Inter wins Milan derby and equals Juventus on top

Romelu Lukaku Inter
Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku scored his 9 goal in 9 consecutive matches for Inter. Credits: Getty Images

It was another big weekend of action in the Italian top-flight, with a change in leadership at the top of the table.

There was a shock result for Juventus, which allowed Inter Milan to leapfrog them, while Lazio continued their excellent run of form to stay in the title race.

Inter Milan 4 X 2 AC Milan

The match of the weekend was played out between the two sides based in Milan, as the derby ended in a 4-2 success for Antonio Conte’s side. However, for much of the evening, that would have seemed like an unlikely full-time scoreline.

AC Milan started the stronger of the two sides and went into the break with a 2-0 lead. Ante Rebic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic found the net to put the struggling side into a commanding position.

However, that advantage was ruled out within ten minutes of the restart, with Marcelo Brozovic and Matias Vecino finding the net for Inter. The hosts went ahead for the first time in the game with 20 minutes remaining as Stefan de Vrij was left unmarked.

Christian Eriksen was close to making his first goal for Inter when a supreme free-kick hit the crossbar. The Danish had his first Milanese derby since he arrived in Inter this Winter.

The three points were wrapped up in the final moments of the game as Romelu Lukaku scored. It was the 9th goal in 9 consecutive games for the former Manchester United player, who has 17 goals in total in Serie A.

Inter now have the advantage as they lead Serie A table from Juventus on goal difference. The matchpoint between both is on the 1st of March on the Serie A schedule.

Verona 2 X 1 Juventus

Inter were able to leapfrog Juventus over the weekend as they were beaten on the road by Verona. The Old Lady took the lead early in the second half as Cristiano Ronaldo set a new goalscoring record by finding the net in his tenth consecutive game for Juventus.

However, they were unable to hold onto their lead, as Verona got themselves level ten minutes later. Fabio Borini scored the equalizer before Giampaolo Pazzini scored the winner with five minutes remaining. The win ensured that Verona moved up to sixth in the league table.

Parma 0 X 1 Lazio

Lazio are edging closer to the summit of Serie A, as they made it 18 games without defeat on Sunday afternoon with a narrow success over Parma.

The only goal of the game was scored five minutes before the break as Felipe Caicedo scored his eighth goal of the season. Lazio are now just the one point behind Inter Milan and Juventus.

Roma 2 X 3 Bologna

Roma were unable to push on in their challenge for a top-four finish as they were beaten by the resurgent Bologna on Friday evening.

The hosts were behind at the break, as Riccardo Orsolini and Musa Barrow found the net for Bologna. Roma were given a lifeline as Stefano Denswil put the ball into his own net.

However, Barrow restored the two-goal advantage early in the second half, before Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored for Roma. A late red card to Bryan Cristante ended any Roma hopes of a comeback.

Napoli 2 X 3 Lecce

Any faint hopes that Napoli had of rescuing their season look to be over as they were handed another defeat by Lecce on Sunday afternoon.

Gianluca Lapadula scored a brace for Lecce, while Marco Mancosu also found the net for the visitors. Arkadiusz Milik and Jose Callejon scored for the hosts, but Napoli remains in the bottom half of the table because of the defeat.

Fiorentina 1 X 2 Atalanta

Atalanta seized their chance in the hunt for a Champions League place by beating Fiorentina in their own back yard. Federico Chiesa put Fiorentina ahead in the first half.

However, Atalanta fought back strongly in the second and got their equalizer within five minutes of the restart. Duvan Zapata scored the equalizing goal before Ruslan Malinovsky scored the winner for visitors with 20 minutes remaining.

Torino 1 X 3 Sampdoria

Torino were made to pay for a red card in the 77th meeting, as they squandered a one-goal lead to lose against Sampdoria.

The visitor’s goals all came in the space of ten minutes, with Torino being put down to ten men in between the second and third goals. Gaston Ramirez scored a brace for Sampdoria, while Fabio Quagliarella also found the net.

SPAL 1 X 2 Sassuolo

SPAL gave away a one-goal advantage on Sunday afternoon to lose to Sassuolo in front of their own fans.

Kevin Bonifazi had given the hosts the lead, but goals from Francesco Caputo and Jeremie Boga turned the game on its head.

Brescia 1 X 1 Udinese

It was a stalemate between Brescia and Udinese, with both goals in the game coming in the final ten minutes.

Dimitri Bisoli put Brescia ahead after 82 minutes before Rodrigo De Paul equalized in stoppage time.

Genoa 1 X 0 Cagliari

Genoa ended a four-match wait for a win in Serie A by edging out Cagliari in front of their home fans. The only goal of the game was to score Goran Pandev two minutes before half time.

However, the win wasn’t enough to life Genoa out of the relegation places.  

About Alex Dudley 35 Articles
Alex has travelled the world covering major sporting events for various websites and publications. He has attended football European Championships, Rugby League and Union World Cups, and the Paralympics. Along with this Alex has covered big wrestling, horse racing and boxing events. His work can be found in the Express & Star, WWE Kids Magazine, or online with the Football Faithful, and The Local. Alex also works closely with betting companies such as Betfair, Coral and Betway to produce compelling sports content for their exclusive blogs.

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