Five Serie A players including Milan star Christian Pulisic and Juventus’s Timothy Weah have been called up as part of Mauricio Pochettino’s latest USMNT squad ahead of the Nations League quarter-final double-header against Jamaica in November. 

Five Serie A players in latest USMNT squad

Pulisic, who has been one of Serie A’s most productive attackers so far this season, has been called up as usual, as has Rossoneri teammate Yunus Musah, who earned rave reviews after his performance in the 3-1 Champions League victory away against Real Madrid last week. 

Weah made it four goals from eight Serie A appearances this term with his opener in Juventus’s 2-0 win over Torino in the Derby della Mole on Saturday evening. He has also been called up alongside Bianconeri teammate Weston McKennie, who has again fought his way back into the Juventus first-team this season. 

Venezia midfielder Gianluca Busio is the fifth USA international based in Serie A to be called up for November’s fixtures. 

The USMNT will play twice against Jamaica, in Kingston initially, before hosting the Reggae Boyz in St. Louis four days later. 

Parma got themselves back on track with a precious victory away to rock bottom Venezia, as Emanuele Valeri and Ange-Yoan Bonny completed the comeback.

There was only one point separating these newly-promoted teams going into the weekend. The Lagunari suffered a narrow defeat to Inter, while the Ducali ended a run of four straight draws with their loss to Genoa. More importantly, Adrian Bernabé was ruled out until January, joining Hernani, Lautaro Valenti, Mateusz Kowalski and Alessandro Circati on the treatment table.

See how the game unfolded on the Liveblog.

It took just four minutes to break the deadlock, as Gaetano Oristanio won it back from Emanuele Valeri inside his own half and surged down the right, floating a cross to the back post that Hans Nicolussi Caviglia allowed to bounce and control with his chest before thumping the left-foot volley.

Valeri made up for the error by scoring the equaliser for Parma, as he was given too much space outside the box on a set-play routine and smashed the finish into the bottom corner.

Gianluca Busio’s lob was just over the bar and Benedyczak making his return to the starting XI after a serious injury drilled not far wide.

Ridgeciano Haps sprung the offside trap to fire his angled drive straight at Zion Suzuki, while Joel Pohjanpalo was offside when running onto the Oristanio through ball to drill into the far bottom corner on 63 minutes.

Venezia were left terribly frustrated, because after a series of shots were charged down in a chaotic move, Simon Sohm went on the counter-attack, set up Dennis Man for a shot that Filip Stankovic only parried into the path of substitute Ange-Yoan Bonny to give Parma the lead.

That really took the wind out of the Lagunari’s sails and they struggled to get back into it, a Pohjanpalo header on a corner straight at Suzuki and Christian Gytkjaer free kick drifting wide.

Instead, Parma secured their first Serie A victory in two months.

Venezia 1-2 Parma

Nicolussi Caviglia 4 (V), Valeri 17 (P), Bonny 68 (P)

09-11-2024 14:00

MatchDay 12

Stadio Pierluigi Penzo

Venezia

Parma

1 - 2

Player statistic

1st half

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia (Assist: Gaetano Oristanio)		5'
		17'		Emanuele Valeri (Assist: Dennis Man)

2nd half

		50'		Matteo Cancellieri
		68'		Ange-Yoan Bonny
Magnus Kofod Andersen		84'
		90'		Gabriel Charpentier

Match statistic

67

Possession %

33

12

Total shots

10

6

Shots on target

3

4

Shots off target

4

2

Blocked shots

3

6

Corners

6

5

Offsides

1

9

Fouls

10

Venezia

Parma

Starting lineups

35

Filip Stankovic

Goalkeeper

27

Antonio Candela

Defender

84'

4

Jay Idzes

Defender

30

Michael Svoboda

Defender

5

Ridgeciano Haps

Defender

84'

32

Alfred Duncan

Midfielder

64'

11

Gaetano Oristanio

Midfielder

6

Gianluca Busio

Midfielder

14

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia

Midfielder

73'

20

Joel Pohjanpalo

Attacker

77

Mikael Egill Ellertsson

Attacker

46'

31

Zion Suzuki

Goalkeeper

14

Emanuele Valeri

Defender

15

Enrico Del Prato

Defender

46

Giovanni Leoni

Defender

65'

20

Antoine Hainaut

Midfielder

98

Dennis Man

Midfielder

73'

16

Mandela Keita

Midfielder

65'

19

Simon Sohm

Midfielder

28

Valentin Mihăilă

Midfielder

65'

7

Adrian Benedyczak

Attacker

46'

22

Matteo Cancellieri

Attacker

Substitutes

15

Giorgio Altare

Defender

45

Antonio Raimondo

Attacker

22

Domen Crnigoj

Midfielder

1

Jesse Joronen

Goalkeeper

23

Matteo Grandi

Goalkeeper

33

Marin Sverko

Defender

97

Issa Doumbia

Midfielder

80

Saad El Haddad

Midfielder

21

Richie Sagrado

Defender

25

Joel Schingtienne

Defender

7

Francesco Zampano

Defender

46'

