Inter brush Genoa aside to go 13 points ahead of rivals Milan at Serie A summit

[p]The match got off to a quick start with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/colombo-lorenzo/YL741OaO/"]Lorenzo Colombo[/a] smashing a shot over the crossbar and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/barella-nicolo/W0yrjzz2/"]Nicolo Barella[/a] seeing an attempt blocked during the opening exchanges.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter/Iw7eKK25/"]Inter[/a] then asked questions through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dimarco-federico/W6lypZn3/"]Federico Dimarco[/a] corners, although [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bijlow-justin/65xR64Rt/"]Justin Bijlow[/a] saved [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-vrij-stefan/8Cf0NM4a/"]Stefan de Vrij[/a]’s header, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/akanji-manuel/UJm2XpLH/"]Manuel Akanji[/a] was unable to hit the target with his attempt.[/p][p]Bijlow was then called into action again and made a brilliant save to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bonny-ange-yoan/08MpRWg8/"]deny Ange-Yoan Bonny[/a] after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/malinovsky-ruslan/GGkyU0bT/"]Ruslan Malinovskyi[/a] had cheaply conceded possession.[/p][p]The Nerazzurri were very patient in their play, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mkhitaryan-henrikh/KKi1DwHC/"]Henrikh Mkhitaryan[/a] looked to take matters into his own hands and hit an ambitious strike that took a deflection off [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vasquez-johan/Qydfoeer/"]Johan Vasquez[/a] on its way to hitting the crossbar.[/p][embed guid="7f227c5c-823c-4775-8119-b5af3a82ffd9" url="https://x.com/Inter_en/status/2027851979498619259" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Bonny’s header then brought another superb save out of Bijlow, but there was nothing the Dutchman could do on the half-hour when Dimarco emphatically volleyed Mkhitaryan’s looping pass into the far corner from an outrageously tight angle.[/b][/p][p]Barella then headed over before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ellertsson-mikael-egill/4EDOAeYC/"]Mikael Egill Ellertsson[/a]’s volley was denied at the other end as the hosts maintained their lead going into the break.[/p][p]Both teams had promising moves without initially working the opposition goalkeeper after the restart, although [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vitinha/AazXYT3h/"]Vitinha[/a]’s shot from range just before the hour mark required an Akanji deflection to ensure it didn’t hit the target.[/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="ce91fec6-fc9d-4f99-abe4-aa664c777270" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="e57870bc-3d8b-440b-9ef0-280d09ec3389" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Ellertsson then ballooned a header over with Il Grifone looking increasingly encouraged. That didn’t last too much longer, though, as Bijlow made yet another impressive save after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/luis-henrique/dU3VTnID/"]Luis Henrique[/a]’s shot took a deflection off [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/caricol-aaron/l4xhn6hC/"]Aaron Martin[/a].[/p][p][b]However, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/amorim/zB4mmvek/"]Alex Amorim[/a] handled to concede a penalty moments later, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/calhanoglu-hakan/IRQeP5FJ/"]Hakan Calhanoglu[/a] sent the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/genoa/d0PJxeie/"]Genoa[/a] goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot.[/b][/p][p]Ellertsson sent his latest header wide before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sommer-yann/4zA5n1UG/"]Yann Sommer[/a] was able to prevent Akanji from scoring an own goal, as Inter avoided any late nerves on their way to recording their eighth consecutive win in Serie A to go 13 points ahead of second-placed AC Milan ahead of their match against Cremonese on Sunday.[/p][p]In doing so, the Nerazzurri inflicted the first defeat from Genoa’s last three games and left Il Grifone three points above the relegation zone.[/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="29968cac-6930-4f3c-ad7e-a7cd5d82b735" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="8210e4cf-e041-4756-b108-3f48f3b5dd49" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dimarco-federico/W6lypZn3/"]Federico Dimarco[/a] (Inter)[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/genoa-d0PJxeie/inter-Iw7eKK25/?mid=IL6KEFi2"]Click here for more on the match[/a][/b][/p]