Inter Milan moved to within three points of Serie A leaders Napoli after a narrow 1-0 win over Verona at the San Siro.

Coach Simone Inzaghi made 10 changes to the team that drew 3-3 with Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals in midweek, with the Italian clearly looking ahead to next week's return leg.

Inter went into kick-off six points adrift of Antonio Conte's side following back-to-back defeats in the league and Napoli's win over Lecce earlier in the day.

But the defending champions made a quick start and were awarded a penalty in the ninth minute when Verona defender Nicolas Valentini was adjudged to have handled in the area.

Albania midfielder Kristjan Asllani stepped up and sent Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo the wrong way to open the scoring with his first Serie A goal of the season.

The hosts continued to dominate against a Verona side that had lost just one of their last five league games, but neither side were able to create any clear-cut chances.

In fact, Asllani's strike was one of just three shots on target between the two sides in the 90 minutes.

But with back-to-back league defeats and a Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona to come on Tuesday (20:00 BST), the manner of the victory will not matter to Inter.

The win leaves Inter three points behind leaders Napoli with three games in hand for both sides.