Venezia 0-2 Inter: Reigning champions stutter past bottom side with two own goals

Inter returned to top spot in Serie A after two late own goals saw them defeat Venezia 2-0.

Cristian Chivu's side struggled at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo after he rotated his starting lineup, but Matias Moreno and Redouane Halhal turned past their own goalkeeper in the 79th and 82nd minutes, respectively.

Venezia were the more dangerous team in the first half, to say the least, with Akor Adams flashing an early header wide of the post before forcing Ivan Provedel into a diving save to keep out a strike from distance.

The hosts had a goal ruled out on the half-hour mark as Lion Lauberbach strayed offside before smashing in the rebound after Kike Perez's deflected free-kick was kept out by Provedel.

Ange-Yoan Bonny failed to tap into an unguarded net from close range after good pressure from the Venezia defenders, while Lauberbach struck a first-time effort straight at the Inter goalkeeper before the break.

Chivu reacted at half-time, bringing on Nicolo Barella, Manuel Akanji and Hakan Calhanoglu, but Venezia continued to create the better chances as substitute Gianluca Busio fired over, in a golden opportunity created by Adams' low centre.

Venezia had the ball in the back of the net again in the 71st minute as Adams rounded Provedel before scoring, though he was offside before receiving the pass, while Marcus Thuram headed wide of the target at the other end.

Davide Nicola's side were then made to pay for their missed chances as Moreno turned Thuram's cross from the left wing past his own goalkeeper, and just three minutes later, Carlos Augusto's header from Calhanoglu's corner ricocheted in off Halhal.

Inter far from convincing

Chivu would have hoped for a strong performance against the side bottom of Serie A, especially after Inter edged past Fiorentina on Sunday, but the Nerazzurri insisted on doing things the hard way once again.

While Inter won the expected goals (xG) battle 2.02 to 1.46, Venezia will regret their missed chances and the two narrow offside decisions that went against them.

Provedel's three saves proved very important in the end, and Chivu will breathe a sigh of relief after his decision to rotate the majority of his midfield almost backfired.

Calhanoglu created two chances off the bench and played a key role in their second goal, while Barella completed 49 of his 51 passes, won four of his six duels and won the joint-most tackles (2/3).

Nevertheless, Inter's 25 points after nine games is their best-ever start to a Serie A campaign in the three-points-for-a-win era (since 1994-95), which Chivu can take as a big positive amid the nervy wins.