Brozovic rescues Inter in Genoa thriller

Croatia’s Marcelo Brozovic grabbed a late winner as Inter Milan followed their Champions League heroics against Tottenham this week with a 1-0 victory at Sampdoria in a chaotic game on Saturday in which three goals were disallowed.

World Cup runner-up Brozovic scored four minutes into injury time after Radja Nainggolan and Kwadwo Asamoah both had goals ruled out for Inter, with Sampdoria’s Gregoire Defrel also denied by VAR.

Inter Milan coach Luciano Spalletti was also banished from the touchline by officials for his wild celebration of the winning goal.

“I turned towards the camera to shout ‘goal’ and the fourth official told me I had done it with too much force,” Spalletti told streaming service DAZN.

“It was too important a goal, like a liberation,” added Spalletti.

“We played with great character, always remaining in the game and fighting for every ball.”

The win followed Inter’s 2-1 Champions League comeback victory in the final minutes against Tottenham on Tuesday.

The three points give Inter just their second win of the Serie A season and move Spalletti’s side up to seventh, equal on seven points with Sampdoria, after five games.

Earlier, Fiorentina moved second with a 3-0 win in Tuscany, spoiling SPAL’s promising start to the campaign.

Ferrara outfit SPAL had been riding high in second, three points behind champions Juventus, before the tie in Florence with just one goal conceded in four games.

But Croatian World Cup runner-up Marko Pjaca opened the floodgates after 18 minutes with Serbian defender Nikola Milenkovic heading in a second ten minutes later.

Italian international Federico Chiesa completed the scoring in the 56th minute as Fiorentina bounced back from last week’s 1-0 defeat by Napoli to climb to two points behind Juventus who travel to promoted Frosinone on Sunday.

Fiorentina are level with Sassuolo, who beat 10-man Empoli 3-1 on Friday, on ten points after five games, but ahead on goal difference.

– Gervinho stunner –
Earlier former Arsenal winger Gervinho scored a stunning goal as Parma beat Cagliari 2-0 to secure back-to-back wins after they shocked Inter Milan at the San Siro last weekend.

Ivory Coast international Gervinho scored the second goal two minutes after the break, picking up the ball just outside his own penalty area, and making a spectacular 50-metre dash, zigzagging past three Cagliari defenders and unleashing a shot that bounced off the post and into the net for his second Serie A goal this season.

The 31-year-old former Roma and Arsenal player returned to Serie A last month after leaving the Italian capital for Chinese club Hebei China Fortune in January 2016.

“I don’t know if it’s my best goal, as I’ve scored many in my time,” said Gervinho.

Roberto Inglese scored on 20 minutes as the ball bounced off Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno’s chest and Inglese’s face before landing in the net, after the on-loan Napoli player had an earlier effort ruled offside.

Gervinho was substituted five minutes from time to a standing ovation at the Stadio Tardini, as Parma moved up to seventh following their first Serie A win at home since 2015.

“I have not seen a goal like this for years,” said Parma coach Roberto D’Aversa.

Two-time UEFA Cup winners Parma were declared bankrupt and demoted to the amateur leagues in 2015, before three successive promotions saw them return to Serie A.

It was the second defeat of the season for Cagliari, who held AC Milan to a draw last weekend, and have five points from as many games.

Juventus head to Frosinone on Sunday looking to keep their 100 percent record, with last season’s runners-up Napoli away to Torino and Roma looking to get their campaign back on track at Bologna.

Frosinone are second from the bottom of the league, with just one point, and are still waiting for their first goal.

“It’s a pity Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off in the Champions League, because now he’s well-rested and furious,” said Frosinone coach Moreno Longo.

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