38

Magnus Kofod Andersen

Midfielder

64'

10

John Yeboah

Midfielder

73'

79

Franco Carboni

Defender

84'

9

Christian Gytkjaer

Attacker

84'

23

Drissa Camara

Midfielder

77

Gianluca Di Chiara

Defender

1

Leandro Chichizola

Goalkeeper

40

Edoardo Corvi

Goalkeeper

11

Pontus Almqvist

Attacker

61

Mohamed Anas Haj

Attacker

9

Gabriel Charpentier

Attacker

46'

4

Botond Balogh

Defender

65'

13

Ange-Yoan Bonny

Defender

65'

8

Nahuel Estévez

Midfielder

65'

26

Woyo Coulibaly

Defender

73'

Ademola Lookman was the best Serie A player in Round 11, according to Italian sports papers, followed by his teammate Isak Hien and Hellas Verona striker Casper Tengstedt.

Atalanta took centre stage in Serie A over the weekend, beating table leaders Napoli 3-0 at the Stadio Maradona.

Their victory was inspired by Lookman’s first-half brace and the Nigeria international – unsurprisingly – emerged as the best player from the latest weekend of action in Serie A.

As reported by Fantacalcio, Lookman’s average player rating from Italian sports papers was 8.

His Atalanta teammate Hien was also impressive in Naples, deserving a 7.5/10 rating. It’s just as much as Tengstedt got after Hellas Verona’s 3-2 victory over Roma, in which he scored a goal.

• Read more – Italy players in Premier League: Tonali-Milan calls, Vicario criticised

Italy strikers Mateo Retegui, Andrea Pinamonti, Moise Kean and Pietro Pellegri found the net for Atalanta, Genoa, Fiorentina and Empoli and were among the best Azzurri players in Serie A Round 11.

At the same time, Milan’s win over Monza was inspired by Mike Maignan’s saves and, most importantly, Tijjani Reijnders’ winner. Both Rossoneri stars were rated 7/10.

Below are the best-performing Serie A players from Round 11

Atalanta

Ederson, De Ketelaere, Retegui 7

Hien 7.5

Lookman 8

Bologna

Miranda, Orsolini 7

Empoli

Viti, Pellegri 7

Fiorentina

Kean 7

Genoa

Pinamonti 7

Inter

Sommer, Dimarco, Lautaro Martinez 7

Juventus

Cambiaso, Savona, Thuram, Yildiz 7

Lazio

Zaccagni, Dia 7

Milan

Maignan, Reijnders 7

Venezia

Stankovic 7.5

Verona

Tengstedt 7.5

Harroui 7

Lautaro Martinez vented his irritation at modern refereeing after Inter’s 1-0 win over Venezia, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan is already looking forward to the Scudetto showdown with Napoli.

It was on paper a fairly simple task for the reigning Champions of Italy, but in reality anything but, as they wasted numerous scoring opportunities even after the Lautaro Martinez cushioned header on Federico Dimarco’s cross.

Marcus Thuram was particularly guilty of failing to convert chances, along with Mkhitaryan, while Inter-owned Filip Stankovic also made some fine saves.

There was late drama at the 97^th minute when Marin Sverko thought he had equalised with the last kick of the game, but it was disallowed by VAR for handball as he jumped with Yann Bisseck.

The tension got to the Argentina international, who was angry with referee Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi for her overall approach.

“There were zero minutes of added time in the first half, but seven after the break. I think football needs to move forward and we are not doing that,” Lautaro Martinez told DAZN.

“This is why we are angry. If we want football to improve, we all have to do more. In any case, we take these three points and continue to do our work on the field. Of course, we also have our own blame to take for not killing the game off earlier, we did the same against Juventus. It’s a long season, but we have to improve in these details.”

Lautaro Martinez had bizarrely not scored a Serie A match at San Siro for eight months, since hosting Atalanta in February, so this felt like a weight off his shoulders.

“It was about time! I always say that I work for the team, I got two goals wrong in the first half, but I am glad because we took the points home.”

Lautaro Martinez irritated, Mkhitaryan targeting Napoli

Mkhitaryan wasted some big chances and had another disallowed for Federico Dimarco’s offside position in the build-up.

“Playing in this team is special, I really enjoy it and my teammates help me. I am trying to give my all, whether I play 60, 70 or 90 minutes,” Mkhitaryan told DAZN.

Although he is facing his former club in the Champions League midweek, the Armenian is already distracted by the next Serie A clash with the leaders.

“We’ve got to think about Arsenal first, then after that we can consider Napoli. It is going to be a very interesting match with Napoli, as it is a fight for the top of the table.”

The first Serie A round of November saw many times cement their positions in the upper part of the table, with Napoli also preserving their top spot despite a heavy 3-0 defeat at the hands of Atalanta. Inter survived a late scare against Venezia to reduce their gap to the leaders to one point, while Milan bounced back after their mid-week loss by winning at Monza.

Serie A table updated after Round 11

Antonio Conte’s Napoli crumbled to their second Serie A defeat of the season as Atalanta crushed them 3-0 on Sunday, courtesy of a brace from an inspired Ademola Lookman, before Mateo Retegui’s late goal.

