Candreva strike earns Salernitana late Inter draw

There was nothing on when former Inter winger Candreva lined up a cross in the last minute which he miscued and sent flying over the head of bemused Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana to close out the match after Robin Gosens' sixth-minute opener.

Candreva's fortuitous strike from the right flank moved hosts Salernitana 10 points above the relegation zone and extended their unbeaten run to six with a fifth straight draw.

"It was a cross for my teammates which every now and again can go in with a bit of luck," said Candreva to 'DAZN'.

"I think we played really well in the second half, we were playing a really good team with great players and we stayed with them. We know that we still need to collect points but we can take heart from the results we're getting. We'll have a good Easter and then we'll think about Torino."

Fourth-placed Inter are 20 points behind runaway league leaders Napoli, who are at Lecce in the second of three Good Friday matches, and are in a battle for Champions League football next season. They are winless in six games in all competitions and head to Benfica on Tuesday in the midst of a goalscoring crisis.

Lukaku off target

Simone Inzaghi's side are level on 51 points with local rivals AC Milan who sit third ahead of their home match with off-form Empoli in Friday's late game. Roma are a point behind Inter and knock them out of the top four with a win at Torino on Saturday.

Inter would have been more comfortably ahead in the final moments had Romelu Lukaku done better with two golden opportunities in each half.

Lukaku, who was racially abused by Juventus fans midweek, headed a simple opportunity straight at Guillermo Ochoa in the first half and somehow managed to scoop a diving header onto the bar from inside the six-yard box in the 65th minute before Ochoa brilliantly kept out Stefan De Vrij on the rebound.

Long-time Mexico goalkeeper Ochoa had already denied Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Denzel Dumfries with smart stops seconds before Lukaku's blunder, which comes after his incredible miss in last week's home loss to Fiorentina.

Boulaye Dia almost capitalised on Ochoa's great keeping by striking the woodwork for the hosts from Candreva's cross with 13 minutes left. After Lautaro Martinez wasted another opportunity when sent charging through on goal Candreva flashed his foot at the ball and sparked wild celebrations on the pitch and in the stands.

 

April 7, 2023