Venezia 0-2 Inter: two own goals in three minutes do the damage at the Penzo

Inter won at the Pier Luigi Penzo without their forwards scoring a single goal. Matías Moreno turned Federico Dimarco's low cross into his own net in the 79th minute, and three minutes later Redouane Halhal diverted a corner past his own goalkeeper, handing Inter a 2-0 win built entirely on Venezia's own mistakes in a match the hosts had defended well for long periods.

Venezia's resistance, until it broke

For 78 minutes Venezia did what they have rarely managed this season: contain a side with almost two-thirds of the possession. The back three held firm, Simon Sohm and Enrique Pérez won enough of the midfield battle to slow Inter's build-up, and Filip Stankovic was not seriously tested until the closing stages. It was a corner and a loose connection in the box, not a sustained spell of Inter pressure, that finally did the damage — the kind of goal that will sting more than a dominant, free-scoring Inter performance would have.

The assist for the opener belonged to Federico Dimarco, introduced as a substitute with just over a quarter of an hour left on a night when Cristian Chivu was still searching for a way through Venezia's low block. His low cross found Moreno in front of goal rather than any Inter forward, but it counted all the same — the kind of contribution a side can live with when none of its strikers are having their night.

A number that stands out

The underlying numbers describe an unusual 2-0 away win: Venezia actually finished with more shots on target, four to Inter's two, and were only three corners behind the visitors (six to three) despite seeing just 34.8% of the ball. Inter's control was built on patience rather than incision — 65.2% possession and 624 of 683 passes completed (91.4%) — and it took until the 79th minute, with the scoreline still level, for that control to translate into anything on the board. Venezia's five offsides, more than double Inter's two, are also a small sign of a team still trying to play on the front foot rather than simply absorbing pressure for 90 minutes — which makes the manner of the defeat harder on the home side than the scoreline suggests.

Form going into it

Venezia arrived having lost four of their previous five, the one exception a 1-0 upset of Napoli on matchday 7 that had briefly looked like a turning point. This was their eighth defeat in nine Serie A matches this season, leaving them bottom of the table on three points with a -13 goal difference. Inter, by contrast, had won four of their previous five across all competitions, Cristian Chivu's side arriving on the back of a stoppage-time win over Fiorentina — their 26 goals in ten Serie A matches this season coming, on this occasion, from a cross and a corner rather than from any of their recognised forwards.

What it means, and what came three days later

The result kept Inter top of the table on 25 points, three clear of second-placed Lazio, while Venezia stayed bottom on three points from nine games, the division's weakest goal difference by a wide margin. It did not stay a feel-good week for Inter: three days later, Milan beat them 3-1 in the derby della Madonnina, Diego Moreira inspiring the hosts to Inter's first Serie A defeat of the season. The two own goals at the Penzo turned out to be the easy part of Inter's week.

Scorers

• 79' — Matías Moreno (Venezia, own goal)
• 82' — Redouane Halhal (Venezia, own goal)

Match facts

Line-ups