Inter 2 Verona 2: Lopez strikes to keep pressure on Mazzarri

Verona struck a late equaliser to snatch a 2-2 draw from 10-man Inter at San Siro to keep the pressure on under-fire coach Walter Mazzarri.

Nicolas Lopez emerged from the bench to fire a low leveller two minutes from time to deny the hosts a victory which had seemingly been sealed by Mauro Icardi’s double.

Mazzarri’s side looked to be on the way to victory despite Luca Toni’s early opener, as Icardi volleyed a first-half equaliser.

Icardi tapped in a second but the drama was far from over as Gary Medel received his marching orders for handling in the area.

Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic saved the resultant penalty to keep his record of not conceding from the spot this season intact.

There was no reprieve though as Lopez made it three matches without a win for Mazzarri, who has been under pressure with media reports suggesting former defender Sinisa Mihajlovic could be brought back to San Siro as coach.

Verona made a much stronger start and went ahead with a slick counter-attack – led by the returning Emil Hallfredsson – that saw Lazaros Christodoulopoulos nod into the path of Toni and the veteran striker expertly volley home from six yards.

The hosts rallied and equalised in almost identical fashion in the 18th minute as a deep cross was nodded into the centre by Rodrigo Palacio and Icardi was on hand to volley in from close range.

It lifted Inter and they almost completed the turnaround moments later as Zdravko Kuzmanovic’s 25-yard curling shot cannoned off the post.

The end-to-end nature of the game continued with a superb reaction save from Rafael denying Nemanja Vidic’s powerful header before an inswinging Christodoulopoulos cross evaded everyone but not the razor-sharp Handanovic in Inter’s goal.

It took less than three minutes from the restart for Inter to take the lead as Palacio found space and drilled to the far post where Icardi tapped in his seventh league goal.

Verona had a chance to draw level from the spot after 50 minutes when Medel handled Juanito’s shot, earning him a second booking.

However, Handanovic guessed right and saved Toni’s penalty to register his third spot kick save of the season.

Christodoulopoulos hit the bar and Toni clipped wide from close range as the visitors pressed for an equaliser, which finally arrived as Lopez linked up with fellow substitute Javier Saviola and slammed home.