Inter took a huge step towards the Serie A title on Monday night with a 1-0 win over Atalanta at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
The only goal of the game came from an unlikely source, as defender Milan Skriniar lashed the ball home early in the second half from a corner. Atalanta pushed but couldn’t force an equaliser.
The game started slowly, until Romelu Lukaku found himself through on goal after 25 minutes but he couldn’t quite take the bouncing ball in his stride and get a shot away. Achraf Hakimi was in acres of space to his right but the Belgian was smothered by the Atalanta defence before he could poke it across.
Shortly before half time, Duvan Zapata saw his powerful header from a corner saved superbly by Samir Handanovic. From the resulting corner, Marcelo Brozovic then blocked a Berat Djimsiti header on the goal-line. Both headers were the closest either team came in the first half.
Just after the restart, Skriniar gave Inter a vital lead. A corner was pinged around in the box and it fell to Skriniar who powered a shot into the bottom corner. Just two minutes later Cristian Romero made a vital last-ditch tackle to deny Lukaku a shot in the box and keep La Dea in the match.
Atalanta enjoyed the majority of the possession after the opening goal but did not look at their usual threatening best. The result leaves them in 5th place, with Champions League qualification still very much on the cards. They’re just one point behind Roma.
For Inter, this huge win at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza gives them a six-point lead over city rivals AC Milan. The Scudetto is firmly their’s to lose.
