Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Juve eye top spot after Inter draw

CLOSE RACE Leading by two points, Conte’s side dishes out lacklustre stuff against Roma in the backdrop of racism row

- Agence France-presse sportsdesk@hindustant­imes.com

MILAN: Inter Milan were held to a goalless draw by Roma at the San Siro, leaving the way open for Italian champions Juventus to reclaim top spot in Serie A this weekend.

Antonio Conte’s side have a two-point advantage on Juventus who play Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

The match in the San Siro had been overshadow­ed by a racism storm after Italian sports daily Corriere dello Sport’s controvers­ial “Black Friday” headline.

The front-page headline accompanie­d an article about the first Serie A meeting between former Manchester United teammates Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling.

On the pitch, defender Smalling and Gianluca Mancini stifled Inter’s prolific strike duo Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, who between them have scored 18 of their team’s goals in 15 league games this season.

TOOTHLESS ATTACK Conte’s side proved toothless in attack against a well-organised Roma, failing to find the net for the first time this season, days before their Champions League clash against Barcelona.

“The great merit of Roma is having stopped Lautaro-lukaku,” said coach Paulo Fonseca.

“Inter’s main chances came from our mistakes, but we always played the ball with courage and that’s what I want for the team.

“We did well defensivel­y. Smalling and Mancini had a good game like the whole team, it’s certainly not easy against Inter.”

Lukaku, Marcelo Brozovic and Matias Vecino all missed chances for the hosts as Roma snatched a precious point to move fourth and into the Champions League places.

Inter were lacking in midfield with Stefano Sensi, Nicolo Barella and Roberto Gagliardin­i all out with Roma missing goalkeeper Pau Lopez while Edin Dzeko started on the bench after flu, but came on for the final 25 minutes.

Midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo took Dzeko’s place up front with Roma dominating the first half hour, although Inter had the best chances with Antonio Mirante denying Lukaku after a blundering

Jordan Veretout back-pass.

A similar error from the Roma goalkeeper nearly proved costly when Mirante passed the ball straight to Lukaku on the edge of the area just before the break but Marcelo Brozovic wastefully fired over the bar.

Inter held on to top spot but their advantage remains under threat from Juventus with thirdplace­d Lazio eight points behind the leaders.

“We faced an excellent Roma but their goalkeeper was their best player on the pitch, they never had a shot on goal,” said Conte.

“I congratula­te my players, even if we were wasteful, we should have sealed the three points.”

Roma are just one point ahead of Cagliari, with the Sardinians

travelling to Sassuolo on Sunday.

ATLETICO HOPES SUFFER MADRID: Atletico Madrid’s title hopes look to be all-but over after a goalless draw away at Villarreal raised further doubts about their progress under coach Diego Simeone.

After losing at home to Barcelona last weekend, another slip means Atletico are now five points behind Barca and Real Madrid in La Liga, despite having played two games more.

It means by the time Simeone’s side head into the Christmas break, t he gap could have stretched to double figures and that will be hard to close, especially given they play both Barcelona and Real Madrid away from home in the second half of the season.

Asked if Atletico are too far adrift, Simeone said: “What worries me is winning games and then everything will look different.”

But familiar failings in attack proved their undoing at la Ceramica, where Villarreal, who climb to 12th, were fully deserving of their point and could easily have snatched a victory too.

“It’s normal that when you create so many chances without scoring, the players get anxious,” said Simeone.

“We have to stay calm.” Atletico came into the game with 25 points from their first 15 league games, their lowest tally at that stage since Simeone took charge in 2011.

Their remarkable title triumph three years later, not to mention two Champions League finals, means Simeone is still held in high-esteem but after an expensive summer, questions are being asked about the club’s direction of travel.

Simeone has said this is a transition season for the team but there will be no excuses if they fail to make the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday. Only a win at home to Lokomotiv Moscow will guarantee qualificat­ion.

Spain coach Luis Enrique was among those in the crowd treated to a frantic opening 20 minutes that offered chances for both sides as Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze saw an early shot fly over and Gerard Moreno headed wide.

Joao Felix, signed for a record 126 million euros from Benfica last summer, looked Atletico’s most likely source of a goal and he hit the post after a driving run through midfield before scooping high when he should have done better.

Villarreal were far from overawed though and almost punished Renan Lodi for giving the ball away cheaply in midfield, only for Chukwueze again to blaze over.

Felix was at the heart of everything for Atletico going forward in the second half as he cut inside from the left but saw his shot palmed away and then then pulled back for Saul, who failed to finish.

Yet the best chance fell to Lodi with 10 minutes left as Felix picked him out with a cross to the back post. The ball bounced in front of Lodi but he could only cushion the ball high and over the crossbar.

 ??  ?? Roma defender Leonardo Spinazzola (second from left) deflects a shot by Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez (R) during their Serie A match on Friday. The match ended 0-0.
AFP
Roma defender Leonardo Spinazzola (second from left) deflects a shot by Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez (R) during their Serie A match on Friday. The match ended 0-0. AFP

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