Milan: Two late goals saw Inter escape from their Serie A clash at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi with a 2-0 victory against Chievo.
A missed penalty by Diego Milito in the first-half seemed set to extend the visitors' winless run to ten matches in all competitions. However, Walter Samuel headed in a corner in the 87th minute and Milito struck on the stroke of second-half injury time to seal the points and grant under fire coach Claudio Ranieri a temporary reprieve from the pressure surrounding his position.
With the game barely a quarter of an hour old, a handball by Francesco Acerbi in the area was spotted, giving Inter an early chance to open the scoring from the spot. However, Milito’s penalty was hit straight down the middle, allowing Stefano Sorrentino to save with relative ease.
Ranieri's men were left cursing their luck as the match progressed, as they pepperred Sorretino's goal with attempts from distance. A fantastic shot from Wesley Sneijder from the corner of the area smacked off the crossbar, before Dejan Stankovic volleyed an equally well struck effort inches over.
Try as they might, Inter could not find a breakthrough, and there were worrying moments near the end of the first half when Sergio Pellissier forced Julio Cesar into action after turning Lucio with ease inside the area.
The visitors failed to step up a gear after the interval, as a determined rear-guard effort by Chievo saw chances remain at premium. A cross from the left by Sneijder was poked wide at the far post by Andrea Poli, before the Dutchman blasted a long range free kick over the bar.
The visitors looked resigned to another game without victory as a free kick by Sneijder was parried by Sorrentino, with substitute Esteban Cambiasso blasting the rebound over the bar from point blank range.
However, with three minutes to go, Samuel popped up to head home a pinpoint corner from Sneijder to finally break Chievo’s resistance.
With the clock moving into injury time, Milito atoned for his earlier penalty miss by guiding Javier Zanetti’s cross home with his head to give Inter all three points and Ranieri some much needed relief from the speculation surrounding his future.
The result sees Inter in sixth place, six points off Udinese in the final Europa League spot. Chievo meanwhile are 10th with 34 points.
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