Inter return to Serie A summit after Udinese win
Inter Milan have returned to the top of Serie A with an easy win over Udinese.
Juventus had knocked Inter off the summit with victory over Napoli on Friday night, but the Milan side reclaimed top spot with their 12th win from 15 league games this season.
Hakan Calhanoglu, Federico Dimarco and Marcus Thuram all scored in the first half for Inter, before Lautaro Martinez added his 14th league goal of the season later on.
They are two points above Juve and nine clear of third-placed, AC Milan, who earlier lost to Atalanta.
Inter dominated from the off, Serie A top scorer, Martinez, hitting the post before Udinese keeper, Marco Silvestri, made a brilliant low save from Dimarco.
But the breakthrough came when Martinez was tugged down in the box by Nehuen Perez, with the penalty given following a lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) check. Calhanoglu sent Silvestri the wrong way.
Dimarco put Inter in control with a powerful left-footed shot into the far corner and Thuram put the result beyond doubt before the break, finishing from close range following a 21-pass move culminating in a fine cross by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Argentine Martinez’s powerful strike added gloss to the scoreline with just over five minutes remaining.
Earlier, AC Milan suffered a blow to their own Serie A title hopes as Luis Muriel scored a 95th minute backheeled winner for Atalanta in a 3-2 victory.
Atalanta twice took the lead in Bergamo through former Everton and Fulham forward, Ademola Lookman, but were pegged back by Olivier Giroud in first-half stoppage time, and again by Luka Jovic with 10 minutes to go.
But after Milan defender, Davide Calabria, was dismissed for a second bookable offence, Muriel stole the show in the final seconds.
A slick Atalanta move saw Aleksei Miranchuk feed the onrushing Colombian international in the area, before Muriel cleverly finished past Mike Maignan from six yards to send the home fans wild.
The defeat, just Milan’s fourth in the league this season, comes at a bad time before Wednesday’s crucial Champions League trip to Newcastle, where Stefano Pioli’s side have to win to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.
–BBC