The Partenopei’s loss presented Inter with a massive chance to close in on the league leaders, one they didn’t waste despite struggling more than expected to overcome Venezia. Lautaro ended his home drought by scoring the winner against Eusebio Di Francesco’s outfit, and the Nerazzurri will now face a potentially season-defining week, as they’ll play Arsenal and Napoli in four days.

Paulo Fonseca got a positive response from his Milan side, who secured a 1-0 win at Monza with star Rafael Leao once again starting from the bench, as Tijjani Reijnders returned from suspension to net the decider.

Juventus also returned to winning ways after two consecutive draws, as they emerged 2-0 winners at the Blue Energy Stadium against Udinese on Saturday.

Fiorentina found their fifth consecutive victory by beating Torino 1-0, meaning they are now fourth, level on 22 points with Atalanta and just three points behind Napoli.

Ivan Juric’s Roma continued to struggle as they lost 3-2 to Verona, suffering their third defeat from the last four Serie A games.

Serie A League Table

Simone Inzaghi admits Inter were far too wasteful in the hard-fought 1-0 win over Venezia and ‘anything’ could’ve happened at the end, but his focus now is on Arsenal rather than Napoli.

The Nerazzurri found it considerably tougher than expected against relegation battlers Venezia, mainly because they wasted so many clear-cut scoring opportunities, above all with Marcus Thuram and Hakan Calhanoglu.

Lautaro Martinez finally found the breakthrough with a cushioned header on Federico Dimarco’s cross, his first Serie A goal at San Siro in eight months, but there was still time for a huge scare.

Marin Sverko had equalised for Venezia with the last kick of the game, then disallowed by VAR for handball.

“We should’ve been more clinical, but to be honest I congratulated the team because the first half was excellent and we wasted big opportunities with Mkhitaryan and Thuram. I think it would’ve been an easier game for us if we had taken one of those,” Inzaghi told DAZN.

“After the break, also with the changes made by Venezia, we lost our shape a little bit and started to concede chances too. Once we broke the deadlock, the big regret is that we didn’t kill off the game and when it is in the balance, anything can still happen.

“Along with the handball, there was also a push on Bisseck. We should nonetheless have been more clinical, because you cannot leave the game open like that against an impressive Venezia side.”

Inzaghi keeps focus on Arsenal before Napoli

Inter now move within a point of leaders Napoli ahead of next weekend’s showdown, but before that they have a huge Champions League clash with Arsenal, so squad rotation is going to be essential.

Antonio Conte argued today that the Partenopei cannot compete with Inter or even Atalanta in terms of squad depth in the title race.

“These are all strong teams who invested a lot of money in the summer to reinforce, including Inter, who brought in important players to give us a big hand. It will be a very balanced campaign, we are all crammed up there in a few points and games like this can make the difference,” replied Inzaghi.

“This is our fifth game in two weeks, there are another two to come against Arsenal and Napoli, but we’ve got Calhanoglu back and Acerbi will be available on Wednesday too. Carlos Augusto is the only one still out and as a coach I will need everyone.”

Inzaghi was asked if the clash between first and second in the Serie A table will represent a turning point in the Scudetto race.

“I don’t see it being a turning point. It is important yes, but in two days we are up against one of the best teams in Europe with huge quality, so clearly my focus right now is on Arsenal,” concluded the coach.

Venezia had a last-gasp equaliser disallowed by VAR against Inter without the need for an On-Field Review, caused by the Marin Sverko handling offence.

The incident occurred with the last kick of the game at San Siro with the Nerazzurri leading 1-0 through a Lautaro Martinez header.

Sverko and Yann Bisseck both went to meet the Ridgeciano Haps cross at the back post and it was bundled into the net after a series of ricochets between them, causing shockwaves in the Scudetto race.

However, it was disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee because it struck Sverko on the arm that was positioned on the back of Bisseck’s neck.

See how it unfolded on the Liveblog.

Why VAR had to intervene on Venezia goal

DAZN refereeing expert Luca Marelli explained that it was disallowed directly by the VAR without the need for an On-Field Review by referee Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi because a handling offence directly leading to a goal is automatically punished, whether it is considered to be intentional or not.

As this was an objective ruling confirming the touch on the arm, the VAR could over-rule the goal from the booth.

It is also arguable that Sverko fouled Bisseck by jumping with both arms on his back, but the handling offence is sufficient to disallow the goal.

Inter took a vital three points against Venezia in a match that saw both teams have plenty of chances, with the Nerazzurri struggling to capitalise on their dominance. Here are the player ratings.

Sommer 7 – He pulled off some vital saves in a match that he was supposed to watch from the bench. Old but gold.

Pavard 6 – He was probably the most reliable of a shaky defensive trio, despite lacking quality when building up.

De Vrij 5.5 – The captain of a ship that risked sinking on several occasions in the first half.

Bastoni 5.5 – While his qualities are not in doubt, he looked insecure at times against a lively Venezia attack (70′ Bisseck 6)

Dumfries 6.5 – A real nightmare for Haps, his physicality proved an important factor for Inter.

