A late goal by Inter defender Matteo Darmian helped Antonio Conte’s men beat relegation-threatened Cagliari. Elsewhere, Juventus beat Genoa 3-1 to consolidate their position in the league table, while Napoli, Lazio, and Atalanta kept pace with them.
Internazionale were made to work hard by a relegation-threatened Cagliari for a narrow 1-0 win. The Nerazzurri did get a timely reward for all their efforts, as Matteo Darmian scored 13 minutes from full-time. As a result, Inter increased their lead at the top of the Serie A table to 11 points.
Conte chose to partner Alexis Sanchez up top with Romelu Lukaku for this match as Lautaro Martinez was given a rest. While the table-toppers did enjoy much of the possession in this one and took far more shots, they were unable to find a breakthrough until the last moments of the match. Substitute Achraf Hakimi was played in by Lukaku, and the Moroccan delivered a dangerous cross across the box to Darmian, who blasted home from close range.
The goal triggered huge celebrations in San Siro, which were joined by the manager Conte himself. Inter find themselves 11 points clear at the top of the table with eight more games to play this season.
Last season’s title-winners, Juventus, kept their UEFA Champions League qualification hopes intact as they beat Genoa 3-1. The Bianconeri went ahead in the fourth minute, thanks to Dejan Kulusevski’s curling effort from just inside the box. Alvaro Morata doubled their lead in the 22nd minute when he tapped in a rebound after Cristiano Ronaldo had hit the post from close range. The Portuguese international’s blushes were saved by his teammates, who missed a golden opportunity to score his 26th league goal of the campaign.
Genoa pulled one back in the second half through Gianluca Scamacca. The Italian U-21 striker headed the ball into the net following a corner from his international teammate, Nicolo Rovella. Nonetheless, Juventus restored their two-goal cushion shortly after, as Weston McKennie scored their third of the night. The American midfielder beat the offside trap and calmly picked a spot past Mattia Perin in goal.
Juventus moved to 62 points thanks to their win over Genoa. The Bianconeri are currently one point above Atalanta, who themselves beat Fiorentina on the weekend. La Dea went two goals up against La Viola, courtesy of Duvan Zapata. However, Beppe Iachini’s team pulled itself back level thanks to the in-form Dusan Vlahovic. The Serbian striker scored his first with a powerful left-foot volley and tapped in his second from close range. Fiorentina’s efforts were in vain, though, as they conceded a penalty just minutes after equalizing the match. Josip Ilicic scored from the spot to keep his team in the fourth automatic Champions League qualification spot.
Napoli kept in touch with Juventus and Atalanta by beating Claudio Ranieri’s Sampdoria. Gennaro Gattuso’s men currently lead the chasing pack of European hopefuls in fifth place, which also contains Roma and Lazio. They took the lead against Samp in the 35th minute through Fabian Ruiz. The Spaniard expertly finished off a slick passing move to make it 1-0 to the Partinopei. Victor Osimhen scored the insurance goal for his side late on to confirm a 2-0 win.
Lazio, meanwhile, narrowly beat Hellas Verona in their league match. Simone Inzaghi’s team had to wait until the second-half stoppage time for the opening goal, which Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored. They currently are sixth in the table with 55 points, one more than city rivals Roma, who beat Bologna 1-0 on the night. Borja Mayoral scored the only goal of the match just before half time.
Roma are the only Italian side left in a European competition. The Giallorossi will face Ajax in their UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg this week – a tie they currently lead 2-1 on aggregate.
