Matteo Darmian scored the only goal to lift Inter up to second in the Serie A standings as they edged past lowly Venezia 1-0 at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo.
The result saw Simone Inzaghi’s side win their sixth consecutive away league game while also keeping a clean sheet in each of those matches for the first time in the club’s history.
Inter broke the deadlock in the 16th minute after Lautaro Martinez’s excellent touch and volley was saved by Filip Stankovic, only for Darmian to tuck away the rebound.
Martinez continued to threaten in the first half, but saw an effort nine minutes before the break saved by the Venezia goalkeeper, while Mehdi Taremi curled a shot just wide.
Venezia, however, went close to levelling the contest shortly after the interval through Issa Doumbia, but the unmarked Italian saw his shot repelled by Yann Sommer.
Substitute Davide Frattesi spurned a glorious opportunity to double Inter’s lead in the 67th minute when one-on-one with Stankovic, but he was unable to convert.
Venezia went within inches of salvaging a point late on when Gianluca Busio curled an effort against the post, with Inter able to hold on for the win in the closing stages.
Inter are now just one point behind leaders Napoli, who are in action against Hellas Verona later on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Scudetto-chasing Inter impress
Having suffered disappointment in the Supercoppa Italiana final against rivals AC Milan, Inzaghi’s side responded excellently in their quest for the Serie A title.
Inter were worthy of their win having registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.79 from their 17 shots, while also restricting Venezia to just two efforts on target.
Darmian proved to be the unlikely match-winner, with the Italian scoring a goal in an away match in Serie A for the first time since January 2023 against Monza.
Venezia, meanwhile, have now conceded goals in each of their last 15 league games, the longest current streak without a clean sheet among among all teams in Serie A.