Barella 5.5 – He was surprisingly imprecise and lacked both calmness and composure, paving the way for Venezia’ repeated breaks. (70′ Calhanoglu 6.5)

Zielinski 6 – (84′ Frattesi n/a) A valuable addition in terms of quality, but his defensive contribution is far from matching Calhanoglu’s. To be used in that role only when desperately needed.

Mkhitaryan 5.5 – Ironically, he only scored when Dimarco set him up from an offside position. His mistakes could have proved costly to his side.

Dimarco 7 – A simply divine left foot that can create dangers out of nowhere even when he’s not on his best night (76′ Darmian 6)

Thuram 5 – While he had his fair share of bad luck, he jeopardised a series of promising attacks for his sides by making the wrong decision every time.

Lautaro Martinez 6.5 – Rarely seen, he did enough to earn Inter three massive points. Decisive striker (70′ Taremi 6).

Inzaghi 6.5 – For better or for worse, this Inter side seem capable of everything. From moments of spectacular and offensive play to unacceptable defensive distractions – he’s probably aware they are required to strike a balance in the long term if they want to be consistent enough to compete for titles.

Venezia ratings against Inter

Venezia: Stankovic 7; Idzes 6, Svoboda 6, Altare 5.5 (46′ Sverko 6); Zampano 5 (77′ Ellertsson n/a), Crnigoj 5.5 (46′ Busio 6.5), Nicolussi Caviglia 6.5 (83′ Yeboah n/a), Andersen 6 (77′ Duncan n/a), Haps 5.5; Oristanio 6.5, Pohjanpalo 6. Di Francesco 6.5

Lautaro Martinez scored his first Serie A goal at San Siro for eight months to eventually break down Venezia with a huge late scare and take Inter within a point of leaders Napoli.

The Nerazzurri had Hakan Calhanoglu, Francesco Acerbi and Kristjan Asllani not fully fit, with Carlos Augusto out of action, so Piotr Zielinski stepped in as the playmaker. The Lagunari were fresh from a 3-2 comeback victory after trailing 2-0 to 10-man Udinese midweek and started Inter youth products Filip Stankovic and Gaetano Oristanio.

See how it unfolded on the Liveblog.

Lautaro Martinez’s half-volley skimmed the upright from just inside the area as Marcus Thuram cushioned down a cross, then the Argentine’s glancing header on a corner flashed across the face of goal.

Federico Dimarco won it back in midfield to send Thuram and Nicolò Barella clear on goal, but they both failed to make the most of that opportunity, while Thuram also fired against the side-netting after shaking off Giorgio Altare.

Denzel Dumfries rolled across the face of goal for the Henrikh Mkhitaryan tap-in at the back post, but he didn’t get enough power on it and Stankovic was able to parry.

With all these wasted opportunities, they were almost caught out at the other end, as Joel Pohjanpalo flicked on a Jay Idzes cross from the left, so Yann Sommer made a sensational reaction save on Oristanio’s tap-in.

Inter finally had the ball in the net on 51 minutes when Mkhitaryan started the move, Alessandro Bastoni spread it down the left to Dimarco, who rolled across for the first-time finish with the inside of the left boot. However, Dimarco was offside on the Mkhitaryan goal and it was disallowed by VAR.

Moments later, Venezia had a very similar team move cut short by Sommer’s save on Idzes, while Stankovic got down with one glove to intercept the Lautaro Martinez cross-shot, followed by Mkhitaryan firing the rebound over.

Stankovic also palmed a Dumfries header over, but the breakthrough came at last when Dimarco whipped in a trademark cross from the left for Lautaro Martinez’s cushioned header at the back post. Incredibly, the Argentina international had not scored at San Siro in Serie A for 249 days, since February 28 against Atalanta.

Lautaro Martinez finishes off a 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 cross from Federico Dimarco

@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/oVtfn037J1

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 3, 2024

It should’ve been 2-0 moments later on another fantastic Dimarco cross, but Thuram’s first touch was poor and then he fired straight at Stankovic from seven yards.

Bastoni went off with cramp and Calhanoglu made his comeback after a month out. Stankovic made a splendid save to keep out the Thuram header at the top corner, but Medhi Taremi’s follow-up was deflected over by a defender’s arm. However, VAR ruled Thuram was offside and it was therefore not a penalty.

Stankovic was again decisive on a Calhanoglu scorcher from outside the box and Stefan de Vrij’s free header was wide from a corner.

There was an incredible last-gasp situation when Marin Sverko bundled a Ridgeciano Haps cross into the box at the back post at the 97th minute. However, VAR confirmed Sverko had knocked it in with his hand while jumping with Yann Bisseck and the goal was disallowed, followed immediately by the final whistle.

