Chievo 0-2 Inter: Samuel and Milito strike late to spare Inter's blushes and relieve pressure on Claudio Ranieri

With the game barely a quarter of an hour old, a handball by Francesco Acerbi in the area was spotted, giving Inter an early chance to open the scoring from the spot. However, Milito’s penalty was hit straight down the middle, allowing Stefano Sorrentino to save with relative ease.

Claudio Ranieri’s men were left cursing their luck as the match progressed, as they peppered Sorretino’s goal with attempts from distance. A fantastic shot from Wesley Sneijder from the corner of the area smacked off the crossbar, before Dejan Stankovic volleyed an equally well struck effort inches over.

Try as they might, Inter could not find a breakthrough, and there were worrying moments near the end of the first half when Sergio Pellissier forced Julio Cesar into action after turning Lucio with ease.

Inter failed to step up a gear after the interval, as a determined rear-guard effort by Chievo saw chances at premium. A cross from the left by Sneijder was poked wide at the far post by Andrea Poli, before the Dutchman blasted a long range free kick over the bar.

The visitors looked resigned to another game without victory as a free kick by Sneijder was parried by Sorrentino, with Estaban Cambiasso blasting the rebound over the bar from point blank range.

However, two minutes later, Samuel popped up to head home a pinpoint corner from Sneijder to finally break Chievo’s resistance.

With the clock moving into injury time, Milito atoned for his earlier penalty miss by guiding Javier Zanetti’s cross home with his head to give Inter all three points and Ranieri some much needed relief from the speculation about his future.

The result sees Inter in sixth place, six points off Udinese in the final Europa League spot. Chievo meanwhile is 10th with 34 points