Inter Milan kept up the pressure on Serie A leaders Napoli on Sunday with a convincing 4-0 win at lowly Lecce which moved the defending champions three points from the summit. Goals from Davide Frattesi, Lautaro Martinez, Denzel Dumfries and Mehdi Taremi gave Inter their seventh win in eight league matches in a dominant performance in southern Italy. Simone Inzaghi’s team are also four points ahead of third-placed Atalanta with a game in hand on both their title rivals, their match at Fiorentina which was stopped in December due to Edoardo Bove’s on-pitch collapse.
“We approached the match brilliantly and it wasn’t easy because we got back at dawn after the match in Prague on Wednesday, we had two days and then another trip down here,” said Inzaghi.
“But in two days we managed to plan an aggressive performance, and they did exactly what I asked.”
Inter are motoring at a key part of the season, with Wednesday’s visit of Monaco offering a chance to confirm direct qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League and the derby with AC Milan coming up next weekend.
Saturday’s win was their eighth in a row away from home in Serie A, and they haven’t even conceded a goal on the road in Italy’s top flight since their first win in that run, at Udinese in late September.
Inter could have won by more as Carlos Augusto and Frattesi had goals ruled out for tight offsides within a minute of each other midway through the first half.
By that point the away side were leading through Frattesi’s sixth-minute tap in which came after some fantastic footwork and a smart pass from Marcus Thuram.
Captain Martinez rifled in his sixth goal in eight matches in all competitions six minutes before the break and the Argentina striker was key to Dumfries sealing the points with a brilliant backheeled assist just as Lecce were getting a foothold in the game.
Taremi capped a near-perfect evening for Inter with his first goal in Serie A, slotted home from the penalty spot after Frattesi was tripped by Lecce goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone.
Milan’s late drama
AC Milan turned jeers to cheers as two goals in stoppage time led to a stunning 3-2 win of a chaotic lunchtime clash with Parma.
Trailing to what looked like being Enrico Delprato’s winner for Parma heading into added time, Milan triumphed thanks to late strikes from Tijjani Reijnders and Samuel Chukwueze, sending previously frustrated fans delirious with joy.
Nigeria forward Chukwueze’s bundled finish gave Sergio Conceicao’s seventh-placed team a huge boost ahead of a massive week, with Wednesday’s match at Dinamo Zagreb a chance to secure a top eight spot in the Champions League before the Milan derby.
However all is not well at Milan and fiery Conceicao almost came to blows with deposed captain Davide Calabria on the pitch, the pair being held back by coaching staff while the rest of the team celebrated with fans.
Calabria, who was replaced as captain by Mike Maignan earlier this month, brushed over the incident as being a “dressing room matter” while Conceicao cryptically said “if your kids are behaving badly, you have to act”.
Conceicao also substituted star players Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez after a dismal display from his team in the first half which brought a chorus of boos from fans, whose long-standing discontent with American owners RedBird had threatened to bubble over in the 80th minute when Delprato forced home on the rebound.
Defeat was especially harsh for Parma who were left with nothing from an excellent performance and stay a point above the relegation zone, level with Lecce.
Fiorentina got their bid for Champions League football back up and running by winning a tetchy contest at Lazio 2-1 and snapping a six-match winless streak.
Raffaele Palladino‘s side are sixth, three points behind fourth-placed Lazio thanks to early strikes from Yacine Adli and Lucas Beltran.
The Tuscans escaped with three points from a match which finished with both Palladino and Lazio coach Marco Baroni sent off and Pedro hitting the post in the final seconds after Adam Marusic pulled a goal back in stoppage time.
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