellertsson headed over as Genoa tried to push forward. Bijlow made another strong save after a deflected shot from Luis Henrique. Soon after, Alex Amorim handled the ball in the box, giving away a penalty. Hakan Çalhanoğlu calmly scored from the spot, sending the keeper the wrong way.
Ellertsson missed another header late on, and Yann Sommer stopped an own goal from Akanji. Inter secured their eighth straight Serie A win and moved 13 points clear of second-placed AC Milan, who play on Sunday. The defeat ended Genoa’s three-game unbeaten run and left them just three points above the relegation
