Inter’s hectic fixture schedule led to Cristian Chivu rotating his starting XI for this trip, but the Nerazzurri showed few signs of needing to acclimatise.
Inside three minutes, Piotr Zielinski forced Lorenzo Montipo into a smart save down to his left, before Victor Nelsson made a heroic clearance to prevent Lautaro Martinez’s chip from bouncing into the bottom corner.
Pressure was incessant from the visitors at times, yet it still took something special to break through the Verona rearguard.
Hakan Calhanoglu floated a corner to the edge of the area where Zielinski was waiting, and he produced a side-footed volley that flew past a helpless Montipo to mark his first start of the campaign with a goal.
After Alessandro Bastoni’s header was denied by Montipo, Verona gradually began to gain a foothold, and their determination paid handsome dividends in the form of a surprise equaliser before the break.
Gift Orban picked out Giovane on the right, and he went down the outside of Bastoni before lashing a shot across Yann Sommer and into the far corner for his first goal in European football.
Things could’ve been even better for the Gialloblù before half-time, as Orban fired against the post in stoppage time.
Inter’s disjointed ending to the first half bled into the restart, with their previous dominance a distant memory amidst a cagey affair that Verona were having the better of.
That prompted Chivu into calling for the cavalry from the bench, with the likes of Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, and Federico Dimarco all called into action, yet they continued to struggle, failing to really test Montipo as the contest entered the closing stages.
Despite pinning Verona into their own third for most of the final 15 minutes, a routine save to stop Dimarco was the most strenuous work asked of Montipo, that was until deep into stoppage time.
Barella’s cross to the far post missed the Inter attackers and took a fortuitous bounce off Martin Frese, who could only watch on in agony as it drifted past the helpless Montipò.
It’s a heartbreaking result for Verona, who remain in the drop zone and see their winless home run extend to 12 games. Inter, meanwhile, got off the hook after a miserable second-half performance, and move within a point of defending champions SSC Napoli thanks to a ninth win in 10 matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Giovane (Hellas Verona)