ADVANTAGE JUVENTUS
Leaders stay on Serie A title track after late fightback
JUVENTUS battled past 10-man Inter Milan with two late goals giving the champions a 3-2 win in the San Siro on Saturday to reopen a four-point lead at the top of the Serie A table.
Inter looked as if they would pull off an unlikely victory as the hosts led until three minutes from the whistle despite playing more than 70 minutes a man down after Matias Vecino was sent off. But Milan Skriniar turned the ball into his own net after 87 minutes with Gonzalo Higuain heading in the winner two minutes later.
“I have to congratulate the lads, it was an important step towards the Scudetto,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri.
“It was a beautiful night of football between two teams who had to win.
“Winning at San Siro is very complicated, they did very well at 10. We know that to win the championship we have to win all of our games.”
Juve’s lead had been cut to one point after their defeat by Napoli in Turin last week.
Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli travelled to Fiorentina late yesterday bidding to match the champions and keep their push for a third title after 1987 and 1990 alive.
Saturday’s defeat damages Inter’s hopes of Champions League football next season as they stay fifth behind Roma and Lazio with just three games to play.
“It will be hard to put this defeat behind us,” said Inter coach Luciano Spalletti.
“This match meant a huge amount to us and the team deserved a different result. We used up a lot of energy being a man down and in the final moments it hurt us.”
Douglas Costa fired in the opener for Juve after 13 minutes following a cross from Juan Cuadrado. Minutes later Vecino was shown red for a foul on Mario Mandzukic.
Mauro Icardi headed in the equaliser for Inter seven minutes after the break for his 27th goal this season, and the hosts took the lead when the ball bounced in off Juve defender Andrea Barzagli.
But in a late flurry a Cuadrado shot across goal took a deflection off Skriniar and Higuain headed in from close range off a Paulo Dybala free-kick.
In a bizarre finish, Allegri was sent to the stands for coming onto the pitch to celebrate.
Earlier 10-man Roma warmedup for next week’s must-win Champions League clash with Liverpool by easing to a 4-1 win over struggling Chievo to consolidate third place.
Eusebio Di Francesco’s side are three points ahead of Lazio who played Torino late yesterday with Inter staying a further point back in fifth.
Roma next face Liverpool in the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday where they have to overturn a 5-2 first-leg deficit to advance to the final.
“We have to recover our physical and mental energy, leave the pitch on Wednesday knowing we’ve done all we possibly could,” said Di Francesco.
“We’ve proved in the past that we can achieve great results in the Champions League, so we must all believe.”
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti has turned down an offer to coach Italy, leaving Roberto Mancini as favourite for the job, Italian media reports said yesterday.
The 58-year-old, sacked by Bayern Munich in September, held talks with Italian federation (FIGC) officials in Rome last Monday, according to reports published in several newspapers including Corriere dello Sport and Gazzetta dello Sport.
One of the reasons given was that Ancelotti believes he can get a job with a leading European club. The FIGC could not immediately be reached for comment.
Italy, currently at an all-time low of 20th in the Fifa rankings, have been without a permanent coach since November when Gian Piero Ventura was sacked following their failure to qualify for this year's World Cup in Russia.