ROME, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Inter were utterly dominant in the opening match of Serie A 26th round, but they were undone by Spezia 2-1 on Friday as Lautaro Martinez missed a penalty.
Inter were raring for a victory to keep their slim Scudetto hope alive and entered Friday's game with veteran goalkeeper Samir Handanovic getting a rare start.
Being aggressive from the beginning, Inter's efforts were rewarded with a penalty in the 12th minute. Lautaro stepped up, but his shot was at a good height for the goalkeeper, Bartlomiej Dragowski, to make the save.
Lautaro thought he had made up when he headed in straight after the break but the goal was canceled out as Romelu Lukaku wandered offside in the buildup.
Spezia went ahead in the 55th minute when M'Bala Nzola drew out the defenders and assisted for Daniel Maldini to place in a daisy-cutter.
Inter got back on level terms in the 83rd minute when Denzel Dumfries won another spot-kick, and this time Romelu Lukaku kept his cool to convert it.
As Inter were pushing forward in the last minutes, Dumfries went from hero to zero as he awarded Spezia a penalty, which Nzola sent to the top corner, despite Handanovic almost getting a finger to it.
It was a historic moment for Spezia, as the underdogs had never beaten Inter before. With the frustrated defeat, Inter still rank second with 50 points, but would drop to third should Lazio beat Bologna on Saturday. ■
