Inter 1-0 Torino: Brozovic spares Nerazzurri blushes amid Lukaku absence

A last-gasp volley from Marcelo Brozovic spared Inter’s blushes as they overcame Romelu Lukaku’s absence to snatch a late 1-0 win against Torino in Milan.

The Croatian latched onto Nicolo Barella’s lob into the box in the 89th minute to steer the ball just beyond Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and spark wild celebrations.

Inter, still without the injured Lukaku following his absence for their midweek UEFA Champions League loss to Bayern Munich, had looked lacklustre throughout, without a cutting edge.

But Simone Inzaghi will still take this victory with all the jubilation it was greeted with, while Ivan Juric will be left to rue what could have been for his stubborn visitors.

Despite a rowdy atmosphere, an air of caution seemed to pervade both teams at first, with more ball and more shots for Inter despite a lack of a threatening aura.

Lautaro Martinez’s gifts were oddly blunted in front of goal for the Nerazzurri, while Nikola Vlasic forced the only truly noticeable save of the first half, in the 20th minute, to keep the visitors nipping at their heels.

There was more urgency to proceedings after the interval, but even then, golden chances were few and far between for both teams.

But when Brozovic beat the offside trap to rise in the box and nudge a mid-air volley just around the goalkeeper’s scrambling arms six yards out, the roar that erupted around the San Siro was deafening to behold.

For Inter, so toothless throughout elsewhere, it was dramatic salvation to get them back to winning ways – but they will still know such a rescue package won’t come around every week.

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— Inter (@Inter) September 10, 2022