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April 12, 2021

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Inter triumphs to restore 11-point lead

Source: AP | 00:00 UTC+8 April 12, 2021 | Print Edition

Inter Milan continued its march to its first Italian Serie A title in more than a decade as it beat relegation-threatened Cagliari 1-0 yesterday.

Defender Matteo Darmian scored the only goal of the match in the 77th minute as Inter found it tougher than expected against a side fighting for Serie A survival.

Coach Antonio Conte ran onto the pitch to celebrate with his players as the goal restored Inter’s 11-point advantage over second-place AC Milan, which won 3-1 at Parma on Saturday.

Juventus beat Genoa 3-1 but the nine-time defending champion remained 12 points behind Inter, which is bidding for a first league title since 2010.

Cagliari, which was five points from safety, was without first-choice goalkeeper Alessio Cragno after he contracted the coronavirus on Italy duty so Guglielmo Vicario made his Serie A debut.

His first save was a tough one in the 11th but he managed to push Christian Eriksen’s powerful attempt out.

Inter had the best chances but Vicario managed to keep the score goalless while at the other end Samir Handanovic was barely tested.

Stefan de Vrij headed a corner off the bar in the 69th and Inter finally found the breakthrough shortly after. Achraf Hakimi played a one-two with Romelu Lukaku on the right side of the area before rolling across for Darmian to slide in at the back post and fire in from close range.

In Turin, Juventus got off to the perfect start when Juan Cuadrado mazed his way into the right side of the area and pulled the ball back for Dejan Kulusevski to curl into the far corner with less than four minutes on the clock.

Cristiano Ronaldo improbably hit the post from about a yard out in the buildup to Juve’s second goal, in the 22nd.

Federico Chiesa showed a brilliant turn of pace to sprint forward from midfield and force a save from Mattia Perin. Ronaldo turned the rebound onto the left post from almost point-blank range but Alvaro Morata followed up to score.

Gianluca Scamacca headed in a corner to reduce the deficit four minutes after the break but Weston McKennie sealed the result in the 70th after slipping the offside trap.

Napoli moved above Atalanta and into fourth — temporarily at least — with a comfortable 2-0 win at Sampdoria.

Napoli is three points below Juventus and one above Atalanta, which was playing Fiorentina later.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored a stoppage-time goal to help Lazio win 1-0 at Hellas Verona. Lazio remained four points below Napoli, with a game in hand.

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