Milan, Dec 29: Inter Milan tightened their grip on the Serie A summit on Sunday with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Atalanta BC in Bergamo, preserving a slender one-point advantage over city rivals AC Milan at the halfway stage of the season.
Lautaro Martínez proved the difference once again, scoring the decisive goal to cap another influential display from the Inter captain.
The Argentine striker, who has now found the net in four consecutive league matches, struck after Atalanta defender Berat Djimsiti gifted possession just outside his own penalty area, allowing Martínez to fire home with his left foot. It was his ninth league goal of the campaign and underlined his importance to Inter’s title push.
The contest was finely balanced for long periods, with both sides having goals disallowed for offside—Marcus Thuram for Inter and Charles De Ketelaere for Atalanta. Inter also went close when Nicolò Barella failed to capitalise on a clear opening, while Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi denied Luis Henrique in a lively first half.Despite the narrow scoreline, Inter showed their defensive resilience after taking the lead, limiting Atalanta’s opportunities as the hosts chased an equaliser.
Their best chance arrived late on, but Lazar Samardzic squandered a golden opportunity three minutes from time, stumbling as De Ketelaere teed him up in front of goal.
For Atalanta, the defeat was a setback but not without positives.
The Bergamo side have shown renewed purpose since Raffaele Palladino took charge last month, though they remain 10th in the table, five points adrift of the European qualification places.
Inter’s win kept them ahead of AC Milan, who continued their own strong run with a commanding 3-0 home victory over Hellas Verona at San Siro.
Christopher Nkunku was the standout performer, scoring twice in the second half to register his first Serie A goals. The French forward converted a penalty shortly after the restart—one he had won himself—before tapping in his second five minutes later.Christian Pulisic had earlier set Milan on course with a goal just before halftime, extending his impressive form this season.
The American has now scored eight times in 11 league appearances and has been involved in 50 Serie A goals since joining Milan in 2023, despite missing several weeks through injury. Milan’s latest win stretched their unbeaten league run to 15 matches, keeping the title race finely poised.
Elsewhere, reigning champions Napoli remained firmly in contention after a comfortable 2-0 away win over US Cremonese. Rasmus Højlund continued his prolific spell in Italy, scoring both goals to take his tally to nine in all competitions this season.
The Denmark striker struck early and again just before halftime, capitalising on defensive lapses to keep Napoli two points behind Inter in third place.“I’m improving every season,” Højlund said after the match, reflecting on his development since his earlier stint at Atalanta and his experience in the Premier League and Champions League.
In the day’s other fixture, Bologna’s recent dip in form continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Sassuolo, leaving them seventh and without a win in four league matches. (Reuters)
