MILAN: Edin Dzeko fired Inter Milan into the top four of Serie A on Sunday with a brace in his team’s 3-2 win at Atalanta on Sunday, the final day of top flight action before the World Cup.

Veteran forward Dzeko struck nine minutes before the break to level Ademola Lookman’s penalty opener for the hosts, and then forced home his sixth league goal of the season 20 minutes later.

Jose Luis Palomino glanced in an own goal an hour into his Atalanta return after being cleared of doping offences, ensuring that Inter moved level on 30 points with second-placed Lazio and AC Milan, and 11 points behind leaders Napoli.

Palomino pulled a goal back with 13 minutes remaining when he headed in at the right end, but Atalanta’s third straight defeat leaves them in sixth.

Inter will stay in the Champions League positions until January as long as Juventus do not beat Lazio in the final Serie A match of 2022 on Sunday night.

Simone Inzaghi’s team host unbeaten Napoli in their first match after Serie A reconvenes in January following the World Cup and traditional Christmas break as they try to stay in the title race.

Later on Sunday, Paulo Dybala made his first AS Roma appearance in over a month but it was not a happy return for the Argentina forward despite proving his fitness for the World Cup, as his team drew 1-1 with Torino.

Dybala came on with 20 minutes remaining at the Stadio Olimpico with Roma trailing to Karol Linetty’s 55th minute header and he made an almost immediate impact.

He won a stoppage-time penalty which former Torino captain Andrea Belotti smashed off the post and seconds later he crashed a shot of his own out off the bar, after which Nemanja Matic thumped in a long-range leveller.

Jose Mourinho’s side sit seventh, three points behind Inter in the race for the Champions League spots after another stodgy performance.

Poland international goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski suffered an ankle injury in Spezia’s 2-1 win at rock-bottom Hellas Verona which looks to have ended his World Cup before even getting on the airplane.

Dragowski had been selected in Poland’s squad for the Qatar tournament but he had to be stretchered from the Stadio Bentegodi field in tears three minutes before half-time after trying to tackle Kevin Lasagna.

Italian media report that the 25-year-old could have broken his ankle in the clash.

Spezia moved six clear of the relegation zone and condemned Verona to their 10th straight defeat.

Monza thumped Salernitana 3-0 to extend the gap between them and the drop zone nine points.

On Saturday, Napoli almost squandered the chance of setting a club record of 11 consecutive Serie A victories within a season when they let slip a three-goal advantage before securing a 3-2 home win over Udinese while struggling Sampdoria slumped to their fourth straight defeat, 2-0 at home to Lecce.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2022