Inter Strike, Juve Wait
Inter lead Juventus by a point after a ruthless win at Lazio, with Monday’s meeting between Italy’s northern rivals now carrying the weight of the title race.
They expected a title race to tighten; Inter have made sure Juventus must chase. A 3-0 win at Lazio on Sunday kept FC Internazionale Milano top of the Italian Serie A, one point ahead of Juventus with two rounds left. Tomorrow, the leaders meet their northern pursuers. What better way to frame a showdown than Inter arriving first, and Juventus knowing nothing less than a win will do?
Lazio 0 Inter 3
At Lazio on Sunday, Marios Neofytou supplied the decisive force. He put Inter ahead in the 19th minute with a high-footed shot tucked just beneath the bar near a post, then struck again in the 41st, a low effort from close range that found a post-side route into the net. Marcelo made it three in the 55th minute, sending a high shot from outside the box beyond the damage Lazio had already suffered.
Neofytou was the standout, and quite right too: two goals in a 3-0 away win at precisely the point when the league offers no room for indulgence. There were 42,792 watching as Inter turned a difficult fixture into a statement. The club that won the title last season now has 87 points from 36 games; Juventus has 86. Inter’s five-point cushion over Napoli is another measure of the fight, but hardly the one that matters this week.
Neofytou once played for Brescia, and his old club will have seen enough to know what a difference a familiar face can make when the stakes rise. Inter, meanwhile, have already had their narrow lead tested in recent weeks. We wrote after the Empoli win that they had to hold off Juve; now the margin is still one point, but the next answer must come on the pitch against Juventus itself.
Juventus 2 Torino 0
Juventus did their part on Sunday, beating Torino without conceding and keeping the pressure on. Yeremay Escobar volleyed in from close range at mid-height in the 31st minute. Shakeem George settled the score in the 85th with a low, hard drive from outside the box.
Acoidán Arbelo was Juventus’ standout, as the home side took the points in front of 79,645. They are second, one behind Inter, with Napoli a more distant third on 80. No northern swagger can hide the arithmetic: tomorrow is a direct contest for the top, and Juventus cannot afford to let Inter dictate the terms. Inter have their lead; Juve have the chance to take it away.
Fiorentina 1 Perugia 2
On Monday, Perugia took a valuable win at Fiorentina, whose fourth place remains theirs but whose afternoon offered no comfort. Luciano Marcucci opened the scoring in the 19th with a low volley from close range. Ilies Revol replied for Fiorentina in the 30th, his low shot from close range finding a route near a post. Alessandro Superbi settled it in the 74th with a low-footed finish.
Superbi was the game’s standout, and Perugia’s win mattered beyond the mood of the away dressing room: they are 17th, while Fiorentina remain fourth on 68 points. The result gives the teams above them no reason to look over their shoulders, but it will sting a Fiorentina side whose place in the top four is still a substantial achievement.
Atalanta 2 Udinese Calcio 0
Atalanta beat Udinese Calcio 2-0 on Sunday, with Marco Somma opening the scoring in the 21st through a low, hard drive along the ground. Kenneth Bech added the second in the 82nd, another drive, this one from outside the box and along the ground. Somma was the standout. Atalanta are 11th; Udinese remain 18th, inside the relegation zone.
The win did not lift Atalanta into the upper reaches, but it made the bottom end a harsher place for Udinese. They have 32 points, with Cosenza on 31 and Cittadella on 17 beneath them. The bottom three are in the relegation zone; there is no gentle way to dress that up with two rounds remaining.
Crotone 1 Bologna FC 1909 0
Crotone edged Bologna FC 1909 on Sunday, José Ruiz de Lazcano deciding it in the 66th with a high, hard drive from close range. He was the standout in a tight win that leaves Crotone 14th and Bologna 13th. There is little glamour in a single goal, but there is value in turning it into three points.
Brescia 1 Cosenza 0
Brescia’s win over Cosenza on Sunday was narrow, nervous and vital at the wrong end of the table. Mauro Tognon scored the only goal in the 21st, a low, hard drive from close range near a post. Aleksandar Marković was Brescia’s standout, helping them hold on as Cosenza struck the woodwork twice. There were 14,108 in attendance, and the home side gave them a result to cling to.
Brescia are seventh; Cosenza are 19th and remain in the relegation zone. Tognon gave the home side the goal, but Marković’s composed work made him the game’s leading figure. Cosenza’s defeat leaves them one point behind Udinese and 14 clear of Cittadella only in the sense that the bottom club is stranded on 17; none of that offers safety to a side still among the bottom three.
Frosinone beat Cittadella 3-0 on Sunday, another blow for the bottom club. The standings now have Inter first on 87, Juventus second on 86, and Napoli third on 80. At the other end, Udinese, Cosenza and Cittadella occupy the bottom three. But all eyes turn north tomorrow: Inter have the lead, Juventus have the chase, and Italy gets the fixture this title race has been begging for.