Inter 1-0 Venezia

Lautaro Martinez 65 (I)

03-11-2024 19:45

MatchDay 11

San Siro Stadium (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza)

Inter

Venezia

1 - 0

Player statistic

1st half

Benjamin Pavard

31'

2nd half

		49'		Francesco Zampano
Lautaro Martínez (Assist: Federico Dimarco)		65'
Davide Frattesi		90+8'

Match statistic

57

Possession %

43

20

Total shots

7

8

Shots on target

2

6

Shots off target

3

6

Blocked shots

2

9

Corners

3

2

Offsides

1

14

Fouls

15

Inter

Venezia

Starting lineups

1

Yann Sommer

Goalkeeper

95

Alessandro Bastoni

Defender

70'

28

Benjamin Pavard

Defender

32

Federico Dimarco

Defender

76'

6

Stefan de Vrij

Defender

2

Denzel Dumfries

Midfielder

22

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Midfielder

23

Nicolò Barella

Midfielder

70'

7

Piotr Zielinski

Midfielder

84'

10

Lautaro Martínez

Attacker

71'

9

Marcus Thuram

Attacker

35

Filip Stankovic

Goalkeeper

7

Francesco Zampano

Defender

77'

15

Giorgio Altare

Defender

46'

4

Jay Idzes

Defender

30

Michael Svoboda

Defender

5

Ridgeciano Haps

Defender

22

Domen Crnigoj

Midfielder

46'

11

Gaetano Oristanio

Midfielder

14

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia

Midfielder

83'

38

Magnus Kofod Andersen

Midfielder

77'

20

Joel Pohjanpalo

Attacker

Substitutes

15

Francesco Acerbi

Defender

11

Joaquín Correa

Attacker

8

Marko Arnautovic

Attacker

13

Josep Martínez

Goalkeeper

17

Tajon Buchanan

Attacker

12

Raffaele Di Gennaro

Goalkeeper

42

Tomas Palacios

Defender

20

Hakan Calhanoglu

Midfielder

70'

31

Yann Bisseck

Defender

70'

99

Mehdi Taremi

Attacker

71'

36

Matteo Darmian

Defender

76'

16

Davide Frattesi

Midfielder

84'

79

Franco Carboni

Defender

45

Antonio Raimondo

Attacker

1

Jesse Joronen

Goalkeeper

9

Christian Gytkjaer

Attacker

23

Matteo Grandi

Goalkeeper

27

Antonio Candela

Defender

97

Issa Doumbia

Midfielder

80

Saad El Haddad

Midfielder

21

Richie Sagrado

Defender

25

Joel Schingtienne

Defender

6

Gianluca Busio

Midfielder

46'

33

Marin Sverko

Defender

46'

32

Alfred Duncan

Midfielder

77'

77

Mikael Egill Ellertsson

Attacker

77'

10

John Yeboah

Midfielder

83'

Goalkeeper Filip Stankovic was one of Venezia’s best-performing players in his side’s first half against Inter at San Siro, as he frustrated his parent club with some nice saves and an overall authoritative display.

Son of Nerazzurri legend Dejan Stankovic, the 22-year-old joined the San Siro outfit in 2014 and spent all his teenage years coming through Inter’s youth ranks, although he never made a competitive appearance for them.

Stankovic joined Venezia last summer and gradually became a starter for Eusebio Di Francesco’s side, stealing Jesse Joronen’s place.

Filip Stankovic: who is Inter loanee impressing at Venezia

Filip Stankovic was born in Roma in 2002, the city where his father Dejan Stankovic played back then, before swapping Lazio for Inter in 2004 and going on to become a legend for the Nerazzurri, as a member of their treble-winning team in 2010.

Dejan’s son started playing for Inter’s youth sides in 2014 and would move to the first team in 2020-2021, when he was called-up for some competitive games by then-coach Antonio Conte, without ever making his debut.

The Nerazzurri started loaning Filip Stankovic out in 2021, when he temporarily moved to Dutch side Volendam, where he would remain for two seasons.

He was then loaned to Sampdoria, playing 38 Serie B games for the Blucerchiati before he was signed by Venezia in the summer of 2024, once again in a loan deal, which also includes an obligation to buy.

Filip Stankovic proved his worth during Venezia’s meeting with Inter at the San Siro, when he made three saves in the opening 45 minutes to prevent the hosts from taking the lead, particularly with a miraculous stop to deny Henrik Mkhitaryan from close range.

Inter’s Federico Dimarco looked wary of a Venezia side that have ‘quality’ and ‘confidence’ after getting their second Serie A win of the season mid-week against Udinese, as he was one of the players confirmed by coach Simone Inzaghi in the starting XI after their 3-0 away victory at Empoli.

Dimarco is set to make his 150th appearance in a Nerazzurri shirt against Eusebio Di Francesco’s side and after helping his childhood team secure their 20th Scudetto last May he said they expected a ‘difficult season’, as competition has increased.

Dimarco wary of Venezia’s ‘quality’, Inter expected ‘difficult season’

“We know we face a team with great qualities, they won their last game against Udinese at home so they have confidence,” Dimarco told DAZN in a pre-match interview before their San Siro clash against Venezia.

“We need to play our game.”

Atalanta defeated Napoli 3-0 earlier on Sunday, a defeat which could help Inter close in on the Serie A leaders if they don’t lose points against Venezia, before their crucial home meeting with Antonio Conte’s outfit scheduled for next week.

