Inter missed a chance to keep the pressure on Juventus after being held 2-2 at Roma on Sunday, leaving the way clear for the Turin giants to close in on a ninth consecutive Serie A title.
Romelu Lukaku’s
penalty two minutes from time rescued a point for Antonio Conte’s Inter, who
are second, five points behind Juventus.
Juve can open up an
eight-point lead on the top of the table when they host fourth-placed Lazio on
Monday.
Stefan De Vrij had
got Inter off the mark at the Stadio Olimpico when he headed home an Alexis
Sanchez corner after 14 minutes.
But Roma captain
Edin Dzeko set up Leonardo Spinazzola for the equaliser in first half stoppage
time and was again involved when Henrikh Mkhitaryan got the second in the 57th
minute.
Lukaku came off the
bench and scored from the spot late after Spinazzola fouled Victor Moses.
It was a stalemate
which does little to help either team, and boosts Juventus’ chances of
extending their record Serie A run.
“We have to get
used to playing these big games with so much pressure, which is something Inter
have lost in recent years,” said Conte, whose side have not won Serie A since
2010, when they won the treble under Jose Mourinho.
“I can’t blame my
players for anything, today we faced a team in good shape,” he continued.
“Our team is doing
excellent things. Beyond the second place, we are into the Champions League.”
Inter cannot be
caught by Roma, who are fifth and nine points adrift of the Champions League
places, 14 behind Inter with four matches to play.
They are one point
ahead of third-placed Atalanta, who have also qualified for Europe’s top
competition after Inter’s draw in the Italian capital.
Napoli coach
Gennaro Gattuso was unhappy with the league’s tight schedule as his side beat
Udinese 2-1.
Napoli are two
points behind Roma in sixth after Matteo Politano blasted in the winner five
minutes into injury time to snatch all three points.
“It was an
important victory even if now we’re playing another sport which worries me,”
said Gattuso.
“This is not
football. Playing every three days and without fans is something different, the
players are not robots.”
Gattuso’s side are
out of the running for the Champions League next season but are preparing to
meet Barcelona in the second leg of their last 16 tie in this year’s edition,
with both sides locked at 1-1.
SPAL return to Serie B
At the bottom of
the table Brescia, in 19th, won 2-1 to condemn SPAL to a return to
Serie B after two seasons in the top flight.
In another
relegation dogfight Genoa beat Lecce 2-1 to move four points clear of the
southerners who occupy the final relegation spot.
Genoa are four
points behind Torino, who lost 2-0 at Fiorentina.
City rivals
Sampdoria are on the brink of securing Serie A survival after staging a
thrilling comeback from two goals down to win 3-2 at Parma.
Fabio Quagliarella
scored one and set up Federico Bonazzoli for the winner as Claudio Ranieri’s
side won a third consecutive match for the first time this season.
Ranieri, who
memorably guided outsiders Leicester City to the 2016 English Premier League
title, took over last October with the club sitting bottom of the table.
But they have come
back strong after the coronavirus lockdown, winning five of their last six
games and are 12 points above the drop zone with four games left.
Parma were two
goals ahead at half-time thanks to Gervinho and an own goal from Samp
goalkeeper Bartosz Bereszynski.
But Julian Chabot
pulled one back with his head two minutes after the break before Fabio
Quagliarella curled in his 11th of the season with 21 minutes and
teed up Federico Bonazzoli for the winner with 12 minutes to go.
Sampdoria move ahead of Parma into 12th position as Roberto D’Aversa’s side, who had been targeting the Europa League places earlier this season, slump to their sixth defeat in seven games.
