Jovetic pushes Inter over Olympique Lyon, 1-0

A shot by Stevan Jovetic following a nice steal and move from Gabriel Barbosa and pass from Joao Mario was enough to propel Inter Milan to a 1-0 win over Ligue One side Olympique Lyon Monday at Nanjing.

It was the first of three games for the Nerazzurri in the International Champions Cup 2017.

Jovetic’s shot came from inside the box after Mario poked the ball back to him.

It highlighted a spirited offense shown in the second half.

Inter dominated possession only allowing scant chances for Lyon to even cross midfield in the last 45 minutes of the game.

"We won 1-0 and could easily have scored more," Luciano Spalletti, Inter Milan boss said after the game. "But the most important thing was our balance on the pitch. We kept the right distances between defense, midfield and attack, as well as between individual players.”

Lyon had just a few chances to test the Inter defense and goalkeeper Samir Handanovic that was questionable in a 1-1 draw to Bundesliga side Schalke 04 on Friday.

In the first half, neither team impressed offensively, leaving both defenses relatively untested until just before halftime. Both squads made some furious attempts at goal, most sailing wide or long of goal.

"In the first half, we made some mistakes trying to win back the ball and made some pointless runs,” Spalletti said.

The best opportunity for Lyon came in the first half when Bertrand Traore fired a shot from about 30 yards out that just missed the target.

Éder and Roberto Gagliardini did challenge the Lyon defense in the first half with strikes that were handled by the defense.

In the second half, Barbosa and Ivan Perisic each had chances that were halted before Jovetic connected on his game-winning strike.

Extended highlights

Inter will now travel to Singapore for the last half of its Asian tour. The Nerazzurri will take on Bundesliga champs Bayern Munich on July 27 and Premier League winners Chelsea on July 29.