“It was a nice start [to the season], with many teams taking the first spot in turn,” the Italy international added.

“We knew this would be a difficult season, many teams were strengthened, us included.

“We need to play our game tonight, then think about the next ones.”

The likes of Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram and Nicolò Barella were all confirmed for the game despite starting during the Nerazzurri’s 3-0 win at Empoli just four days ago – after Inzaghi explained having made his choices in his team’s interest, Dimarco added that Inter’s ‘squad depth’ is an important factor to handle a packed fixture schedule.

“Squad depth helps a lot in terms of rotations,” Dimarco concluded.

“You can’t play every time at the same level, so it’s right to rest in some games.”

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi believes to have acted in his team’s ‘interest’ by deciding to make limited rotations against Venezia, also adding that they didn’t watch Napoli’s defeat at the hands of Atalanta earlier on Sunday.

The Nerazzurri manager made little changes from his side’s last game at Empoli mid-week, despite fixtures against Arsenal and Napoli looming over the Nerazzurri in the next seven days, as both Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram start in attack, with Nicolò Barella confirmed in midfield.

Inzaghi: limited rotations are in Inter’s ‘interest’, Calhanoglu and Acerbi updates

“The only thing I think about is tonight’s game,” Inzaghi told DAZN in a pre-match interview.

“Everyone recovered well from the last game, then I tried to make the best choices for this game.

“As managers, we always think that our choice is for the best, then you have to see how games play out, but it’s easier to speak after. You have to make decisions beforehand. and I did it in the team’s interest.”

Antonio Conte’s Napoli have suffered their second loss of the season at home against Atalanta, giving Inter a chance to cut their gap from the Serie A leaders to one point before their head-to-head next Sunday, but Inzaghi insisted his focus is solely on what his team ‘can do’.

“We were training today at noon, I only think about my team and what I can do,” he added.

“We look at other teams’ results, but we try to do our best with our players.”

Hakan Calhanoglu recovered from injury but will be on the bench, as Piotr Zielinski will start again in his place, where he was already deployed one week ago in the Nerazzurri’s thrilling 4-4 draw against Juventus. Francesco Acerbi is also back, and while they’re not still at their best Inzaghi admitted they are ‘able to help’ if needed.

“Acerbi and Calhanoglu worked with the team in the last two days,” Inzaghi said.

“It’s still too little, but we had positive signs; we waited a bit more, but they’ll be able to help in case we need them.

“Zielinski can play in that [Calhanoglu] role. He always played as a mezzala, or in a two-man midfield at times.

“But he’s a very smart player, we had issues with Calhanoglu and Asslani in these games, so Barella and Zielinski must help us in a position where they played just a few times, but doing very well.”

Piotr Zielinski takes the midfield reins with Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez, as Inter try to close on leaders Napoli against Venezia.

It kicks off at San Siro at 19.45 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s four Serie A games on the Liveblog.

The Nerazzurri have an opportunity to blow the Scudetto race wide open again, as Napoli were beaten 3-0 at home by Atalanta this afternoon, so a victory here would take them within a point of top spot.

Hakan Calhanoglu and Francesco Acerbi are back on the bench after several weeks out injured, but not risked from the start, as they hope to play against Arsenal in the Champions League midweek.

Instead, Zielinski is the playmaker, with Carlos Augusto and Kristjan Asllani not fully fit.

They were expected to rotate the strikers too, but Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez lead the way.

Venezia had a truly disastrous start to the season following promotion via the play-offs, with change of coach to Eusebio Di Francesco.

There have been signs of recent improvement, as they drew 2-2 away to Monza, then completed an epic comeback from 2-0 down to beat 10-man Udinese 3-2 on Wednesday evening.

Bjarki Bjarkason is the only remaining absentee, with Marin Sverko not at 100 per cent either.

There are quite a few familiar faces in the squad, as Filip Stankovic is on loan from Inter and the son of former midfielder Dejan Stankovic.

Gaetano Oristanio is also on loan from Inter after coming up through their youth academy.

Inter vs. Venezia line-ups

Inter: Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Zielinski, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; M Thuram, Lautaro Martinez

Venezia: Stankovic; Idzes, Svoboda, Altare; Zampano, Crnigoj, Nicolussi Caviglia, Andersen, Haps; Oristanio, Pohjanpalo

03-11-2024 19:45

MatchDay 11

San Siro Stadium (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza)

Inter

Venezia

1 - 0

Player statistic

1st half

Benjamin Pavard

31'

2nd half

		49'		Francesco Zampano
Lautaro Martínez (Assist: Federico Dimarco)		65'
Davide Frattesi		90+8'

Match statistic

57

Possession %

43

20

Total shots

7

8

Shots on target

2

6

Shots off target

3

6

Blocked shots

2

9

Corners

3

2

Offsides

1

14

Fouls

15

Inter

Venezia

Starting lineups

1

Yann Sommer

Goalkeeper

95

Alessandro Bastoni

Defender

70'

28

Benjamin Pavard

Defender

32

Federico Dimarco

Defender

76'

