Inter 2-1 Parma (aet): Acerbi header sends Nerazzurri through in Coppa Italia as holders survive scare
Holders Inter are through to the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia but had to survive a scare before eventually beating Serie B side Parma 2-1 after extra time at San Siro.
Stanko Juric's ferocious effort towards the end of the first half looked like it was going to be enough for Fabio Pecchia's team, before Lautaro Martinez found the equaliser with Inter's first shot on target in the 88th minute.
The Nerazzurri were holding on at times in extra time as well, before Francesco Acerbi won it with a fine header.
Simone Inzaghi made seven changes to the side that drew 2-2 at Monza on Saturday, with Danilo D'Ambrosio, Robin Gosens and Denzel Dumfries among those coming in, while Gianluigi Buffon started in goal for Parma, but the 44-year-old had very little to do for the first 87 minutes of the tie.
After a quiet opening, it was the Serie B side who took a surprise lead in the 38th minute when Adrian Bernabe's ball forward was flicked by Simon Sohm into the path of Juric, who had only been on the pitch for 12 minutes after replacing the injured Dennis Man, and he fired a rocket of a shot into the top right corner past the hopeful dive of Andre Onana.
As Inter continued to struggle to break Parma down in the second half, Inzaghi turned to his substitutes, including Edin Dzeko as he went for it with an attacking trio of the Bosnian alongside Martinez and Joaquin Correa, and it eventually paid off.
With just over two minutes of normal time remaining, a deep ball in from Kristjan Asllani was only cleared as far as Martinez, whose shot deflected off Yordan Osorio and past Buffon to the relief of the home fans and to force extra time, though not before the former Juventus keeper made a smart stop to deny Dzeko a late winner.
The impressive visitors took the game to Inter in the extra 30 minutes, with Antoine Hainaut firing just wide after intercepting a loose pass from Roberto Gagliardini, but Inter stepped it up in the second period and won it thanks to Acerbi after Buffon punched a Federico Dimarco cross straight to the waiting centre-back, who headed it back over him and into the net.
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Danny Ings' stoppage-time strike rescued a point for West Ham as they drew 1-1 with Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Ings cancelled out Raul Jimenez's first-half goal as local bragging rights were shared in this London derby.
Fulham should have broken the deadlock in the 23rd minute, but Adama Traore headed Alex Iwobi's inviting cross wide from six yards out.
But the hosts were not to be denied just 60 seconds later. Smith Rowe beat the offside trap to latch onto Andreas Pereira's throughball, before crossing for Jimenez to tuck away.
West Ham went close to equalising on the hour mark when Jarrod Bowen brilliantly controlled Mohammed Kudus' cross, but was thwarted by Bernd Leno's smart reflex save.
The Hammers looked set to leave the Cottage empty-handed until the fourth minute of stoppage time, when substitute Ings took Bowen's centre into his stride before Leno could only help the fierce drive into the net.
Data Debrief: Jimenez continues to be scourge of Hammers
Jimenez continued his impressive scoring record against West Ham. The Mexican found the net against them in the Premier League for the sixth time; more than he has managed against any other side.
However, his efforts ultimately proved in vain. Despite an xG of just 0.53 - compared to Fulham's 1.61 - the Hammers struck with one of the last kicks of the game to prevent a third defeat in four matches.
It was Ings' first Premier League away goal since November 2022, while it was the latest West Ham have scored that gained points in the Premier League.
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David, King demand more from Soca Warriors in October window as League A survival on the line
Trinidad and Tobago’s interim head coach Derek King and captain Aubrey David were left ruing the Soca Warriors’s sub-par performances in the September window, which has their Concacaf Nations League, League A survival in the balance.
The Soca Warriors, who lost their opening contest 0-4 away to Honduras, were heavily favoured to take three points off French Guiana in the following encounter at home, but they were instead held to a goalless stalemate.
This was much to the disappointment of King, David, and the many spectators that flocked the Dwight Yorke Stadium, as that result left the Twin Island Republic sitting at the foot of Group B on a point. Jamaica (four points), Nicaragua (four points), Honduras (three points), Cuba (two points), and French Guiana (one point) complete the group.
The Soca Warriors now face a must-win scenario in their next two fixtures against Cuba on October 10 and 14 to have a slim chance at making the top two for a quarterfinal berth, but more importantly to avoid relegation to League B.
Having made the quarterfinal in the previous edition of the Concacaf Nations League, David believes there is a need for individual and collective introspection as they need to raise the standard of their game.
"It was a sad result for us. It's a draw, but it feels like a loss for us because three points would have put us in a good position in the group once again. Unfortunately, we didn't get going. We need to reset again because we have two important games coming up,” David said as he reflected on the outcome of their contest against French Guiana.
"I think we as a team have to look at ourselves in the mirror and go back to the drawing board and look at the things that brought us success in the last campaign. I think we need to be humble and have that hunger to get good results,” he added.
Alvin Jones echoed similar sentiments.
"I think each and everyone has to look in the mirror and decide what they want—whether we want to play big football or we just want to compete. I think we have a lot of work to do mentally and physically. Each and every player,” he noted.
Meanwhile, King, who was appointed ahead of the tournament following the dismissal of Angus Eve, felt his team could have done more to secure the three points against French Guiana.