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In one of the key clashes of the weekend in Serie A, Inter Milan and Lazio played out a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico. In a chaotic night in Rome, both teams were shown one straight red card apiece. Lazio's Ciro Immobile was sent off in the 69th minute following an altercation with Inter Milan's Arturo Vidal, while Inter Milan's Sensi was red carded after he shoved Lazio's Patric in the 86th minute.
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Lazio suffered an early blow in the game as defender Ștefan Radu pulled a hamstring in the 16th minute and was replaced by Bastos who himself had to be replaced in the second half after a collision with Lukaku.
Lautaro Martinez broke the deadlock for Inter Milan in the 30th minute with a brilliant finish, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic equalised with an equally impressive header in the 55th minute.
The game had a lot of positives for both sides, as they both significantly improved their defences, and apart from the controversy in the second half, it was a well-deserved point for each team.
Here we take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 Injury woes for Lazio
Simone Inzaghi was forced into making an early substitution after defender Stefan Radu pulled a hamstring in the 16th minute following a clearance at the back. He had been struggling with the issue for some time and should not have started the game in the first place.
Adam Marušić too had to be taken out in the 35th minute. An injury crisis in the last campaign had seen derailed their title challenge back in February, so they need to be careful with their selection going forward.
What was even more unfortunate is that Bastos, who came on for the Romanian defender, picked up a knock after a collision with Romelu Lukaku and had to be taken out as a precaution in the second half, which meant they played the final 45 minutes of the game with a midfielder in Marco Parolo playing at the heart of the three-man defence.
#4 Lautaro Martinez shows his class
Inter Milan looked a bit sloppy in the early stages of the game, both in attack and defence. They had a few chances going ahead but Lazio's back three kept Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez in check. After Radu was substituted, the visitors started making some inroads into the final third.
The Inter Milan wingbacks Ivan Perisic and Achraf Hakimi made great use of the width and finally it was Perisic's mazy run that led to the Argentine forward finding the ball at his feet 12 yards out and he made no mistake in dispatching it home and he did so in quite some style.
It was the 23-year-old's third goal in as many games and will be key player for them as they look to mount a title challenge this season as well.
#3 Red card controversy
Players of both teams were red-carded in the game, first, it was Lazio's Immobile who had to go back in the 69th minute and later it was Sensi's turn in the 86th minute. The teams shared the spoils at the Olimpico, at the same time were equally responsible for some embarrassing antics on the field.
The match officials were quite lenient in the first half as they rarely reached into their pockets after foul play and let the game reset with a free-kick. In the second half though, especially after Lazio pulled one back, the tensions started to flare and the referee began booking the players.
It was Arturo Vidal's play-acting that forced the referee to award a straight red card to Immobile, though it was the Chilean who provoked the Italian forward. In an event of Karma, Inter's Sensi was also sent off after Patric drew a similar reaction foul from the midfielder.
#2 Lazio lacked the edge going forward
It was clear that out of the two teams, it was the Biancocelesti that were struggling to keep up with the pace and energy of Inter Milan. They were slower than the Nerazzurri and most of the attacks were broken down before they even crossed the half-line. Most of their counter-attacks fizzled out as they ended up passing the ball back and allowed Inter players to regroup.
They have not hit the top gear this term but showed marked improvement from their 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Atalanta last time around. They need to improve their fitness levels as the schedule will only get tighter as the season progresses.
#1 Antonio Conte seems to have found his ideal starting XI
Since the beginning of the campaign, Antonio Conte has experimented a lot with his starting XI and has fielded a different squad in each other the three league fixtures.
Though Inter dropped points for the first time this season tonight, they looked like a well-balanced side against Lazio. The wingbacks were especially impressive, with Hakimi and Perisic linking seamlessly with the forwards. Defensively, the big centre-backs managed to put in a decent shift and did not allow Lazio much space to attack from the middle.
Vidal has proved to be a brilliant addition to the squad and adds that grit and never-give-up attitude in the middle of the park.