6

Stefan de Vrij

Defender

2

Denzel Dumfries

Midfielder

22

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Midfielder

23

Nicolò Barella

Midfielder

70'

7

Piotr Zielinski

Midfielder

84'

10

Lautaro Martínez

Attacker

71'

9

Marcus Thuram

Attacker

35

Filip Stankovic

Goalkeeper

7

Francesco Zampano

Defender

77'

15

Giorgio Altare

Defender

46'

4

Jay Idzes

Defender

30

Michael Svoboda

Defender

5

Ridgeciano Haps

Defender

22

Domen Crnigoj

Midfielder

46'

11

Gaetano Oristanio

Midfielder

14

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia

Midfielder

83'

38

Magnus Kofod Andersen

Midfielder

77'

20

Joel Pohjanpalo

Attacker

Substitutes

15

Francesco Acerbi

Defender

11

Joaquín Correa

Attacker

8

Marko Arnautovic

Attacker

13

Josep Martínez

Goalkeeper

17

Tajon Buchanan

Attacker

12

Raffaele Di Gennaro

Goalkeeper

42

Tomas Palacios

Defender

20

Hakan Calhanoglu

Midfielder

70'

31

Yann Bisseck

Defender

70'

99

Mehdi Taremi

Attacker

71'

36

Matteo Darmian

Defender

76'

16

Davide Frattesi

Midfielder

84'

79

Franco Carboni

Defender

45

Antonio Raimondo

Attacker

1

Jesse Joronen

Goalkeeper

9

Christian Gytkjaer

Attacker

23

Matteo Grandi

Goalkeeper

27

Antonio Candela

Defender

97

Issa Doumbia

Midfielder

80

Saad El Haddad

Midfielder

21

Richie Sagrado

Defender

25

Joel Schingtienne

Defender

6

Gianluca Busio

Midfielder

46'

33

Marin Sverko

Defender

46'

32

Alfred Duncan

Midfielder

77'

77

Mikael Egill Ellertsson

Attacker

77'

10

John Yeboah

Midfielder

83'

Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez start again in the Inter attack against strugglers Venezia, but Nicolò Barella is expected to go to the bench.

It kicks off at 20:45 CET (18:45 GMT) at the Stadio Meazza in San Siro, Milan.

The Nerazzurri beat Empoli 3-0 away on Wednesday, while Venezia secured a comeback win over regional rivals Udinese.

Alessandro Bastoni and Barella are expected to rest for the Nerazzurri this evening, making room for Yann Bisseck and Piotr Zielinski. Davide Frattesi, scorer of a brace against Empoli, will start again in the middle of the park.

No rotations in attack where Thuram and Lautaro Martinez will start again for the defending Serie A champions.

Denzel Dumfries is favourite over Matteo Darmian as a right midfielder.

Inter loanee Filip Stankovic is expected to start between the sticks for Venezia and the same is true of Gaetano Oristanio in attack.

Bjarki Bjarkason is unavailable for the Lagunari, while Carlos Augusto and Kristjan Asllani are out of action for Inter.

Inter vs Venezia – where to watch on TV

The Stadio Meazza clash is available on TNT Sports 1 in the UK and can also be streamed on OneFootball. Fans in the USA can stream it live on Paramount+. BeIN Sports and beIN SPORTS CONNECT show the game live in Australia and New Zealand.

Inter vs Venezia – probable line-ups

Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Bisseck, De Vrij, Pavard; Dumfries, Frattesi, Zielinski, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Lautaro Martinez.

Venezia (3-5-2): Stankovic; Altare, Svoboda. Idzses; Zampano, Nicolussi Caviglia, Duncan, Busio, Haps; Oristanio, Pohjanpalo.

Hakan Calhanoglu received a less than warm welcome back to training after injury, showing off the damage done by one of his Inter teammates as he warms up for Venezia and Arsenal.

The midfielder has been out of action since sustaining a muscular injury during international duty with Turkey on September 7.

He returned to training today along with defender Francesco Acerbi, who are both expected to feature on Sunday evening at San Siro against Venezia in Serie A.

If Calhanoglu was expecting a gentle reintroduction to the training ground, he did not get it, because he showed off the nasty cut to his shin on Instagram Stories.

Calhanoglu shows off Inter scars

There should be wide-scale squad rotation from coach Simone Inzaghi ahead of the Champions League showdown against Arsenal.

There are reports Josep Martinez could get his debut in goal rather than Yann Sommer, with Mehdi Taremi stepping in for Marcus Thuram.

It remains to be seen whether Kristjan Asllani will be fit to start, so Piotr Zielinski could be in midfield.

Venezia completed an extraordinary turnaround from 2-0 down to beat high-flying Udinese 3-2 with a pair of Joel Pohjanpalo penalties, but Isaak Toure’s red card proved costly.

This was a local Friuli-Venezia-Giulia derby on the Laguna and the hosts finally ended their dismal run of results with a 2-2 draw at Monza, but Sverko was not fully fit. The Friulani were still missing Florian Thauvin, Alexis Sanchez, Thomas Kristensen, Gerard Deulofeu, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and Arthur Atta.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Sandi Lovric tested Filip Stankovic at the near post after a nutmeg, while John Yeboah failed to make the most of a terrible Jesper Karlstrom back-pass.

