European roundup: Perisic and Martínez help Inter keep Milan in sight
Goals from Ivan Perisic and Lautaro Martínez earned Internazionale a nervy 2-1 win at Udinese on Sunday, as Simone Inzaghi’s side closed the gap on Serie A leaders Milan to two points.
Inter started well as Croatian forward Perisic bulleted a header into the net in the 12th minute to give the title chasers the lead.
After Edin Dzeko was fouled in the 39th minute, Martínez was presented with the perfect opportunity to make it two from the spot, with the Argentine striker finding the net but only from the rebound after his penalty had been tipped on to the post.
Udinese did not give in after the break, and the pressure told as Ignacio Pussetto converted from close range to give his side hope with 18 minutes to play.
Milan’s Rafael Leão took advantage of a late goalkeeping howler to win 1-0 against Fiorentina.
With eight minutes left on the clock, Leão latched on to a misplaced pass from Fiorentina keeper Pietro Terracciano and strode towards the goal before firing in a low effort to keep Milan in the hunt for their first league title in more than a decade.
After a goalless first half during which Milan failed to hit the target, the hosts missed a gilt-edged chance to go ahead when Leão skied his shot from close range two minutes into the restart before Theo Hernandez’s halfvolley also sailed over.
Milan found themselves in promising positions down the left side but failed to force Terracciano into any notable saves and were lucky to not have Hernandez sent off after the Frenchman swung an elbow at Lucas Martínez Quarta.
Fiorentina almost grabbed a shock lead in the 75th minute but Arthur Cabral’s header was brilliantly kept out by Mike Maignan before Leão made up for his earlier miss by calmly slotting past Terracciano.
A double from veteran defender Leonardo Bonucci earned Juventus a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Venezia to all-but secure Champions League football for next season.
The hosts made a lightning start in Turin as Luca Pellegrini thundered an effort against the crossbar before Bonucci marked his 35th birthday with the opening goal in the seventh minute.
Bottom side Venezia, who sacked their coach Paolo Zanetti in midweek, responded well, and went close to a first-half leveller, but Thomas Henry’s header flew just wide. The visitors kept coming in the second half and got the equaliser they deserved when Mattia Aramu arrowed a strike into the net in the 71st minute, with the Juventus defenders arguing among themselves in the aftermath.
With Juve looking all out of ideas up front, it was left to Bonucci once more to prod home the winner from close range 14 minutes from time.
With Real Madrid having secured the La Liga title on Saturday, Barcelona moved back above Sevilla and into second place with a 2-1 home victory over Mallorca. Memphis Depay gave Barça a 25th-minute lead and Sergio Busquets doubled the lead nine minutes after the interval.
Antonio Raillo gave Mallorca hope 11 minutes from time but Barcelona claimed a first home win in four games after defeats to Eintracht Frankfurt, Cadiz and Rayo Vallecano.
Radamel Falcao earned Vallecano a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad by cancelling out Alexander Sorloth’s firsthalf effort.
Elche and Osasuna also drew 1-1, as did Granada and Celta Vigo. Granada stay in the bottom three – one point behind Mallorca and Cadiz – but Darwin Machis’s equaliser in the second minute of stoppage time may yet prove crucial.
In Ligue 1, fourth-placed Monaco beat Angers 2-0 as Wissam Ben Yedder added to an Abdoulaye Bamba own goal. Nice stay fifth, two points further back, with Andy Delort’s 74th-minute winner proving decisive at Bordeaux.
Castello Lukeba, Moussa Dembélé and Karl Toko Ekambi scored secondhalf goals as Lyon kept alive slim hopes of Champions League qualification with a 3-0 win at Marseille.
Renato Sanches and Burak Yilmaz were sent off as nine-man Lille crashed 3-0 at Troyes, with the hosts’ goals all coming from the penalty spot. Portugal midfielder Sanches picked up two yellow cards in quick succession just after half-time, and Turkey striker Yilmaz was dismissed for a poor 68thminute tackle from behind. Florien Tardieu dispatched spot-kicks either side of Ike Ugbo’s penalty 10 minutes into the second half.
Brest survived the first-half dismissal of Romain Del Castillo to beat Clermont 2-0 with goald from Lilian Brassier and Steve Mounie.
Reims won 2-1 at Lorient as Arber Zeneli and El Bilal Toure profited from the visitors’ only shots on target.
Montpellier scored twice in the final 10 minutes to secure a 2-2 draw against bottom-placed Metz, who are eight points from outright safety with three games to play and six adrift of the relegation play-off spot.