ROME: Inter Milan claimed a statement 2-0 win over Como on Sunday to move just one point behind Serie A leaders Lazio, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Napoli.
Francesco Pio Esposito and Marcus Thuram struck in the opening 20 minutes as Inter ended a sixmatch winning run from Como that included the biggest away win in Champions League history, Wednesday’s 9-1 demolition of French side Lens.
Inter, who suffered their first league defeat of the season to rivals AC Milan a week ago, jumped back into second as a thrilling title race heats up, with two points separating Lazio from third-placed Roma.
‘Today we played well in every aspect. We put pressure on their build-up and accepted that they could cause us problems,’ said Inter coach Cristian Chivu.
‘We counter-attacked with feroc-ity and were clinical in front of goal.
I applaud my players for a performance of maturity and quality.
Cesc Fabregas’ Como were outclassed in defeat at San Siro, allowing Milan to leapfrog them into fourth on 24 points after Alphadjo Cisse and Christian Pulisic struck in a 2-1 win over Genoa.
Earlier, leaders Lazio dropped points for just the second time this season at struggling Napoli as Davide Frattesi’s opener was cancelled out by an Alfonso Pedraza own goal.
Napoli were under pressure to deliver a result after defeats by Juventus and FC Porto saw the squad sentinto a trainingretreatin a bid to revive their flagging form.
But they could only claim a point against Gennaro Gattuso’s unbeaten outfit, whose remarkable form continued as they remained 14 points ahead of 10th-placed Napoli.’We must keep going, everything’s not lost even if we are behind in the standings,’ Napoli coach Massimiliano Allegri said.
At San Siro, Milan finished a mixed week on a high as a second Serie A win on the bounce took them into the top four.
Ruben Amorim’s side impressed with their 3-1 Milan derby win last weekend, but inconsistency reared its head again with a 2-0 Europa League loss at home to Ferencvaros on Thursday.
Amorim was left furious by his side’s performance in that game but saw a much-improved start from his players at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Cisse swept in the opener after 13 minutes before Pulisic doubled their lead six minutes later, and Mikael Ellertsson’s late strike for Genoa proved no more than a consolation.
Meanwhile, Juventus lost more ground as they twice fought back toclaim a 2-2 draw with Fiorentina in Florence.
The result left Luciano Spalletti’s side seventh with 18 points, while Fiorentina moved two points clear of the relegation zone on nine points.
Mateo Pellegrino headed Fiorentina in front from a corner after just four minutes, but Juventus levelled when Randal Kolo Muani cut in from the right wing and teed up strike partner Nick Woltemade for his first Serie A goal.
Alieu Njie restored the hosts’ lead early in the second half with his third goal in three games after a goalmouth scramble, but Juve responded when some uncertain goalkeeping from David de Gea allowed Gleison Bremer to head a corner into an unguarded net.
Elsewhere, Atalanta ended a sixmatch winless run in all competitions by beating Monza 1-0 thanks to a Nikola Krstovic strike.-AFP