Udinese broke the deadlock when Lovric surged forward from midfield, combined with Iker Bravo and swept in with the inside of the boot from the edge of the area.

They grabbed another a few minutes later, as Jaka Bijol intercepted the poor Stankovic clearance and Iker Bravo drilled through a defender’s legs into the near bottom corner. It was the young Spaniard’s debut Serie A goal.

It was nearly 3-0 within 120 seconds of that, as Stankovic got down for a strong one-handed save on Lorenzo Lucca’s strike.

Venezia received a penalty when Joel Pohjanpalo ran onto the Alfred Duncan through ball and was ready to shoot as he was bundled over by Lautaro Giannetti. The Lagunari veteran converted it himself, having previously missed his only other Serie A spot-kick.

Iker Bravo nodded wide from Hassane Kamara’s cross, but Gaetano Oristanio came on for the second half and immediately set up Duncan to steer wide from a very promising position.

Oristanio was brought down by Isaak Toure right on the edge of the penalty area, so Udinese were reduced to 10 men. Venezia took advantage immediately, as Hans Nicolussi Caviglia bent the resulting free kick around the wall into the far bottom corner to equalise.

The hosts poured forward, Maduka Okoye with a strong hand on the Gianluca Busio strike and Pohjanpalo sliding in just a second too late to meet the Ellertsson cross at the far stick.

Christian Kabasele came sliding in to charge down the Duncan effort, but he did it with his arm, so Venezia received their second penalty of the match. Pohjanpalo fired it into the same bottom corner as the first, but this time Okoye was left stranded to complete the turnaround from 0-2 to 3-2.

Venezia 3-2 Udinese

Lovric 19 (U), Iker Bravo 25 (U), Pohjanpalo pens 41, 86 (V), Nicolussi Caviglia 56 (V)

Sent off: Toure 53 (U)

30-10-2024 17:30

MatchDay 10

Stadio Pierluigi Penzo

Venezia

Udinese

3 - 2

Player statistic

1st half

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia		11'
		17'		Martín Payero
		19'		Sandi Lovric (Assist: Iker Bravo)
		25'		Iker Bravo
		40'		Lautaro Giannetti
Joel Pohjanpalo		41'

2nd half

		53'		Isaak Touré
Hans Nicolussi Caviglia		56'
Ridgeciano Haps		70'
Joel Pohjanpalo		86'
Gaetano Oristanio		90+6'
		90+5'		Jaka Bijol
		90+5'		Jesper Karlström

Match statistic

57

Possession %

43

18

Total shots

15

7

Shots on target

5

5

Shots off target

8

6

Blocked shots

2

2

Corners

6

3

Offsides

9

Fouls

13

Venezia

Udinese

Starting lineups

35

Filip Stankovic

Goalkeeper

27

Antonio Candela

Defender

46'

15

Giorgio Altare

Defender

80'

30

Michael Svoboda

Defender

5

Ridgeciano Haps

Defender

32

Alfred Duncan

Midfielder

6

Gianluca Busio

Midfielder

74'

14

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia

Midfielder

73'

10

John Yeboah

Midfielder

46'

20

Joel Pohjanpalo

Attacker

77

Mikael Egill Ellertsson

Attacker

40

Maduka Okoye

Goalkeeper

11

Hassane Kamara

Defender

63'

Isaak Touré

Defender

29

Jaka Bijol

Defender

19

Kingsley Ehizibue

Defender

30

Lautaro Giannetti

Defender

63'

25

Jesper Karlström

Midfielder

5

Martín Payero

Midfielder

8

Sandi Lovric

Midfielder

78'

21

Iker Bravo

Attacker

55'

17

Lorenzo Lucca

Attacker

78'

Substitutes

79

Franco Carboni

Defender

45

Antonio Raimondo

Attacker

22

Domen Crnigoj

Midfielder

12

Bruno Bertinato

Goalkeeper

1

Jesse Joronen

Goalkeeper

23

Matteo Grandi

Goalkeeper

97

Issa Doumbia

Midfielder

80

Saad El Haddad

Midfielder

21

Richie Sagrado

Defender

25

Joel Schingtienne

Defender

7

Francesco Zampano

Defender

46'

11

Gaetano Oristanio

Midfielder

46'

38

Magnus Kofod Andersen

Midfielder

73'

9

Christian Gytkjaer

Attacker

74'

33

Marin Sverko

Defender

80'

93

Daniele Padelli

Goalkeeper

Răzvan Sava

Goalkeeper

23

Enzo Ebosse

Defender

4

James Abankwah

Defender

22

Brenner

Attacker

Damián Pizarro

Attacker

16

Matteo Palma

Defender

Rui Modesto

Midfielder

27

Christian Kabasele

Defender

55'

33

Jordan Zemura

Defender

63'

6

Oier Zarraga

Midfielder

63'

10

Florian Thauvin

Attacker

78'

9

Keinan Davis

Attacker

78'