Empoli upset 10-man Inter 1-0
Sports
A second-half goal by midfielder Tommaso Baldanzi earned Empoli a surprise 1-0 win over Inter Milan.
MILAN (Reuters) - A second-half goal by midfielder Tommaso Baldanzi earned Empoli a surprise 1-0 win over 10-man Inter Milan in Serie A on Monday, ending Simone Inzaghi side s seven-match unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Empoli, whose previous victory against the Nerazzurri dates back to April 2006, moved up to ninth place on 25 points from 19 games. Inter remain third on 37 points, one point behind second-placed Milan who travel to Lazio on Tuesday.
"In the first half hour we did great things, we had courage and zero fear," Empoli coach Paolo Zanetti told DAZN. "Winning at the San Siro is a dream and my players managed to make it come true."
Inter, who hammered rivals AC Milan 3-0 to win the Italian Supercup on Wednesday, were left with 10 men when captain Milan Skriniar was sent off five minutes before the interval. He was shown a second yellow card after his boot reached Francesco Caputo s neck.
Empoli forward Nicolo Cambiaghi was close to causing an early surprise at the San Siro when he received a lofted pass on the edge of Inter s box and struck from close range but was denied by keeper Andre Onana.
The visitors squandered another chance five minutes later when striker Caputo s strike went just wide of the left post.
Inter also went close to scoring but midfielder Federico Dimarco s first-time strike from a tight angle was blocked by Empoli keeper Guglielmo Vicario, while Lautaro Martinez sent his close-range shot inches above the bar.
Empoli continued to create chances in the second half and found the back of the net in the 66th minute through Baldanzi after a counter-attack.
The 19-year-old substitute sent a powerful low shot to beat Onana, who failed to stop the ball despite going the right way with his acrobatic dive.
Inter s Edin Dzeko could have levelled nine minutes later but his first-time effort from inside the box went wide of the left post. Defender Stefan de Vrij hit the bar with a header shortly after.
Inzaghi blamed the defeat on being a man down for over 50 minutes and dismissed suggestions that the victory celebrations following their Supercup triumph impacted their preparations for Monday s match.
"The numerical inferiority has done a lot (of damage). Perhaps (if we had) 11 (players on the pitch) things would have changed," Inzaghi said.
"Excessive celebrations after the Super Cup? In reality they were very restricted because as soon as we got back, we trained right away."
Earlier on Monday, Bologna drew 1-1 at home to bottom-placed Cremonese.
