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Spezia shock Inter 2-1 thanks to late Nzola penalty

IF24 Desk
LA SPEZIA, ITALY - MARCH 11: M'bala Nzola of Spezia Calcio celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A match between Spezia Calcio and FC Internazionale at Stadio Alberto Picco on March 11, 2023 in La Spezia, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
calendar date10 Mar 19:45
MatchDay 26

Inter suffered another shock defeat this evening, falling 2-1 to Spezia after a late M’Bala Nzola penalty.

The Nerazzurri’s top four hopes suffered a blow and extended their winless streak away from home to three.

After shot-stopper Bartlomiej Dragowski saved Lautaro Martinez’s penalty in the first half, the Ligurians would open the scoring just after halftime.

Substitute Daniele Maldini came off the bench and fired the ball past Samir Handanovic after a lay-off pass from Nzola. Inter wingback Denzel Dumfries would go from hero to zero in the final minutes after he earned then conceded a penalty within the span of three minutes.

The victory marked Spezia’s first win in nearly two months and subsequently snapped their seven-match winless skid.

“My compliments to the lads, they gave everything today,” said manager Leonardo Semplici during his post-match press conference.

“This is an extraordinary group of players. Their self-esteem was low when I first got here which is normal considering the circumstances.”

“However, I realised pretty quickly that this team was full sponges willing to soak-up my technical, tactical, and mental directions.”

He continued, “I’m very happy with the performance. We changed things up in the second half and we were able to express ourselves a bit better.”

“The team showed we’re able to suffer then pull-out a positive result. Ultimately, I think we were deserved winners.”